26 January - 11 February 2011


(Please note - I will be adding many more posts about our holiday over the next week or so.)

Camp life consisted of meals being cooked outside unless it was wet, we then cooked in the awning. Twice on wet days we made fry-pan scones, they were very tasty date and dried apricot scones. 

Our old and much battered thermette was well used; it is able to boil water very quickly - more than enough water to make our cups of tea. Much better than having to use the gas stove all the time.

I enjoyed sitting in the bush to read, write in my journal, 

to knit and doodle ...and yes, to just sit and look and listen and take it all in.

On wet days I had plenty of time to do the same in the caravan.

Both of us love books and the Westport library gets well used, when we first arrive we stock up on books and usually by the time we leave most of them will have been read.

Jeff sprayed the drive for weeds, something that needs to be kept up. Sadly weeds were introduced when the the roads were made. Jeff also replaced the posts on each side of our drive entrance that hold a chain across. 

A shed and a watertank
Jeff's project for this holiday was to build a storage shed and install a water tank to catch the rainwater from the shed roof; both are small, the tank holds just 1000 litres but we also have the spring water.

There are two reasons why both are small: firstly the ground is uneven (read rough) so a site had to be leveled, secondly to have the water tank gravity feed they had to be placed on the ridge above our caravan - carried up - we wouldn't have been able to manage anything bigger/heavier.

I said Jeff's project but it became mine also as I was needed as his assistant, helping when I could.

Finally after several days (several days because construction was rain interrupted) the shed was complete and the water tank installed

ready to gravity feed down to our caravan next holiday.

There were a few distractions along the way. When the ground was being cleared and leveled weka decided that it was a great place to explore

...and to carry out their mating ritual.