Suburbia

January again and time to 'House Sit' for 2 weeks while everyone else is on holiday. Not that I'm jealous, as the  roads are pretty busy at this time of the year and most of the freedom camping spots are pretty full. Plus it won't be long now until the last long weekend of the summer is over and all the spots will be available once more. Roll on February the 9th.

I have noticed though, that the longer we are on the road, the harder it is to go back to suburbia and 'House Sit' (AKA 'Garden Sit' or in this instance 'Drive Sit' as we were parked on the drive and slept in the landy). It only takes us a couple of days now until we start to get itchy feet again and are ready to move on -lawn mowers, traffic, loud voices, banging doors - It does make me wonder if we'll be 'Drive Sitting' again? Well not for so long any hows!

At least we had some Electrics to do to keep us busy but at the end of the day suburbia is suburbia and it doesn't matter how close to the beach you are or how pretty the suburb is they all seem the same to me.

Omokoroa Peninsula Walk

If you combine all the small walking tracks around Omokoroa Peninsula into one it gives you a good 2 to 3 hour walk. I recommend you start from the top of the golf course down Kayelene Place, as it is much easier to find the walkway from there, which curves its way along the eroding edge of the golf course. At first having unsuccessfully tried to find the track across the golf course from the opposite direction I had thought the strategically placed - No Entry- signs were protectionism by the golf club, but having seen the erosion followed by a quick read regarding walkways and the Queens Chain in NZ, I now believe the golf club are probably well within their rights to project their land and hope that they continue to enable the walkway to remain open for locals and tourists alike. Either way if you are in the area I recommend you do the walk sooner rather than later so you don't miss out.

Te Puna Quarry Park

The sign says just 45mins for the circular walk, but by the time you've taken a few detours to look at the different gardens and sculptures, probably best you give yourself a good couple of hours. Not to mention time for the big kids to play. Plus maybe an extra half an hour or so if you want to wonder down/up to the waterfall.

Little Waipa

Little Waipa to Arapuni Dam and back. 14 km - 3hr walk via the cool suspension bridge. Part of the Waikato Bike Trails. Not sure exactly how far but it would be much shorter to walk from Jones Landing and oh yes a lot easier on the legs to bike.

Cruising

Cruising around the Bay of Plenty and back to the Waikato for the end of the year.

McLaren Falls Park

McLarens Falls Park, Lower Kaimais now $10 per person per night or $3 each at the nearby Tauriko NZMCA Park. Definitely worth a visit as you head over the Kaimais. A variety of short walks nestled around the tranquil lake and a bit of trout fishing in the canal.

November 2015

An interesting month from trout fishing to house sitting and our first helpx-ing.