Thyme

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We got back last weekend from our bike trip around Central Otago, the hills are covered in in wild Thyme and the smell permeates everything, the scent will always remind me of this trip.

We had such a wonderful time and were so so lucky with the weather. It was a road trip to get there, as per our usual routine, the boys sat in the back reading , learning tunes on Luca’s harmonica, snacking and when necessary navigating 🙂

We of course stopped en route in Roxbrough for Jimmy’s Pies , cannot go by there without eating one, they are a family tradition now! Delicious as always!

We made it to the campground in Bannockburn in good time , it was a very basic one but the setting incredible. Luca getting very good at setting up tents nowadays

View from behind the tent, the trial we would hit just below us, perfect!

We were all up early the next morning as knew we had a hard ride ahead of us, turned out the first day much harder than expected, good thing we did not know this before we started 🙂

Breakfast!

It was still and sunny as we started the trail

This area has evolved into acres and acres of vineyards and olive groves ,we started our tour though these, it has a very Tuscan feel to it.

as we rode along the Dunstan river we could see across to the old precinct of Cromwell. The restored heritage stone building are all in use and such an amazing setting for a little village. The second day we would pass through there.

The snow capped mountains really setting a lovely scene.
This is looking back to Cromwell before the hills that we would climb on our way to Clyde. The trail has been craved into the hills and has taken years to do , only being completed this year.
There are two boats that come up the river and provide coffee and burgers etc to cyclists but we had brought our own. This stop we were all exhausted and very hot, the climb and heat much more than expected, there was little creek nearby that we sat by and recovered before hitting the next climb.
That is Rich and Luca leading the pack!
That is me! Rich and Luca spent a lot of time waiting for me to catch up! 🙂

There they are below on the other side waving me on!

Rich and I are amazed at the strength of Luca’s legs ,(he has got his Dad’s!), they power up mountains on that bike in a way I can only dream of!!!! He has really taken to biking which we are so happy about!

we finally made it to the Clyde Dam

There is a little beach, that being such a hot day, was very popular! You can see the trail running along the river to the left of the photo above, and the spot we stopped was just above that white line. The village of Clyde just out of the photo to the bottom right.

We ate a late lunch
and then biked into the little village for Rich to get a taxi back to Cromwell. He then biked back to Bannockburn, picked up the car and came to get us. We were all pretty darn exhausted that night, but so happy we had done it, such a spectacular ride!

The next morning we knew the ride would be easier heading up the other side of the river and back again. Once again the weather was on our side, the sun not as beating and so we all felt good as we set out . We packed up the tent and rode into Cromwell, stopping lots to enjoy the scenery

Once we made it to the Old Precinct we stopped for a coffee before hitting the trail in earnest

This is the view of where we were heading, we went up the left side…

It was a lovely ride, the scenery more lush and as people live all along this side of the river more populated. We all love the Weeping Willow and they are in abundance here set among the homes and inlets.

The homes along here have boat docks right outside their front doors, the can take their boats all the way up and park, just like a car.
Luca and Rich call this summer snow, it falls from the trees, bucket fills were everywhere in this area !
The 45th Parallel is the halfway point between the equator and the south pole.

This day was actually the longest day we have even ridden together, but because it was mostly flat and a perfect day for riding it really did not feel like it. We made it back to the Precinct and ate in this lovely setting….

then rode on back to the car for the 3 hour drive home. With daylight saving it meant we got back before dark and Aria who had been staying at ours and studying for exams welcomed us home 🙂

Talking of home, one of our girls ,(Bramble), had gone broody so we had set her up with some fertile eggs in the brooder pen.

Unfortunately it has not gone well, she is a fickle mother and did not like the new arrangement at all, so it looks like we will have to wait for one of the others to go broody. In the meantime we have so many eggs that we cannot keep up, so donate a couple of dozen a week to others.

It has been a typical wet spring, sprinkled with hot sunny days making everything sprout and flower like mad!

Luca and Ted spent their first night the tree house recently. It was highly successful and they plan more over the summer months.

The slip and slide has come out this month…

and friends have hung out….

We have started work on the bank area

Rich, as usual has done a fantastic job putting in those steps quite the engineering feat! The flat rocks we are using for the path from the top of the steps to the fire pit are, it is in the creation phase….

There are 3 climbers I love Honeysuckle, Jasmine and Wisteria. I just got Honeysuckle to go over a wonderful second hand find, an arch makes such a lovely entrance way

and a Jasmine to climb the fence of the vege garden
They will go into the ground today. The Wisteria I will wait until we have the deck area as love it draping over entrances to a home.

This past week we helped Aria pack up her flat and put her on the plane back home. Unfortunately Covid, the delta variant, is spreading fast and has hit the south island. It is the first time we have had Covid here in the south for over a year. Flights are being cancelled and life is about to change fast, getting Aria home before she is stuck here has been a priority this week.

Thousands of Kiwis are stuck overseas desperate to get home and it has been like this for over 18 months. When this all began NZ was seen as a safe haven, so many sold up overseas, wanting to return. Getting out of NZ not a problem but getting into it is difficult, even for Kiwis . Everyone has to apply for the limited MIQ rooms for quarantine on return, and the demand far outweighs the space. Vaccination is now the priority for the government, they are wanting 90% of the population double vaccinated before loosening the rules (Auckland and parts of the Waikato are at level 3 locked down, while the rest of the country is at level 2). The fear ,(and it is definitely justified) is, if Covid is allowed to run rampant, our health system will collapse. I was speaking to a colleague from Wellington yesterday, we in health care are bracing for the onslaught that we know is coming, it is an anxiety inducing time.

It is Halloween tonight and for the first time in his life, Luca is not doing it, he is so sad as his favorite celebration, we just think given what is currently going on we are best to stay at home.

A throwback photo of a Halloween in Mahone Bay with his best friend Wyn

We have booked the Abel Tasman hike for the Christmas period but do know anything could happen between now and then. In the meantime so thankful we managed to get the Dunstan Trail in!

Let us see what November brings….