Second Stormy Sunday

We drove to Motueka this afternoon and came across the ship wreck of Janie Seddon. It was low tide and threatening to rain so I only had time to take a few quick photos. 
But, I'll definitely be back at full tide to get some shots with reflections and again at sunset to capture some colours.

It was an intriguing wreck, and when I got home I googled some information about it.
Here's what I discovered.

'Janie Seddon' was built in 1901 in Scotland for the New Zealand government, to be used as a submarine mining vessel (laying of mines in harbours). The ship spent its first years in Wellington as an examination vessel in both World Wars. 
In 1946 Janie Seddon was sold to Talley's Fisheries and adapted to trawl fishing. Vessels of that size were not permitted to fish within three miles of the N.Z. Coast - so she was unable to fish in Tasman Bay (which was rich in snapper). Her small coal capacity only allowed her to spend five days at sea and she would often come into Port with only half of the ship's holds full of fish. Thus proving to be uneconomical, she was sold to a Christchurch company for scrap. However the ship's steel was so hard there were problems trying to cut it up. So eventually she was towed by a bulldozer onto the foreshore and beached in 1955.

Stormy Sunday

After severe weather warnings for the area - actually for the whole country - Nelson didn't get hit too badly. There was a bit of wind, rain and the gorgeous moody dark skies.

Cable Bay

Taken along Atawhai Drive.

A favourite little row boat in the estuary along Atahwai Drive.

Meeting People

This new lifestyle holds many attractions for us; getting to meet people, exploring new places, and the chance to leave our weekly 8 to 5 routines behind. 
This weekend we met some lovely people that already live full time on the road. 
On Friday we met Vicky White. I had read an article in a magazine about a lady named 'Vicky' who sold her belongings in Canada to live in New Zealand. She found an ideal bus, which is now her home and has since travelled around exploring N.Z. 
There is a Facebook group called 'Motorhome Friends New Zealand" that we are members of and so is Vicky. Through this forum we've seen photos that Vicky has posted and read her comments, etc. We were impressed that she was doing this lifestyle on her own.
Our friends Amanda & Paul Walters did some motorhome maintenance for Vicky when she arrived in Nelson. Amanda contacted me knowing that I was keen to meet her. So Bernie and I went and had a coffee with Vicky, Amanda and Paul. 
I wanted to get a photo of Vicky but I felt a bit shy to ask.

But here is the article that was written about her recently.

Another couple, Bill and Mimi Lloyd, have been on the road for 18 months. Their home on wheels is huge. It's a 'Big Horn' which is made from Heartland, so many features are similar to ours. Their motorhome is 40 feet and has three slide outs.
They came around to our rig to check out the new shed and the pantry. Unfortunately as they were leaving their truck got stuck. It was new to me that a truck could become stuck on flat grass. But it had been raining on and off for a few days and the ground was soft. Their truck is heavy in the front and they couldn't get any traction. Bill had a tow rope so Bernie towed them out.

Ooops stuck!

On Friday night we went along to the 'Oyster Bar' in Hardy Street for dinner. We were with Amanda & Paul, Graeme & Rachel and Bill & Mimi. 

From left are: Us, Mimi, Amanda, Bill, Paul, Rachel and Graeme.

The Shed

The shed has now been made. Yay. It's finished. And we are thrilled with it. We have lots of storage and a 'Mobile-Man Shed' for Bernie. Plus we have a tray behind the shed to put extra tanks for grey water and fresh water.

Now we need to add transfers to the truck and shed to blend in with the transfers on the rig.

Tray behind the shed for water tanks (grey & fresh water).

Pull out compartment for the generator.

Pantry Update

Friday was a busy day. The pantry was fitted and we picked up the truck, with the new shed from 'Beaver's Engineering'.
I met the kitchen joiner at the rig early on Friday morning. He explained that Ricky (his boss) wasn't happy with the result of the stain/colour. Once it was installed we decided that the front of the panels would need to be removed for a closer match. You have to have an eye to spot the difference in shades (Bernie and I didn't notice), but Ricky did. And, as it is his business and being the professional that he is - he wants to rematch the colour/stain.
So when that is done and the handles have been put in, it'll look as though there had never been a double fridge/freezer.
Here are some photos of the progress so far.

Minus handles 

Pull out pantry

One News

Another of my photos was chosen for the weather on One News. Yippee.

Kina Beach

Bernie and I took the dogs for a walk along Kina Beach this afternoon. The wind was fresh. As we walked in one direction - facing Nelson, it was sunny with blue skies. But behind us the clouds were growing darker by the minute. 

Richmond Hills

I took the dogs for an evening walk up the Richmond hills and watched the sun go down. There were lots of walking tracks to choose from and although it was uphill the view was worth it.

One of the walks leads to Richmond's old reservoir. Looking at the pond it's hard to believe that in 1885 it was built to provide water for a population of 500. It was estimated that each person would use 45 litres per day. Today, water use estimates are based on 200 litres of water per day per person.

The old reservoir. In 1906 an 18 year old boy drowned in the reservoir. It had to be drained to recover the body.

Rusted remains of the old cast iron pipes that were imported from Scotland. The concrete box shape in the background is the old surge chamber.

Looking towards Stoke.

The view over Richmond. A nice spot to watch the sun go down.

Budget Book

We were at Kmart recently and I headed down my favourite isle. 'The Stationery' isle. It's always the first one I go to and I just can't seem to leave the building without purchasing a couple of journals.
I have enough journals - but they are so cheap. And each time I go there, they have different ones. Today, they had a nifty 'Budget Book' which will come very handy next year when we are having to watch our pennies.

Light Nelson 2016

Light Nelson which was held in the Queen's Gardens was definitely worth seeing. There were 62 brilliant light installations. 

St Arnaud

Although dogs aren't allowed at Lake Rotoiti, St Arnaud, I decided to go and check out the camping ground incase Bernie and I had a weekend away without the dogs.

Lake Rotoiti

The campground is easy to get into and only a couple of hundred metres from the lake. There are sites suitable for bigger rigs and a building with cooking utilities.

Brave campers in a tent with frost all around them.

Small stream running behind the camping ground.

Entrance to the camping ground.

Kitchen block.

There are lots of walks around the area. Some as short as 15 minutes and others as long as a couple of days. I took a few of the shorter walks because I had to leave the dogs in the truck.

The ice among the dirt looked like broken glass.

Many types of moss covering the ground.

It was good to hear lots of native birds about. I tried to get some photos, but I need to get better and capturing them. They are so quick!

Bellbird

West Bay

West Bay

West Bay

Finally an area where the dogs were able to get out. They were super frisky racing around in frost.

Boo enjoying a roll in the frost.

Frozen pond.

Ice Skating Pond amongst native bush.