Hi Honey! I’m home!
Here we are – back in the land of blogging again, who’d have thought it.
But here we are in January 2021 (we’ll just gloss over 2020 for now – eek!) and the blog is back up and running because… we have bought a new campervan 🙂
This beautiful thing came into our lives last October….
We (the royal we that is The Hubbie and myself) decided it was about time to get back into the campervan lifestyle again – especially seeing as we currently CAN travel around New Zealand and currently CANNOT travel to…. anywhere else!
The bus we used to own was obviously a reasonably large vehicle so I wanted something a little more compact (this van actually isn’t *that* much shorter – but definitely feels smaller), I was keen to find something with a rear lounge and back doors/windows, and something newer with more up to date facilities (such as solar panels, and air con in the cab), plus a few other preferences and upgrades from the bus.
We found a preloved 2/3 berth (more on that later) VW Crafter – all officially self-contained (a big requirement here in New Zealand so you can freedom camp or park at low cost in many amazing locations) with a very handy two-bike rack on the back door, a large solar panel, two house batteries, and just enough of everything else we were looking for to make us say, “We’ll take it”.
The Hubbie and I both currently have fairly busy work lives so during the first three months of ownership we only managed a grand total of ONE night away together! I did get to use it on another occasion with the teenage daughter – which was a great opportunity to see if I could drive and manage it by myself… and I can! So if our promise to get away together at least once a month doesn’t happen – I can just disappear for some campervan ‘me’ time if I need to!
However our intentions are good and solid – we bought the van to use it and both intend to make that happen as regularly as possible. In fact, we’ve only just returned from a nice 10-day break over the New Year which I’ll be blogging about soon.
So that’s it… we’re back in the world of campervanning again and how could I not turn back to my trusty Kiwi Blog Bus blog to share some of our tales, photos and adventures from time on the road. New Zealand has a seemingly endless supply of amazing destinations to visit and our intention is to discover them! The blog will bring you more details on campervan life too, and I’m sure include some pics and tales of these two pests….
See you again very soon – and do write and let me know if you have any questions, comments or ideas about what you’d like to see on the Kiwi Blog Bus part II.
Finally….. the beautiful Bay of Islands
Since we came to live in New Zealand, and probably even before, I heard so much about the Bay of Islands that it obviously had to go onto our Must-See list (and my personal bucket list).
So on our first trip ever up to Northland and the Far North (is that the opposite of the Deep South?!) I was eagerly anticipating our arrival in the Bay of Islands.
It did not disappoint.
Three in a boat in Patua
Strictly speaking I cannot say three men in a boat – to be accurate it would have to be three humans in a kayak.
Or perhaps, at times, one human and two dogs – but you get the idea.
We were eager to try out Read More…
Well, that was Christmas – Hello summer holidays!
Just a brief post as we’re almost ready to set off on our New Year trip.
The Kiwi Blog Bus is stocked up and groaning under the weight of all the Christmas leftovers.
The togs, towels & jandals are loaded. The body boards are strapped to the roof.
We’ve purchased a Read More…
Where does the time go?!
Hello Kiwi Blog Bus friends! Sorry to have left you half way through my weekend in the last post .
Time ticks on and I have been super busy at work  with a BIG event on at Mystery Creek just recently (Equidays in case you’re interested!)
I last left you in the Western Bay of Plenty over Labour weekend (many moons ago!) and will now pick up where I left off. Read More…
A long holiday weekend of many parts
We have a public holiday in New Zealand today; Labour day.
To be quite honest, I’m not sure what the history of it is but all I care is that it gets me a day off work and we got a long weekend to go away in the Kiwi Blog Bus!
For the first day we travelled to one of our favourite handy FREE spots: Ferguson Park, Otumoetai near Tauranga.
I relax the minute we drive into the park. Read More…
Relaxed and refreshed at Firth Tower, Matamata
Dare I tell you about Simpsons Beach?
From the Kiwi Annisons Archives:
There is a beautiful sandy beach in a stunning Coromandel bay surrounded by rolling green hills, where you can camp just a stones throw from the water’s edge (and I do mean that literally) and the payment for this paradise…
Just $5 a night.
This and that, dogs and a sunrise
I just found some photos on my phone that I don’t think have ever made it onto the blog….
Karangahake: Camping in an old gold-mining gorge
After our walk through the 1km old railway tunnel and back along the riverside (read Going for gold in the gorge) we travelled in the Kiwi Blog Bus through the gorge and over to our campsite for the evening.
We stayed at the Department of Conservation campsite at Dickeys Flat. Read More…