Tour logbook

Peace and quiet but feirce water

A place that has been on my to-do-list for many years. We've been skipping this place becasue you're not meant to take dogs, seeing as we are now dogless (RIP Tui) it was time to make a visit. Rough seas and a big wave took Zoe and me down in a moment of panic, but we came out okay, just a bit wet. Batteries failing slowly but surely.

Afternoon hangout with kids to give Kim some space

I used the bus as a way to keep the kids busy on a wet day so Kim could finish some work. We've got games, hammock, snacks, facilities, what more do you need. Chuck in a sea view, watching the rain makes for a cosy way to have some quiality time with the kids (away from the TV).

Yarns with friends, sharing parent duties

With friends it's normally tents that out number campers. Everyone does an amazing job putting in the effort so the kids have a blast.

A friend had a smokeless fire pit which acted as the communal gathering spot. Tree climbing, Easter egg hunt and walk, bike riding, marshmellows, and yarns.

River swims and swings

A couple of days at our close to home fav spot. Just us this time parked directly by a small stream that the kids could play in. We dammed up the river to make it deep enough for us to have a proper dip (even Tui too).

Loop trip of the northern part of the South Island

Wineries, beaches, hospital visits, travels with friends.

Photos and a write-up to come

Night with Isaacs friends

A single overnighter with two of Isaacs friends and their dads at Red Rocks freedom camping site, and a walk out to the seals the next day.

Wainuiomata

Just a 45 min drive from home is Catchpool Valley Campsite, it's a low profile Doc camp with some basic facilities situated by a stream.

Kids bike rides, kite flying, sore back, hammocks, river dams.

Parents stay in bus at Evans Bay

Zoë's birthday so Paul's parents come down to stay in the bus.

Taranaki to meet motorhoming friends

Last dash for the disappearing summer. Kids, Easter egg hunt, cliffs with caves, river fun, paddle boarding, fishing. Hanging out with friends we made over the summer.

Dropped into Kim's sisters place in Whanganui for a big feed.

Parents stay in bus at Evans Bay

Isaac has his birthday so Paul's parents come down to stay in the bus.

Girls go tramping so boys go busing

Kim and Zoë head tramping with a group of girls. The boys head to Ngā Manu reserve to feed the ducks, play in the Waikanae dunes and hang out for the night.

CANCELED, tickets booked but the event has now been canceled

Omnicron is ramping up so it's hard to know when and where we are heading to next :(.

Swims and chill in Welly

A full day outing in the bus with the family to a quiet local spot. We wanted to bring the dog, have a sheltered swim for the boys, shade for everyone... and Shelly Bay is where we ended up.

Sister in-law's birthday bash

A weekend trip to Whanganui for a 30th, stayed in the bus on a relatives farm near Kai Iwi beach. The boys traveled well, road was closed due to accident for an hour or so. Stopped on the way back at Waikanae for some beach time and dinner before driving home.

Beach day and playing with a quadcopter

A day trip up the coast to Waikanae Estuary never disappoints. Beautiful day and great scenery makes you feel like you fully on the road travelling. We meet with a friend from work who recently purchased a Mavik 2 quadcopter so I got to try it out and get some cool footage. Naps were had, nachos were eaten, bike rides, sand dune jumping.

Hawkes Bay to hang with friends via a bus/truck gathering

This is pretty much the first trip of the summer, it's good to get everything checked, topped up and ready to go. We headed to the Haumoana in the Hawkes Bay to catch up with friends who have kids similar ages as our kids.

It just so happens the Woodville house bus/truck gathering is happening for the third time and it's on the way. We only stayed one night which was the night before the official stat of the event. Isaac got chatting to others there and was welcomed in for a few tours. We might not get out if here without purchasing another dream catcher for Isaac.

Beautiful spot by the river, checkout last years photos, a lot of familiar faces from last year.

Then its was on to Haumoana. Kids, spa pool, drinks, chinwaggs...

Parental leave beach day

Kim finished maternity leave and I took the last two months off. There's no better way to spend my time than at the beach with the boys and Tui. We hung out, did drawings, ate, walked, tried and failed to have naps but instead had a private dance party.

COF precheck lesson and maintenance

We took a trip to Palmerston North where we have a mechanic. I had a lesson on how to do a COF precheck myself, but also we had some issues with the clutch looked at (clutch master cylinder and clutch no fluid). So far it's nothing major but until it's put back together I wont know.

While the bus was being looked at in Palmy we rented a house in Feilding so the grandparents could come and see their grandchildren and hang out.

Day out at the beach

Covid lockdown level 3 almost at an end, our bubble spends the whole day at the Wellingtons south coast in the bus. Playing in the rock pools, watching a seal snooze in the sun, naps and games.

As its mother's day I do the cooking and try to give time for Kim to get some chill time. It was a beautiful day and sunset, and a much needed day to just focus on the basics.

Isaac an dad

To break up home lockdown Isaac and I do an overnighter in the bus. We didn't drive it anywhere, just on the street outside our house. It was super windy that night and Isaac had a bit too much energy but we had a good sleep and was nice to do something a little different. We often use it as you would a play house or tree house. It's close confines makes it cozy, intimate and child friendly.

Meeting the new addition to the family

Crazy winds and thunderstorms, but that didn't stop a visit from Leon's grandparents and staying in the bus. I scuffed the neighbour bus from wind catching the bus door, vehicles were parked so close but no real damage done to the other vehicle. Ran out of water, whoops. Parked in Evans Bay for 3 days, 5-8 December.

Caravan days

With our previously owned caravan we had a small notebook which helped us keep track of where we went and with who, this meant each trip when we added a note about the current trip we got to read and reminisce about all the past trips. Instead of a notebook We've just taken this concept one step further to share those memories with family and friends through this site.