Northland

Last summer we went out on a dolphin expedition at the famous Bay of Islands up in Northland, New Zealand. We woke up early morning and climb onto the boat taking out at the sea while the sun started to climb out of the clouds behind our back. There was a little bit of wind … Continue reading »

As promised here is a little something that I will share from a Day in the Life of me way back when…. now these posts aren’t gonna be in any particular order, they are pretty random regarding time frames hahaha

Ok… Jumping of the falls! Yep i was wanna those crazy kids who just wanted to give it a go!! The waterfalls in question are the legendary Taheke Falls in Northland where I grew up… there was a small one that we used to jump off because when you hit the water the bubbles used to pick you up and pop you out the other side easy as… and those ones had this natural slide down the side of a rock where the baby eels used to swim up.. had to make sure didn’t get under the shorts hahaha! Sun bathing with ya mates on the hot flat rocks listening to the thunder of water meeting air meeting water….. Continue reading »

This story is about a classic experience that most farm kids would have experienced back in the days when you weren’t wrapped up in cotton wool… getting towed behind a bike riding a bonnet of a car at break neck speed. The more freaked out we were the better aye?! Bloody lucky really as Dad was a panel beater and we had a couple of spares lying around, perfect!

Yep, we had the car bonnet from ‘narm’. Not very pleasing to the eye but man, we could get catapulted at sudden right angles on the damn thing like a massive rubber band! Looking back on it now, we could have waxed the bottom of it to break the sound/speed barrier and gotten closer to the heavens with our death defying maneuvers haha!

Picture this…. a wickedly over sized helmet, ‘hory-boryarlus’ rope, a farm bike and a clapped out old bonnet beyond repair. When we could be bothered we wore over sized ski goggles or sunglasses to stop the bugs and crap shooting into our eyeballs! And to top it off… if the cows had been in the paddock previously then we got shit flung up from the wheels of the bike! Nice, that’s what people love (sarcasm), shit in the face! But, no matter how many cow patties hammered us we waited impatiently for our turn to face the same punishment, loving every minute of it! Screaming and laughing our tits off with mouths wide open…idiots. Continue reading »

Ngawha, Northland, New Zealand. This location was basically my 2nd home and is where the next New Zealand story is derived from. I used to help on my best mates Marae in the kitchen and I made a damn good coleslaw I might add. Used to strap on the gloves and shell oyster after oyster. One for me, one for the pot, one for me, one for the pot. The blokes laid down the Hangi (earth oven, traditional Maori cooking in the ground, bloody yum I tell ya!).

Sometimes when there were 100′s of people staying we would have to set up beds in an old school up The Lane near the Marae. The school has been retired of its services for many years now, and the families/friends who rest their heads on the pillows were protected by the spirits of the elders/forefathers who have passed. This old school was up The Lane, a short rickety road with homes of the Whanau (families)dotted on both sides. Dogs tied up with a bit of rope or roaming to scavenge what they could find, and kids hooning around outside in their own world. Continue reading »

Have you ever wondered why some farmers aptly name their pet animals after a dish on their plates? Well, I don’t have an answer either ok? But I can tell you now that is what we used to call our sheep up on our farm in Ohaeawai, NZ.

He was a ram and to us kids he was a grumpy bastard with big nuts that used to hang down past his ‘knees’. Dunno how he managed to run with those a knockin’ from side to side… but he could run like the wind if he could smell the scent of fear. We weren’t supposed to get to the cowshed via the main road as we may have been mistaken for road kill from time to time, so we had to cross Lamb Chops paddock to make our way to the hay barn and cowshed. Continue reading »