Flies, ants and rainy weather

 Eddie was pleased to have only a 3 day week last week. The weather forecast for this week isn’t too good, so he will have a short week again. Some jobs are weather dependent, so there is no work on those days. He got home on Monday at 1 pm. He went to Tauranga and came back with a digger. That was his day, done. He had put down his window and it began to rain. Unfortunately, the window wouldn't go up and the rain was pouring in. He had to stop and put his raincoat on. On his trip home the wind had changed and so, the rain kept coming in the window. He was very wet when he got home. So far he hasn't worked this week because of the weather. We are well over the rain, that's for sure.

I went for a walk on Monday, trying to get between the showers, but it rained on me when I was out. I learnt that my raincoat is no longer waterproof. Bother! When I think about it, it’s probably 15 years old, so it has done rather well. I bought it when I first went tramping, so I don’t think it owes me anything. A new one is on the list.

We found an ant invasion over the weekend. They came in the back wall somehow and were making their way around the van towards the front, just where the wall meets the ceiling. We got to them just before they got to the pantry, so that was good timing. We are still finding the odd one, but not a stream of them as before.

We have been wondering how the flies were getting in too. Eddie was outside saw two enter the vent for the fridge and disappear. Today we went to Bunnings and got some fly screen and glued it to the fridge vent. Hopefully we have solved that problem.

We had to buy a new umbrella this week too as the old one won't stay up unless you hold it in place. It's another thing that doesn't owe us any money as we have had it for ages.

I had a quick walk yesterday as it was sunny and seemed to good to waste. The high tide has been across the road a bit over the last few days.

This is the pathway I walk along. The rubbish has all been left by the high tide when it is stormy.

A Quiet Easter.

 We have had a fairly quiet Easter until Monday when Mike Mexted arrived in the morning not long after we had got out of bed, just before 8. He was out on his bike for a ride. (Bicycle not motorcycle). He had a coffee with us and invited us to his place for lunch. We had a nice time with them, his sister and brother in law and another friend. 

The camping ground hasn’t been as busy as it might have been because of the wet weather. 

The weather wasn’t too bad here. We have had stronger winds in the Wairarapa on an ordinary day. We did have a lot of rain though. The ants have decided our caravan is nicer than a nest in the sand. We found them marching around the edge of the ceiling where it meets the wall. They came in the back somewhere and went all around the van. We caught them just before they got to the pantry. Lucky. One of the campers told Eddie that they had ants all through their tent. They weren’t very happy. 

Eddie started work yesterday. He had to find his overalls, his travel mug and his boots. Luckily they weren't too hard to find. At least in a caravan there aren't many places to look ha ha. On Saturday, we went to the yard and met his new boss for the first time. Eddie had just had an interview on the phone. Josh said you sound like the most sensible of all the people who have rung me, you have the job. 

He enjoyed his day yesterday and said the men were all very nice. He was very tired though.

One of the campers have got a huge white screen beside their tent. We could see that they were watching something on it last night. The joys of modern camping.

The photo above was taken at Kaitoke. It is three totara trees and are a memorial for Norman Kirk.

A Blow out

 After we left Kaitoke, we went and stayed at Masterton for a week at the caravan association park. It is a new park for the NZMCA and has a dump station, water and rubbish. They older ones don't have a dump staion, so it's quite convenient when one does.

Masterton is starting to look pretty with the trees along the river bank changing colour. There are walking paths both sides of the river, so it was nice to go for a walk along them. One day we met a jack russel with little bright orange boots on. His paws get sore in the gravel and the little boots protect his feet. The owner said it took him a while to get used to them, but he is ok now and so are his paws. He looked very cute in them. I never thought to take a photo for you.

 While in Masterton we bought a new tow vehicle. We bought a ford ranger. It is 14 years younger than the toyota. The toyota was very slow towing up hills and we were a bit worried what was going to happen with it. The ranger is a 6 speed manual gear box, so it is good for towing. 

We were on our way to Taupo last Wednesday. As we were pulling up the hill from the Esk Valley, Eddie said the man behind us is flashing his lights at us, I think we need to stop. Well finding somewhere to stop on that narrow winding road was a bit of a mission, but we found somewhere just about adequate. Eddie got out to have a look. He came back to the passenger side and I said do we have a puncture? He said, no we only have a rim. Somewhere a long the way we had a blow out that we hadn't felt. So we were going a long with 3 tyres and 1 rim. Luckily another one didn't go and it wasn't on the road side of the van. 

It had broken through the inside guard and into the cupboard above it. All our wiring 230 volt and 12 volt were ripped apart. it was quite a mess. Eddie changed the tyre and we went on to Taupo. A friend has an engineering workshop and he put us onto the auto electrian around the corner from him. 

They were so good. A shout out to Glen and his team at Buckton Auto Electrical. We got there at 4 30 and they couldn't have done enough for us. They put a battery onto the fridge which was full with a weeks shopping in it. (luckily it's 12 volt) and we were able to park it in their shed. We spent the night in a motel. They worked on it all day Thursday and got it done by 4 30. 

We spent the night at a park over property near Reporoa and came to Thornton on Friday. It was a bit of an adventure we didn't need. Yay for insurance!!

Eddie is going to work for local contractor for the winter. We really have to fill the hole in the bank now we have a new car too!! It came up just at the right time. Eddie called him and he said he had had lots of idiots calling and would you like the job. Eddie is starting after Easter. It is in Edgecumbe, so not too far from Thornton. 

We have settled back into Thornton as if we have never been away. 

The remains of the hub

Wiring pulled apart

The inside guard with a big hole in it

Our new car parked stopped at Dannevirke for morning tea

A visit to the weir at Kaitoke

 We went to look at the weir during the week. It was built in the 1950’s and took a bit of time as the river is prone to flash flooding and they didn’t have room to put in a tunnel to divert the water. The weir raises the water by 4 metres, which allows the water to be gravity fed into grates in the riverbed and into a chamber inside the weir. Then it goes to the strainer house where the worst of the debris is sieved out. From there it goes to be treated ready to go to the taps in Wellington.

Originally it was all gravity fed as Kaitoke is 200 metres above sea level while Kairoi is only 50 metres. Nowadays there are pumps to help the water move a bit quicker.

A minimum of 600 litres per second is allowed down the river to protect the health of the river and its inhabitants. On average, 150 million litres of water is treated. That's enough for 4 full baths per person.

The area is a rainforest with rata and rimu trees. They get 2.3 metres of rain a year; compared to 1.2 metres in Wellington. No wonder it is a great water resource for a big city.

Below are the photos I took on our walk.

This is the convergence of the Pakuratahi river and the Hutt River

We are camping by the Pakuratahi River. It's the one at the top of the photo.

There were lots of trees with hollows and interesting shapes in the forest.

Flume bridge notice. (I hope you can read it)

lichen on a rock

the pipe under the bridge is taking the water to the strainer house.

The weir.

Strainer house with large roller type sieves that take out any bits from the river before going to Te Marua for further processing.

We will be moving on from here later in the week. It is a beautiful place and very serene. Maybe one day we will be able to come back for another week or two. Next stop Masterton on our way to the east coast.