There's No Place Like Home ... Unless It's The Bus.

We had mixed emotions as we left Nelson to start life on the road for the second time. But hey, we're going back for seconds so that must say a lot about this lifestyle.

Why mixed emotions? I guess, there's a couple of reasons. Even though we intend to return to Nelson often for visits, we'll miss being near family. And, for the next few months Bernie and I will be apart for several days each week because I have part-time work back in Nelson and want to be around for Becs and our new granddaughter, Mikah. So I'll pop backwards and forwards and Bern with come back during his days off. We're going to play it be ear for the first few months.

It was raining when we arrived in Blenheim. It didn't bother the dogs having to stay indoors, they kept themselves entertained perched on the couch staring out the window.

And in keeping with our tradition I picked some wildflowers to have in the bus. 

The diesel heater kicked into gear that night and we were toasty warm. The next morning the sun was shining and it felt like a summer's day. Bernie left early for work, and I took the dogs to the Wairau Diversion Reserve. I won't go into detail about the reserve as I have written a separate post on it, which you can read by clicking here.

The next morning I woke to a pinky glow, so I threw on my trackpants, jumped into my gumboots and set off to get some sunrise photos.

With little to no breeze the Wairau River was like a mirror.

Walking back to the bus, I made a slight detour to skirt around some sheep having an early breakfast.

In the photo below, you'll see some smoke drifting up behind the tractor (to the left of our bus). From the direction of the smoke, a voice called out to me, asking what I was doing up at this hour. Haha, I could have asked the same thing. It was Winston the owner of the place where we're staying. He was cooking his breakfast, while whitebaiting. What a great life!

Once I got back into the bus, I couldn't resist snuggling back into bed. After all, it was Sunday, the sun was barely up and ohhhh that bed looked so warm and cosy!

A Rainy Start

The forecast predicted 'rain'. And it was bang on.

Luckily, we'd packed most of the bus the day before. Bernie had a few last minute jobs to do (in the rain) and then we were good to go.

The weather wasn't about to dampen our spirits, even the dogs were fizzing. The photo below is Boo waiting patiently for us to get going.

Bernie drove the bus to Blenheim and I followed behind in the car (with our fur-babies).

Crossing the Pelorus Bridge. Not a clear photo as I took it on my phone with the rain pelting against the windscreen.

We parked beside the Wairau River at 'Damfam Vineyards'. Although it was raining and had been all day, the ground was hard enough to drive over. Winston (the owner of Damfam), said no-one had ever got stuck before. 

View from the bed.

Bernie was hoping to walk around to find a quiet place to park the bus, somewhere he will be able to sleep during the day when he's on nightshift. However, the rain was relentless so he decided to save his search for a sunny day. But, as you can see, there're loads of places available. 

I just know Bernie's going to love staying beside this river - it's popular for whitebaiting.

After we locked the bus, we drove my car back to Nelson. Tomorrow, Bernie will take his ute over, so he has a vehicle to go to work in. I'll follow him and spend a few days hanging out, but have to be back in Nelson after the weekend as I have work the following week. 

Can you guess the first thing that Bernie put in the ute when we got home???? If you guessed white-baiting net etc- you're absolutely right!  Hopefully patties will be on the menu for the next few weeks!

Take 2

Tomorrow, Bernie starts a new job, driving milk tankers for Fonterra. He's wanted a job like this for ages and when the opportunity came up, he didn't hesitate. But it does mean he will be based in Blenheim for six months. He will come home on his days off and whenever I can, I'll pop over. I'll stay in Nelson until the end of the year as Becs (my daughter) has a 7 week old baby (my first grandchild-yay!) and I want to be around to help out. Fortunately my job is flexible, I'm relief teaching, so I'm able to pick up work on days that fit with Bernie's roster. 

Last weekend we went to Blenheim to look for a place where Bernie could park the bus long term. The quickest way to Blenheim from Nelson is over the Whangamoa Saddle, but we decided to take the Wairau Valley route. We were hoping to see some snow so the dogs could have a play.

Although there wasn't as much snow as we'd hoped for, the drive was certainly worth it.

Once we arrived in Blenheim we set off to check out some possible places to park the bus.It wasn't long before we found the ideal place, and it ticked more than a few boxes;
* The owners were happy for us to have the bus parked for the 6 month duration
* It's dog friendly - handy for when I visit with the fur-babies
* The camping area borders the Wairau River and is a popular white-baiting spot (which is a big plus for an ex-West Coaster!)
* It's in a rural setting (ideal for a country-lad)
* And an added bonus is being only 5 minutes from work

Here's Bernie (below) looking at the Wairua River. It should provide plenty of entertainment as rowers often train on it and as mentioned above, it's popular with whitebaiters.

Although, I'm going to really miss Bernie, we're both pleased about his new job - it's the beginning of our second go at life on the road. 
If you're reading this and you're not sure why we moved back home after living on the road a couple of years ago, you can click here to find out more.

Blenheim or Takaka

The weather was the deciding factor between Takaka or Blenheim. Golden Bay was forecast for rain and Marlborough was forecast for sunshine. So Blenheim it was!

The truck flew over the Wangamoas without any problem.





The truck and rig going across the Pelorus Bridge.











And we parked at Retas again in Dillions Point Road. Unhitching and setting up was much easier. Phew, each time we do it, it seems better. The new dog enclosure is great. It’s easy to assemble and big enough to put up into any shape.

Looking across the paddock at Retas place where we are parked.

We met a guy called Don Kendall who is in the Motorhome Friends facebook group, he is staying here as well. He recommended another place at Springcreek that looked nice to stay. So we took a drive out there to check it out.

What a lovely place. We met the guy, Winston, who owns it. Winston and his wife, Robyn were from Te Anau and 18 months ago bought some land at Springcreek. They live on the land in their bus. Since they have been there they've planted 20 acres in grapes, which Peter Yealand harvests. The whole 20 acres can be picked in 3 hours! When it’s time for pruning Winston, employs a contractor who comes along with 30 guys and in a day the whole lot is pruned.

It's named ‘Danfam Vineyard’ and beside the vines, is a large paddock, where self contained campers are able to stay. The Wairau River runs alongside the paddock, which is popular for whitebaiters and is also used for rowers. There’s a whitebait stand available along with a net for guests to use. 

Here's a novel use for an old fridge. It's been recycled and is now used as a book exchange.








Next, we headed out to Seddon so we could go to Yealand’s Winery. We’d done the self directed tour at the beginning of the year but I was so impressed with it I wanted to go back and see it again. I’m always surprised at the amount of grapes being grown. Rows and rows and rows! 
The ponds around the vineyard had lots of birdlife.

Great view from the end of vineyard. If you look carefully you can see the North Island.

Looking out at Cape Campbell Lighthouse. It was windy and the weather was closing in so we didn’t sick around too long.

The weather cleared so we took the dogs for an evening walk.

Oakly had to be carried back because his foot is still tender after he slipped off the deck back at home last weekend. He caught his dew claw and ripped it. So he’s not feeling 100%.