I just thought it an idea to share the rainy days too !
Well life in a bus is greatly affected by the weather – we do like being close to nature but the wet weather really dose put a damper on things – especially when living in a small space with kids ! We’re into our 4th day of pretty stormy wet weather right now and it hasn’t brocken a bit. At first we found it quite cozy and felt that it makes a nice change, but I think we’re not quite acclimatized to the southern summers yet – well it’s not always like this. We know that the kids, and us too need exercise to get by ! and walking in the rain isn’t the same. Our last walk (see in pic) was at Mavora lakes just before the weather really came in. Then we drove to the small town Te Anau again for a few days, enjoyed a few coffee stops here and there, and some shops just to get out and stretch our legs before cabin fever really set in and we all went mad. We like the compact living but there has to be an element of stimulation of travel to offset the odd inconvenience of living in a tinny space. While the weathers not so good we like to drive to tick off the miles bringing us somewhere new ready for when it comes right again. We spent last night at a NZMCA park over property in Orepuki -being the local tavern where we enjoyed a very warm welcome from Gayleen for the evening who cooked us dinner. Galeen enjoyed having us visit and particularly warmed to Isla who was keen to meet the baby quails, budges, parakeets and feed their dog. The tavern is close to the coast and even just running across to the tavern from the bus we battled the rain and wind which so much reminded us of the Cornwall in the UK where we’re originally from. We fell that these beautiful palaces are very alike in many ways regarding the naturally rugged shoreline with little villages tucked away and both being very lush and green. Going from the wild outside to the cosey tavern with a big roaring log burner in the middle felt so homely.
At the moment our days are filled with firstly school, now that the summer holidays are over we’re back to it again. There’s good space for us all to have a table or desk for work or school which works well. We spend a lot of time moving sh . . around the bus – a small living space needs to be kept tidy and as we drive from place to place we need to pack the bus up every time! We all have our jobs to do and if everyone helps and dose as asked it’s not too bad ! not always as smooth as you might think . We’re now in Invercargill where we were able to spend the afternoon at the local swimming pools which was a great relief to, get out the bus, stretch out, expel and enjoy a long hot shower. A local library is a handy stopover on the wet days with kids too
So between schooling the girls, packing the bus up and then driving, walking/ swimming or meeting a few locals along the way our days seem pretty packed full of fun ( and the usual kids craziness ) and before you know it it’s dinner time and we’re truly ready for bed. What we do like about the grotty wet days is it eventually comes right, we can really appreciate it, spread outside to play, exercise, and explore again.
