100 days #3: 33 Candles
100 days #2: Oh blessed sleep
100 days, 100 drawings
I’ve set myself a personal challenge to draw every day for 100 days. There are no other rules – I can make my drawings as simple or as complex as I like. Join me if you’d like!
Adventures in Paparoa
Something about the area around Punakaiki makes your blood fizz. Paparoa National Park is wild and lush and feels like an adventure waiting to happen. In fact, our time in Punakaiki even started with an adventure. A couple of weeks prior to our arrival, we’d detected a small gas leak in our bus, which meant … Continue reading Adventures in Paparoa
I have never lived here
I have never lived here, but getting to Punakaiki always feels a bit like coming home. We’re in and around Punakaiki for almost four weeks now and upon reflection there’ve been new insights. Today I thought about all those people passing through this most amazing of all places, staying for a night, glimpsing its beauty, … Continue reading I have never lived here
I made a knife today!
I made a knife today, and I liked it! From a strip of steel to an actual, friggin’ knife! A little course in Barrytown, with forging, cutting, grinding and polishing. Awesome. Half of the Westcoast must have one by now, and if not, do check out these nice guys from Barrytown Knifemaking.
Hokitika beach life
Life is ticking on pretty nicely at the moment. Work has picked up a bit more (downside = less blogging), and we have a steady wee routine going, something I’ve been aching for for ages. I’m really enjoying doing a bit more hand-drawn work – a couple of logos and some illustrations for a magazine … Continue reading Hokitika beach life
Okarito
A couple of weeks ago we were in Okarito. A little nugget at the West Coast, it has been a thriving gold mining town in the 1860s. Population quickly rose to 1200 or so, but only 18 months later it was all over. I tried to imagine the industrious busyness walking down the main (only) street but couldn’t … Continue reading Okarito
West Coast, here we are!
Aaaaah, the West Coast. It seems we did have to go the long way around, to finally arrive where we knew we’d love to be. And facing winter in Southland may have made it all the nicer to arrive. It felt like layers and layers of cold and darkness were peeled off us in an … Continue reading West Coast, here we are!
Four nights in the wild
We’ve had the most blissful few days. Four days ago (really only four?), we drove north out of Wanaka, heading towards the Haast Pass to cross over to the West Coast. At the top of Lake Wanaka, we pulled into a Department of Conservation campsite to spend the night. Having stayed in well-groomed Holiday Parks … Continue reading Four nights in the wild
Wanaka
After our Queenstown “on holiday” week (no work… well, not much work, baths every single day, going to the loo inside. LUXURY!), we upped sticks and drove to Wanaka. For whatever reason, this little town seems to sit in the eye of whatever nasty weather pattern is currently hitting the region, so we’ve enjoyed beautiful, … Continue reading Wanaka
A week in Queenstown
After three months, through winter, Liberty has withstood the test of time and we have moved past the novel feeling of life on the road. Romantic notions of frosty days, woodfiry nights, homebaked bread and an overall gypsy vibe have become reality for us. This is now our life. Despite this, or maybe because of … Continue reading A week in Queenstown
Weekly Gratitude #6
This week I’m grateful for: I’m also grateful for the jobs we’ve got chugging along at the moment. I hadn’t tried it before, but working from home is pretty great. It is entirely possible to combine family and work, and actually get things done! My last thank you this week is to Shannon, whose words … Continue reading Weekly Gratitude #6
Becoming Arrowtown locals
Ironically, I’ve often found travelling quite hard work. I find myself disappointed as a tourist because I am an outsider – I don’t have a local pub (no matter what Lonely Planet recommends), I can’t meet a good friend for a chat at my favorite cafe and I don’t know where to find people doing … Continue reading Becoming Arrowtown locals
From Arrowtown with love: Weekly gratitude #5
Not having written a gratitude post a week hasn’t been due to the lack of people to be grateful for. We’re parked up in Arrowtown at the moment, a pretty place to be in winter. Because of low temperatures and short days, a lot of our activities revolve around food preparation and eating, so it was especially humbling to … Continue reading From Arrowtown with love: Weekly gratitude #5
Playing with less
While I was pondering what to write today, a post came up in my Facebook feed (seldom a helpful tool in getting things done) entitled “Why Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Child”. I clicked on the link, skimmed through it in under 5 seconds, and clicked away again. I already know why. I didn’t need … Continue reading Playing with less
Weekly Gratitude #4
The last month has been unbelievably wonderful at times. It has honestly also been awful at times. When the boys have been screaming all day, and we’re worrying about getting enough design jobs in to keep us going, and it’s cold and wet, we ask ourselves, “Why are we doing this?”. Looking back over the … Continue reading Weekly Gratitude #4
Being grateful in the age of housebussing
Yesterday we celebrated midwinter Christmas. A collection of all kinds of comfort food and punch filled our table, accompanied by Bing Crosby Christmas songs. Hannah brought up the idea of everyone sharing why they’re grateful for the other people in our family, and also for themselves. Elliott declined to comment. The hardest part of course is to … Continue reading Being grateful in the age of housebussing
Something I didn’t expect
There were all sorts of things I was looking forward to about living and travelling in a bus. Meeting new people in unexpected situations – inviting strangers in for a coffee, going to Playcentre in a town I don’t know, or being offered food just because we are there to receive it. I dreamed of … Continue reading Something I didn’t expect
Winter in the deep south
I’m writing this on an icy, blustery day in Invercargill – the southernmost city in New Zealand. The bus is being buffeted and I hear an occasional hiss as a stray raindrop makes its way down the chimney. The fire has been blazing all morning, so the bus is toasty, but I have to keep … Continue reading Winter in the deep south