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9 months Sabbatical
  • Louis Le Poidevin
  • Hannah Clarkson
  • Louis Le Poidevin
  • Hannah Clarkson

9 months Sabbatical

September - October 2019 Read more
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  • 9 months Sabbatical

    SUP, art and boating around Wanaka

    January 17, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    With Cathers free from work, we all got up for a 3 mile jog to collect the car from friends house.
    Then prepped lunch and SUPs and headed off for an adventure.
    We paddled to Ruby island which is in the middle of the Wakana lake. Great little place to swim and chill out. I did some painting whilst the Carhers and Hannah did some colouring in.
    The sun was baking so dipped in and out all day.
    We paddled back and met Pete back at the house.
    Then met up with some other friends Taylor and Sonia and went out on their boat for a swim and a fish. Soaked the girls with a few bomb shells.
    Ordered a few takeaway burgers and chilled out at home with some G and Ts. Great day!    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Gibbston Valley Festival

    January 18, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Got a 9am bus down to the festival. Probably a good 10,000 people there. Saw Billy Idol, Smash Mouth and a few others. 8pm arrived very quickly and we were back on the bus before we knew it.
    Hannah seemed to have smuggled some extra booze in, as she was definitely feeling the most tipsy by the end of the day. Had a jolly good shoulder snooze on the way home.Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Down river paddleboard. Epic views.

    January 19, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Chilled out till about midday doing some video editing and watching Jurassic Park.
    Cathers then finished work so we decided to head off paddle boarding.
    Went up to a gorge on the west side of Lake Wanaka. Dropped one car off at the bottom and then drove only 15 mins to the start. I thought it was going to only take about 30 mins to get down. But ended up being an amazing 3 hours.
    Areas were a bit shallow so we had to sit on the fronts of our boards to stop dinging the fins. Saw some deers along the way washing in the river.
    Cathers and Hannah both had an accidental dip. I did as well whilst trying a jump onto the board from the river edge. Refreshingly cool.
    Turned a corner and saw a wide valley with mountains at the back. Amazing views with not another person in site anywhere.
    Got down the the lower car. Then drove up to a gorge for a bit of swimming. Powerful river which we tried to swim against. No chance! Went up a bit along the side and floated down.
    Finished fairly late so picked up the cars and headed back to Wanaka.
    Had a bbq of fish and white wine. Great way to finish the day.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Driving day to get to the south coast

    January 20, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Packed up the car for the week.
    Drove to Alexandra for a coffee and bagel at a place called the courthouse.
    The pnewsrds to the south coast. A place called the Catlins.
    Quite a long drive. We stopped at Porpoise bay for a bite to eat at the cafe. Then to a nearby free campsite for the night. The area looked a lot like Devon and Cornwall.... including the grey weather.
    Quite windy overnight with quite a few noisy animals around. Had to get up in the night to peg down the guy ropes to shut the flappy tent up.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Exploring the south coast NZ

    January 21, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Started the the day with a walk around Waipohatu Waterfall. A couple of hour walk through jungle bush. Some lovely waterfalls half way through the walk.

    From there we headed to the Lost gypsy gallery. A guy to makes random automated stuff, where you wind a handle and something moves, lights up and makes a sound. Very cool place if you are a tech nerd.

    Then off to McLean walk, a shorter walk to another waterfall. Quite high falls, but not as impressive when you have just come from Milford Sound.
    Then on to Cathedral caves. A bunch of long deep caves on the beach. Lots of muscles and other purple sea life on the walls.

    Finished the day with fish and chips.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Heading east to dunedin

    January 22, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Woke up in the morning and got the tent packed away quickly! Getting quite a system for setting up and packing away.
    On our way out of Owaka we stopped to get some supplies at 4Square and checked with the local I-site any must do’s along the route. She recommended driving the South scenic road, even though it was a bit longer.
    Our first stop was Nugget Point, walking out to a light house at the end of the cliffs. Great views. Then we carried on along the coast and past some beautiful bays until we arrived in Dunedin. Heading straight to St Clair beach to have lunch. After our pit stop we set up our tent at a nearby campsite and then went to the Settlers museum. A huge museum with lots of interesting Maori history and some cool transportation and communication items through the years.
    We left the museum when it closed and then enquired about a Speights brewery tour, to learn more about what the locals drink. Interesting tour and able to pull our own tasters.
    On our way back to the campsite we spotted a dominos, with a $5 menu and thought we’d save our noodles for another day! It wasn’t quite like home but at £2.50 a pizza, can’t really complain.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    More factory tours

    January 23, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Had a plan this morning to go to Tunnel beach at low tide, but unfortunately it was a bit grey with rain coming in. Decided instead to continue the factory tours and found a local place making chocolate. Finally found some parking close to the factory and had time for a coffee next store, where they make peanut butter.
    The OCHO chocolate tour was really interesting, offering a background of the company and their direct purchase from Pacific islands, which means they pay the communities that supply to beans. We were then able to watch the process in action, and hearing about the different steps.
    We were then able to test some of their chocolate and compare it to other brands.
    The weather wasn’t improving much so we decided to head back towards Wanaka where Pete and Cathers had let us know the sun was shining. On route we stopped to get some cheese at a little supplier. It was a slightly weird place with limited information about the origins of the company and their production lines. But some tasty cheese.
    Amazing views once again throughout our journey and back to wanaka and chilling out lake side. Cathers and pete were busy early evening but we joined them for food once they were done.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Rocky Mountain

    January 24, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Cathers and Pete were busy with work today so we made some plans from the list of local must do’s they’ve been making for us.
    We decided it would be good to do a walk in preparation for our multi day hike next week. So we packed our bags as if we were heading out over night and drove to the base of Rocky Mountain. We had a lovely walk up to get views of Lake Wanaka. A 3 hour return walk so not too taxing but enough to get pretty sweaty with the bags and the heat.
    We then had time for a quick shower before joining a bigger group to head to a local rugby match, the highlanders vs the crusaders. Normally the matches are held in Dunedin so it was fun for everyone to watch their team on the doorstep. We stopped at a food truck before heading home to watch Harry Potter.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Hawea River paddle

    January 25, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After a few too many ciders at the rugby we were slow to get going this morning. But Cathers made some cheese scones and we got some coffee which helped us get organised with a plan for the day. Decided on another SUP adventure so drove out to the Hawea dam and set up the car logistics.
    We were unsure how quick the flow would be but it looked ok to give it a go.
    Quite quickly I went in after getting caught out by a rock in the rapids and for a little while I was worried about what else we might come along. But after a few successful goes through some rapids I got more confident and everyone was enjoying the river and the sunshine. As with the last paddle we underestimated the distance and finally got off the river after nearly a 9 mile paddle. Making us late for our next plans for a backyard vineyard. We quickly got some supplies and joined friends at the lake. They pick a local vineyard and get all the wines they can from the local shops and do their own tasting session, with tasty platters. Lovely way to sample what the vineyard has to offer without having to drive and a lot more wine and food for a lot less money! Another great day in New Zealand 😊    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Driving south to a 3 day walk.

    January 26, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Got ourselves sorted for a 3 day hike on Hump Ridge trail. Packed everything, got some food from the shop and headed towards the South Coast.
    Again the interesting change of scenery from hills and mountains to more looking like Devon and Cornwall.
    We checked into the walk office and got our hut pass. Then went to a nearby campsite. Chilled out in the sun having beers and updating the penguin app.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical
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    Hump Ridge 3 day walk

    January 27, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We had been looking around since about Feb 2019 to find a 3 day great walk to do. Unfortunately everything was booked up. We asked at an Isite in Te Anau if there was any alternative and the lady suggested the Hump Ridge Track on the south coast. Not quite a great walk but will soon become one.
    Pete and Cathers had done it and said it could be fun so we signed up.
    The Hump Ridge track cost just under $500 NZD for 2 people. This includes a bunk bed and porridge at 2 huts. We thought this was pretty steep, much like the first day.

    Day 1 up 1000m along beach and up through forest.

     Day 2 down back through forest to sea level.

    Day 3 is relatively flat.

    The downside to walking through forest, is that you do not really get any views at all. The forest does change as you climb / descend, but it does get a bit tedious without the view to break it up. It felt like very old forest at the top of day 1 with green old mans beard type moss hanging in the trees.
    I had Harry Potter on audiobook so I was happy tracking along.
    The best views were at the end of day 1 after about 7 hours walking. Even better views were a 30min summit walk above the lodge. We decided to do this on the morning of day 2 rather than the evening of day 1. Ended with some boil in a bag sausage and mash and some wine we had walked up.

    After the summit on day 2 we started to make our way down the ridge. Unfortunately we were decending into clouds, so from the 1 lookout point and luncheon rock we saw nothing but white.
    We descended to sea level, passing some impressive viaducts. Quite a few boggy bits of walk. Got to hut number 2 which was covered in Sandflies. So no sitting outside. We walked down the beach, but again got beaten back by hordes of sandflies.

    Day 3 we stocked up on porridge and set off. Got to a beach and saw some surfing dolphins which was cool. About 13km into the 21km walk you start retracing your steps. The last 5km started to get hard work with the feet hurting. We got some heavy rain for the last 30min, luckily mostly under trees apart from the last 5 min dash back the car.

     Overall a reasonably good walk, but for the price you pay and the views, not sure it was worth it. But we did only have 5 other people staying in our hut, so there was plenty of space. I guess the price deters the tourists. If you love forests, this is the place for you. If you are looking for epic views, probably try other places in NZ.

    Drove back to Wanaka and zonked out for the evening.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Cardrona Distillery tour

    January 30, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    With Pete at work and Cathers also working, we made our way to the Cardrona Distillery. Met a very knowledgeable lady called Linda who taught us all about making Whisky, Vodka and Gin. She took us on a tour of the distillery, showed us their stills and explained the process. It has only been running for 3 years, so still very young for whisky. The tasting was still very nice. Their sipping vodka tasted a lot like Pear Drops.
    After the tasting I thought it was probably best not drive just in case, so nipped round the corner to an old western style restaurant for dirty chips and deep fried gerkins. Met Pete and Cathers later for a chilled evening.
    Calves were pretty sore from all the walking.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Millennium track bike ride

    January 31, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Cathers joined us to play today. We started off by stacking wood to get Pete and Cathers ready for winter. It was a very windy day, so wanted to wait for it to calm down a bit before doing any other activity. Then we set off on a bike ride along the West side of the Wanaka lake along the Millennium track ride. One of her favourite rides in the area. It was a great track with a few fun bits which you could go pretty fast. We stopped for lunch and a sheltered spot. Then went along to the headland for a cheeky cider.
    Late in the afternoon we made our way back to Wanaka for a shower with the hose back at the house. Baking!
    Had an icecream then went up for happy hour overlooking the lake to wait for Pete to finish work. We joined and we had deep fried Oysters and fish and chips.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical
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    Mt Cook

    February 1, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We got up early to make the 3 hour journey to Mt Cook national park. Leaving the house at 7am we quickly stopped for some coffee and cheese scones. Cathers did a great job of driving while we were all very snoozy.
    Walked the 3.5 hr Sealy Tarns track, which was a lot of steps towards an epic view of Mt cook. The wind was strong and gusty at times making us hunker down to stay safe so close to the edge. Was great that the clouds stayed and bay and we had awesome views the whole time.
    We stopped for some lunch at the bottom and decided our legs were too tired for the other 3 hr tracks along the valley so we headed to the visitor centre. Great information about the national park and some scary stories of the many people who have died in the mountains.
    We did a quick walk to the Tasman glacier view point and then back in the car for the drive home. Sadly some heavy rain was coming in and the high winds continuing so it wasn’t the weather to stay over night.
    When back in wanaka we made some fajitas and finished our Harry Potter movie marathon.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Wine tour rainy day

    February 2, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    The weather was pretty rainy, so we planned to drive to Cromwell to go wine tasting.
    We started off with Mount Difficulty. Which had some great views, nice Pino Noirs but was not a massive fan of their whites.
    Next we went to Terra Sancta, a very expensive place. All their wines were very tasty. We decided we would all share the cost of a $60 bottle as a special treat to have on the last day of our holiday. The price advertised was apparently only for special members, so it ended up costing $83 (£42) for a bottle. Never spent so much on a bottle ever. Thanks goodness it was decided by 4.
    Then went to a place called Akarua. Pete and Cathers friend worked there, so gave us an extended tasting. Again some very nice wines. Even managed to taste of of their $120 bottles. I didn't like it as much as their $40 wine.

    Then met up with Pete and Cathers friend Jimmy to have a pie at the Black Rabbit.
    Final tasting of the day was at the Wooing tree. A wine we had had a few times since arriving in Wanaka.
    Pete as the designated drive got us home safe and sound.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Super Bowl

    February 3, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    Got up and prepped for having people over to watch the superbowl.
    American football seems to be mostly adverts.
    Pretty much didn't move from the sofa all day. Watched Armageddon at the end of the evening. What a film!Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Rainy day in Wanaka

    February 4, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Got up to some big rain. Lots of the west coast had had land slip damage overnight. No damage here, but it limited our options for the day.
    Tidied up from Super Bowl then got to booking the next phase of the holiday.
    Have now booked Hobart and the Philippines. Surprisingly took all day to sort it.
    Pete and Cathers got back and we went to Rhyme and Reason for a pint. Locally brewed in the same barn as the bar. Very cool.
    Back home to make some red curry and get settled in with a fire to watch Man on Fire.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Sawyer burn hut track walk

    February 5, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Got up and out by 9ish to go walk the Sawyer Burn Hut track. About 45min drive from Wanaka. It gives amazing views over lake Hawea and the hills surrounding it. Our way in was completely blocked by cows, so had to slowly creep through them.
    Took about 5 hours to do the full up and down, with a few sketchy bits where you needed to clamber near a shear drop. Forests, great views, wild flower meadows, all round epic.
    Got back home just before 5. We met with Pete and Cathers to headed to KiKa. A very fancy restaurant.
    This is what my sister would have classed as a 'if in doubt splash out'. Included a bottle of wine from Sam Neil's vineyard (from Jurassic Park)
    Came back home and debated the world whilst polishing off another 2 bottles of wine.
    The girls went to bed so Pete and I completed the first 3 levels of Halo 3. Old school play of 5 mins on and 5 mins off. By 1am we were ready for bed!    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    4x4 public holiday

    February 6, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Today was a public holiday in New Zealand. Pete and Cathers rounded up some friends to head off on a 4x4 journey. We had 4 cars all together.
    Each of us got stuck at one point or another, having to winch or pull each other out of the mud and bog.
    Jimmy had some panning equipment so we took a bit of time out to pan for gold. A few flecks around but no nuggets.
    Great fun!
    Got off the trail about 6.30 to head back to Wanaka. As it was our final night we got a slab of steak and had some fancy wine.
    Tomorrow we leave New Zealand 😫    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Bye New Zealand (with airline annoyance)

    February 7, 2020 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Spent the morning packing up and cleaning.
    Just before we were due to set off to meet Pete and Cathers for lunch, Hannah said best to check to see if we need to do anything for check in.
    I went onto the Jet Star website and.... strange our flight was still down as the one on the 22nd of Jan.
    We changed this flight on the 20th to leave on the 7th of Feb. Called them up, obviously no record of us changing the flight 😤So £280 quid later we were booked back on the flight we should have been on. (Losing the 60 quid extra we paid from the first flight for changeable tickets).
    Only took me 2 hours! of online chat to finally get a case number raised to complain. This has raised Jet Star to join Virgin and Flybe for my worst customer experience ever.

    Moral of this story, dont book with Jet Star! Always check you get an email confirming what you have done and take a screenshot of confirmation pages.

    Anyway...... rant done. Had a nice lunch of frozen margaritas and tacos. Then set off with team hall to get to the airport in Queenstown. Checked in early, so we could go have some food and a last beer.
    Got on the plane and we were off to Melbourne. Landed safe, and got a bus and Uber to our hotel.

    Bye bye New Zealand, you were great fun. I'm sure we will be back at some point.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Exploring Melbourne

    February 8, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Was up and out early. Grabbed a pain au chocolate from the 7/11 and got the train to central Melbourne. The initial plan was to do a walking tour then visit what ever the tour guide recommended. The tour was free and the guide was excellent. Taught us lots about the history of Melbourne which is less than 200 odd years old.
    We finished the tour on the south bank of the river. This was close to the Eureka 88th floor sky tower. This has become a thing we do, therefore had to go up.
    Great views over the city and to the sea. A slight haze around, maybe from the bush fires?
    After that we took our friend Fiona's advice and visited the South Melbourne market. A old school style market, with lots of local produce.
    From there we walked to the War Memorial with unobstructed views up main roads both north and south.
    The plan was to meet Fi at an outdoor festival. So we picked up some ciders and got a spot to watch. Fantastic orchestra with some dancing. We all watched for a few hours before catching the train back to the hotel.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Off to Perth

    February 9, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Checked out about 10. Sat nearby having a drink and deciding what to do. Our flight was at 4pm so had a few hours to do something. Went to Southern Cross station, put our bags in a locker and had a walk to the Docklands. Saw some teams doing dragon boat racing.
    Went back to the station area for some shopping. I got 2 new pairs of shorts and immediately ditched the old ones. They had got to the stage where washing didn't seem to clean them anymore.
    Took the skybus to the airport and boarded to Perth. Picked up the hire car and waited around for Hannah's mum to arrive.
    All present and accounted for we drove to our accommodation. Initially had no power, after a quick whatsapp with only 3% battery on the phone remaining, we got it fixed.
    All hungry but not bothered about going out, I nipped out and got a takeaway pizza.
    Diet starts tomorrow.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    Chilling out in Perth.

    February 10, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Hannah's mum is based in the entrance way to our apartment, so Hannah and I escaped out the back door to head off for a run before it got too hot.
    Heather managed to get a full 11 hours sleep, so hopefully a good head start on the jet lag.
    Got back for a healthy breakfast and then went to meet Andrew for coffee overlooking the beach.
    Got in for a bit of play in the surf, which was fairly punchy.
    Then met Annie for a salad lunch. Very healthy!
    Back to home for a dip in the cold pool, followed by a sunset beer at the pub a few mins walk away.
    Ended up back at home having a bbq salmon. Tssk lovely.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    He was a Sk8ter boy

    February 11, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Up at 6.50 to jog to meet Andrew for skating lessons. Whilst Hannah went for a walk with Annie.
    Lots of falling over with the first time skating since the one time I did it as a kid.
    Managed not to break myself and do a little drop in turn in the bowl. Andrew looking smooth and well practiced!
    Then went to Montys for a breakfast smoothie and met up with Andrew's parents Penny and Steven.
    Got back to pick up Hannah's mum Heather and off to the beach. It was hot hot hot, so I spent most of my time snorkelling and hand surfing, whilst the ladies soaked up the rays.
    Back to the pool side for a salad lunch and a chill out.
    About 4 ish we left to go to Hillary's, a mini harbour, for a pint before heading to Annie's.
    Annie and Jus had made a huge feast of Mexican food. We chatted away until about 9.30 when I got a call from Andrew. Few changes of plan for tomorrow. It was now a 6am start for the boys to head down to Margate river. Will call that bed time then.    Read more

  • 9 months Sabbatical

    HALF WAY THROUGH TRIP

    February 12, 2020 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Whaaaaat! No way we are half way through already, but yup apparently so.
    Got up at 5.45 to meet Andrew outside the front of the house. We were the advanced surfing party. Zoomed down to Margaret river with Steven. Spied the beach then waited for Andrew's friend to arrive whilst having a courage pie and coke.
    Went round to south point to start the surf. It was pretty big with some big rips. I decided to watch the others for a bit to see how they got on. After 45 mins of watching with Steve, with only 1 wave caught between them, I decided to go round the corner to the smaller, more crowded but more consistent looking wave.
    Had a fun little surf.
    We then went along to another beach and met up with Hannah and Heather who had driven down a bit later.
    Massive dumpy surf here. I got the boogy board and got a few. Then Andrew and I went in with the hand planes. Couldn't really commit to the big ones as it would have been face crunch into the sand.
    Thunder was rolling in, so we retired to the accommodation via Coles for food. Amazing place with a pool and huge open space. Andrew, Hannah and I cooked up a lovely salad.
    G and Td up we were all knackered. Final challenge of getting the boys to bed. Then bedtime for the rest of us.    Read more

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