I was a bit surprised that such an item would end up on an auction site. Then again, in New Zealand almost everything is sold on on TradeMe, so why not? I decided to have a look for myself, and sure enough, I found a competition penning from the Dutch tennis federation, for the competition in 2013. I am happy to announce that this little gem has now also been acquired by the museum.
We were a bit late with our invitations for new years eve this time. Quite a few friends had already booked holidays. Not the usual 30+ party, but still a nice group of friends and a great evening.
Although everyone is sitting here, I can assure you that many legs managed to find the dance floor. Squeaking knees or not. A pretty good start to 2025.
Our house is nice, but there were quite a few things not the way we would have done it ourselves. There was no waterpoint in the garages weirdly enough. Very unhandy for us 'motor homers', as we would like to fill the water tanks before we go on our adventures. Finally found a small basin that would fit in the one place we could have a waterpoint that could actually have a drain. There was not much room as the drain from the emergency tub was already very low. Got it working anyway.
Fishing season has started again. We were very successful the first few days. Got quite a few gurnard (pictured) and the second day lot's of snapper. Then it almost dried up, like we caught the last ones. Just some kahawai and 2 days even nothing. Very frustrating. On top of that, 90% of the predictions of the forecasters were wrong.
People have been catching marlin behind Kapiti island. So Dick and I went trawling in the hope we'd catch some tuna or maybe even a marlin (which would probably have dragged my boat all the way to the Marlborough sounds, had we caught one). No luck though, so we decided to drop the lines and try to catch some fish just north of the island. Suddenly the tip of my rod dipped deep in the water. 'Yes, a nice big kingfish', we thought. But is was a rig shark, which managed to entangle all our four lines, the bastard. Quite some kilo's of fish (sold here as lemon fish) on it.
A birthday party in Wellington. Sitting on the deck in the middle of a town, amidst the ferns, in the sun. kaka's and kereru flying around. Only in NZ.
Nope, that's not me, but I can understand your why you thought so....
We got a friendly message of yet another friend of my nephew, asking if he could pitch up his tent for a few nights in our garden.
I answered 'Hey, we do have a bedroom. You just have to help us out a bit'. So, hard labour for a week! Chased him up the scaffolding (this is me in the picture, just for 'health and safety' purposes, as we were working with spider poison), pushed a brush and a bucket of paint in his hand, etc.
He is called Gijs, like my nephew.
Good company. Had a couple of great days with him.
We took him out fishing and he became good mates with 'gekke Henkie' (crazy Hank), the seagull. Gijs caught quite some fish in the beginning, but then got quieter and quieter. Did not have the sea-legs he though he had. He'll be happy I got him a job at the salmon farm in Tasman. It's land-based!
In January the Dutch Borrel Club made its presence felt. I made a big Indonesian rice table again and they managed to put quite a dent in it. I did anticipate that though. The freezer is stocked with frozen deliciousness in case of emergencies (like days we do not have the energy to cook).
The trees on our memorial spot on the Otaki river are really taking of. Not sure why the birds have decided to use our sign as a toilet though. Rest assured, a cleaning team has been deployed and it is very much presentable again. Not sure why Nienke let me carry a bucket of water for a few miles, when the river is next to the plot.........
Look at these three ferocious looking young ladies. Me and two friends participated in a memorial golf tournament for the partner of one of the nurses in the Otaki practice. It was a tournament with ambrose rules and this ladies team was tied to us. They beat us with about 15 points. I do have to mention that they were all former champions and play 2 to 3 times a week. Furthermore, .........
Me with Trevor, our star-player, who had ...... ehm, let's call it an off-day. I still like the game, but I'm not a fanatic. Once a week 9 holes is good enough for me. I'm getting better at it. Last week I had 3 pars and 2 bogeys. For the laymen: I did not lose many balls!
Birgitta dropped in. Had not seen her for many months. Always great to catch up with friends. I think you must get the theme of this blog by now. Guests are always welcome. When are you guys coming over?
Finally! Nienke had been looking forward to it for a long time. Pim (Nienke's brother) and his wife Claire came over. They had been in New Zealand for 2 weeks and thought they could come over for a few days of rest.
So we had a small party. A meet and greet with some of our friends.
Super that even Jannien could be part of it.
Me and my golf buddies.
The day after the party Pim and Claire were introduced to a real Kiwi experience; preparing a hangi, a Polynesian way of preparing the food. You dig a big hole, fill it with wood and put stones on top of it. Set it on fire. Once the stones are hot, you put baskets with food on top of the stones, cover the baskets with banana leaves or cloths, and put the sand back on top of it. You let it simmer for a couple of hours and then the food can be served. Nienke and I had been asked by friends to help out, but as it was a Saturday, I had to play tennis in the morning. Pim would be my stand in. After allowing my opponents only 6 games in 4 sets, I was back early to help out as well.
Meanwhile Claire was having fun in the kitchen of the Community Hall. The party was to celebrate the re-opening of the Hall after it got some urgent earthquake strengthening. A hangi is not really a vegetarian thing. Meat and fish are the main ingredients. Some spuds, cabbage and carrots are only there for decoration.
Pim and I are ready to put the baskets on the hot stones. Bloody hot job and not without danger. But after the hard work there were some chilled beers, so we could calm down while listening to the band. Some more work for me after that. Not sure why a doctor is the right person to dissect the meat. I admit, I did work in pathology for a short period, but that is no resemblance to cutting up steaming hot chickens!
There were about 300 guests and Nienke and Claire were very busy trying to divide the food equally amongst the hungry mouths. Would you believe there was still some food left over in the end?
Pim's idea of this holiday was to do a one-on-one mountain walk with Nienke. Nienke picked the Jumbo circuit for that, a 3 days walk in the Wairarapa. Not a long one (only 24 km) but a very steep and exposed one. As it was summer, that would not be an issue. They thought .... All still good here, where we are enjoying some samples of the good life at Palliser Estate winery in Martinborough.
While Pim and Nienk were doing the hard yards in the mountains, I took Claire for 3 days of free camping on the beautiful south coast of the north island. First stop (apart from the supermarket in Martinborough) was the seal colony at cape Palliser.
We were so lucky. There was no one else there and about 300 young pups playing around.
I did make Clare work as bit as well. 253 steps to the top to admire a great view.
Free-camping in Ngawi, next to the only shop in Ngawi, the fish and chips shop, which is conveniently located on the foreshore. Unfortunately it was closed! So we had to settle for crackers with salmon and Kapiti cheeses, to accompany our buttery chardonnay. Taco chips with molten cheese and avo's for dinner. I think Claire got a good idea about the harsh circumstances of free-camping in NZ.
We had noticed a few clouds over the Tararua's where Pim and Claire were enjoying the trip we were not allowed to join. Their day was a bit different with fog and rain.
A walk with many challenges and different circumstances. Because of the rain and fog, the grass was very wet, resulting in wet shoes, socks and pants.
They arrived pretty much soaked at the hut. But the spirit was good.
Look at the smiles! They were having almost as much fun as Claire and I had.
I bet Pim was happy with my poncho. Good thing he did not bring the binoculars. That extra weight might have been too much. Not that you needed it with these views anyway.
Ingenious way of drying your drenched shoes in the hut.
The next day I took Claire for a coffee to Lake Ferry. Unfortunately that was as closed as the exit of the lake into the ocean (because of the draught). Maybe the 'Land Girl cafe in Pirinoa then. Closed as well. So we got the best coffee you can think of, from our own coffee maker in the motorhome. I parked it right on Ocean beach. Took a walk in a dried up river bed where we spotted some deer. Climbed up the hill to have a look at Wharekaukau Country Estate (only $5660 a night, not kidding). As the grass there was not mown to our liking we decided to go back to the motorhome for a nice G & T.
We put the boombox on loud and made a fire. I think they must have been able to hear us sing on the south island, which is only 75 km from there on the other side of the pond.
Free-camping in a deserted place, not for the faint hearted!
Nienke and Pim had slightly better conditions than the day before and could enjoy at least a few views.
The trampers had a good chance to talk a lot and catch up on recent years. They met some nice other trampers on the track as well.
The fog with the typical spooky NZ trees make it a spooky sight.
Back to the civilized world; we woke up to a nice blue sky with the sound of waves and seagulls. Just horrible.
While we were enjoying our scrambled eggs and coffees, a group of about 40 dolphins kept swimming up and down the bay. Unfortunately they did stay away from the beach.
More spooky trees,
scary bridges and
steep descents for the other halves.
When they finally reached the carpark he just dropped in the cold river water to cool down.
We met again in Martinborough and had a great dinner at our favourite restaurant there, on Tirohana Estate vineyard. Tony was again the great hosts we know him for and the food was superb. Of course we shared our adventures and concluded that the effort of both teams had been outstanding!
To top of Pim and Claires Kiwi experience Nienke thought to show them the Mount Bruce bird reserve. Impressive trees and a few nice presentations in the museum.
They even saw a kiwi in the night enclosure. Apart from some eels and a few other birds, it was all a bit disappointing. It all looked like the grass in our garden after a three months holiday. The takahe may have been there, but as it was all so overgrown, we did not see much. Even the kaka had probably all gone to the fish and chips shop in Eketāhuna for lunch.
Time to head home and have a dip in the sea. Pizza night afterwards and then finally a quiet night.
A nice sunset as a bonus,
and reflecting on an amazing week with family. We must do that more often.
A bit of rest for ourselves as well. Time for some reading in the lazy chair.
And then Nienke spotted another visitor. A white dove fancied our house and Nienke's car. Unfortunately it was too tired to go to the toilet, so the deck and bonnet got some white decorations.
As we had left the garage door open (by accident. Happens at our age!) the dove had managed to go inside and decorated the garage floor as well. I chased it outside again, but it kept hanging around.
After a day I grabbed the dove and we discovered it was a racing dove from a club in Wellington. Posted some details on F'book and within 5 minutes a club member announced he would pick up the dove from our house. We later got the message that although it was weak when he got it, the dove perked up quickly and is probably already looking for a new chance to deposit a present on Nienke's poor old car.
We were so lucky. There was no one else there and about 300 young pups playing around.
While we were enjoying our scrambled eggs and coffees, a group of about 40 dolphins kept swimming up and down the bay. Unfortunately they did stay away from the beach.
'Poor old' indeed. First we got a call from the Toyota garage asking if Nienke would think of trading her car in for a new one (obviously the deal was for the garage, not for us). But before Nienke could decide, a dreaming local rear-ended Nienke. The car had just been repaired again, when a lady made some nice scratches on it while trying to park. Just after that was repaired, we noticed rust spots on the bonnet and even the window. Somewhere someone must have lost iron particles which ended up on the car. Nienke just got the car back from the garage again on Friday. She is now their best customer! What's next.......
And we were back in the Wairarapa again. Very close to Ngawi, where I camped with Claire. The people that bought our house had invited us to do the Kawakawa walk with them. Well, why not. Nice weather, good company, no reason to decline. The evening before we stood on the beach and saw the snowy tops of the Kaikoura ranges on the South island, about 100 km from there.
The team just before the start, and ... just before Cathy's shoes disintegrated.
Crossing the famous and busy Ngawi Hitaround Golf Links.
Posing just after the first climb, the track going over the local golf club into the mountains. Ngawi has a fish and chips shop (only in the weekend open), a 9 hole golf club and several tractors to launch the boats. All the essentials for a quiet rural life!
A pretty steep climb to the top, a peak called 'the Ant', hosting a trig (measuring point) at 616 m.
Time to get the phones out on the top as this is the only point during the walk where you briefly had reception. Just kidding! No teenagers with us. Two of the team members were even in their 80's. I take my hat of for them!
Blessing the view.
Arrived at the hut, Jakeb's cabin. Doesn't look very big, but this is just the dining/entertainment room. There was a separate kitchen, 3 different accommodation huts and a toilet/shower block with flushing toilets and hot showers. On top of that, all the luggage we did not carry ourselves (wine, beer, extra clothes, boombox) was delivered to the huts and our food was ready to be shoved in the oven. Tramping anno 2025!
You've probably heard the saying 'four seasons in one day', describing the weather condition in Aotearoa quite precisely. Well, we got the wet season in a timespan of about 3 hours. It bucketed down. As most of us did a short afternoon nap, it almost went by unnoticeably. I managed to dig down a few chapters further in my ebook.
Back to the summer season again and the team is ready for day 2.
Just a small part up again, leaving the nice huts behind us. From there it is mostly all the way down.
We had a lunchbreak on a nice grassy patch. We were just wondering about the only small number of birds around there when suddenly
a New Zealand falcon landed right above our heads. Amazing bird, only about 10.000 are still alive here in New Zealand. One of only two endemic birds of prey. Whether he expected food from us or just liked our company, he just sat there.
It followed us around for a while (yes, he is hidden here in this picture).
Another creature, living here in copious amounts and making a hell of a noise, is the cicada. Almost deafening sound when you walk between the trees.
Last hill down to the hut.
Made it. Again a nice location, on the river side and with all the amenities you'd want.
James is a master chef with the steaks. And while we were enjoying our dinner a big fat kereru crash-landed in the bushes behind us and started eating all the berries. They do that and then become drunk.
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