I’m slowly getting somewhere, but all that means is I’m slightly faster than a snail over short distances.
The LIM Report (Land Information Memorandum) came back from Tasman District on Friday. An awful lot of stuff missing, like drainage and plumbing permits and compliance certificates, building compliance certificates. So back to the vendors to either make right and obtain certificates, or we start negotiating the price again. I could buy it as is, but if I, or anyone decides to sell at some later stage, we’d have to go through the whole thing again and obtain all the compliance certificates. We’re talking about $3,000 and maybe a bit more.
The weather has turned from sunshine to wet, cold and miserable, good for the farmers in the Waikato and Northland, it has been almost drought conditions there lately. Hopefully Christmas will be fine.
Damian, Tarsha and Jesse and Kahu are in Melbourne for a couple of weeks with Tarshas whanau. Damian needs the break, and Tarsha deserves a holiday after finally getting her Pharma Degree. Plus a new job when she gets back.
Moving date is meant to be the first week in February once we get all the minor stuff cleared up. That should give me a few months of good weather to get the tunnel houses up, and cuttings started for next spring/summer.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year if I haven’t posted before the end of the week.
Take care
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Saturday 11th December
It’s been family day today. Jesse had her end of year graduation, she’s off to a new school next year, and she has done really well for the last few years.
Kahu turned 4 as well today, so he was doing his usual energiser bunny on super charge all day.
All the papers have been signed for the house at Golden bay, settlement is in about 8 weeks, Christmas here plus summer holidays mean there aren’t any lawyers around till near the end of January now to get everything signed.
I’m not sure what to do with the house, it needs a lot of finishing work in one half, the “finished” half is not what I like, and despite being advertised as set up for B&B or long rental, it really isn’t. Well, not in my view, but will look at it a bit longer when I get there.
Good things, there is more than enough land to set up two poly-tunnels, and still have room for outdoor growing on. Nursery # 3 this time. I’m a bit late for a good start with growing, but still have a few months to get things set up, and make a start on cuttings for next spring/summer.
I’m still waiting for my cartons to make their way back from Honiara, from Steves last email, the person who was handling the shipment, had to go away on wantok matters, so everything in the office stopped till he gets back. There are really somethings I don’t miss about Honiara.
I’ll have to start sorting stuff out here, I have cartons stored at one of Roses houses, I have cartons in the garage here, some stuff unpacked that I needed back out, clothes, cd’s books, which are going to have to be packed again. Plus some of the furniture from Mums place to take with me. Given the cost of getting stuff down to the South Island makes buying most of it again there a lot easier and cheaper, tables, chairs etc. Beds.
Kahu turned 4 as well today, so he was doing his usual energiser bunny on super charge all day.
All the papers have been signed for the house at Golden bay, settlement is in about 8 weeks, Christmas here plus summer holidays mean there aren’t any lawyers around till near the end of January now to get everything signed.
I’m not sure what to do with the house, it needs a lot of finishing work in one half, the “finished” half is not what I like, and despite being advertised as set up for B&B or long rental, it really isn’t. Well, not in my view, but will look at it a bit longer when I get there.
Good things, there is more than enough land to set up two poly-tunnels, and still have room for outdoor growing on. Nursery # 3 this time. I’m a bit late for a good start with growing, but still have a few months to get things set up, and make a start on cuttings for next spring/summer.
I’m still waiting for my cartons to make their way back from Honiara, from Steves last email, the person who was handling the shipment, had to go away on wantok matters, so everything in the office stopped till he gets back. There are really somethings I don’t miss about Honiara.
I’ll have to start sorting stuff out here, I have cartons stored at one of Roses houses, I have cartons in the garage here, some stuff unpacked that I needed back out, clothes, cd’s books, which are going to have to be packed again. Plus some of the furniture from Mums place to take with me. Given the cost of getting stuff down to the South Island makes buying most of it again there a lot easier and cheaper, tables, chairs etc. Beds.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thursday 9th December
Ok, I’ve done it, bought a house in Golden Bay, at Banhaim. NZD $262,500 for a 4 bedroom, 2 kitchen, 2 bathroom, plus spa bath and a 0.2 hectare section in the valley
It has been sort of set up as a B&B, but the people who own it are really a bit stuck in some other time zone. There is a lot of finishing work that needs to be done, and a lot that needs to be ripped out and redone. But as my sister has been on at me about for the last week, it means an income, that pays the main bills, and I have enough land free to do what I want as well
Good things about it, it is close, about 1 mile, from The Naked Possum and the start of the Kaituna Track, and about a ½ hour drive to the start of the Heaphy Track, so there will be the passing trade from the people walking both of those.
It’s in Golden Bay, which means the highest sunshine hours in NZ, ok, it also means that when it is winter, you see snow on the hills, the valleys and the ground. Which is also a plus as you get the winter people down there as well.
Next thing to do, is learn how to run a B&B, put up a good website advertising it, and find people able to do the stuff I don’t do all that well, like make beds, clean and have a good colour sense when it comes to decorations.
I may have to contact my ex-sister in law who runs Irelands best B&B for advice.
As anyone who knows me will know, I’m a moving target for doing things, never the same thing twice.
I’m taking a deep breath here, it’s like climbing all the way up to top of the tallest diving tower, walking out to the edge of the board, and looking down
Since Mum died, I have no back up, what I do from now on, is all my responsibility, no one to suggest other ideas. I came back from the Solomons, that was my way of clearing out all the crap that happened to me in Ireland, so now, this is me doing what I want to on my own and spending the next whenever doing what I want.
I used to have a wall hanging, a quote from Jewels in the Heart
“He took them to the ocean
and they fled in fright
He took them to the desert
And they returned to the city
He took them to the mountains
And threw them over
And they flew”
That is how I feel now, or the Fool in the Tarot, stepping off the precipice, into the unknown.
So I have 2 new things to do now, well, in 8 weeks when settlement date is, well, one new thing, run a B&B, the other is set up a nursery on the land available, which won’t take long, it’s the 3rd? 4th time now? 2 Morriefield Poly Tunnels, 8m by 2.35m for $4,000, a bit extra for propagation stuff, tubes, bags, irrigation, which I’ve not long done for the same thing in Honiara, ok, income from both.
Plus any other work available there, with the training courses, engineering shops needing qualified welders, nurseries.
It has been sort of set up as a B&B, but the people who own it are really a bit stuck in some other time zone. There is a lot of finishing work that needs to be done, and a lot that needs to be ripped out and redone. But as my sister has been on at me about for the last week, it means an income, that pays the main bills, and I have enough land free to do what I want as well
Good things about it, it is close, about 1 mile, from The Naked Possum and the start of the Kaituna Track, and about a ½ hour drive to the start of the Heaphy Track, so there will be the passing trade from the people walking both of those.
It’s in Golden Bay, which means the highest sunshine hours in NZ, ok, it also means that when it is winter, you see snow on the hills, the valleys and the ground. Which is also a plus as you get the winter people down there as well.
Next thing to do, is learn how to run a B&B, put up a good website advertising it, and find people able to do the stuff I don’t do all that well, like make beds, clean and have a good colour sense when it comes to decorations.
I may have to contact my ex-sister in law who runs Irelands best B&B for advice.
As anyone who knows me will know, I’m a moving target for doing things, never the same thing twice.
I’m taking a deep breath here, it’s like climbing all the way up to top of the tallest diving tower, walking out to the edge of the board, and looking down
Since Mum died, I have no back up, what I do from now on, is all my responsibility, no one to suggest other ideas. I came back from the Solomons, that was my way of clearing out all the crap that happened to me in Ireland, so now, this is me doing what I want to on my own and spending the next whenever doing what I want.
I used to have a wall hanging, a quote from Jewels in the Heart
“He took them to the ocean
and they fled in fright
He took them to the desert
And they returned to the city
He took them to the mountains
And threw them over
And they flew”
That is how I feel now, or the Fool in the Tarot, stepping off the precipice, into the unknown.
So I have 2 new things to do now, well, in 8 weeks when settlement date is, well, one new thing, run a B&B, the other is set up a nursery on the land available, which won’t take long, it’s the 3rd? 4th time now? 2 Morriefield Poly Tunnels, 8m by 2.35m for $4,000, a bit extra for propagation stuff, tubes, bags, irrigation, which I’ve not long done for the same thing in Honiara, ok, income from both.
Plus any other work available there, with the training courses, engineering shops needing qualified welders, nurseries.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wednesday 8th December
I’ve really got out of practise with this, too many distractions here I think.
The big house I’ve been after in Golden Bay, ok, the owner isn’t going to move on the price, he is stuck at $300,000, I got to $287,500, allowing for $25,000 that upgrading the sewage system to Council compliance would cost, let alone the $8,000 needed for repairs to the house where it is showing signs of neglect. Oh well.
I’ve got an offer on another one at Banhaim, 4 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, spa bath, bigger section as well, 2,023 sqm, 0.2 Hectares. It’s been built or extended to be a B&B, but not quite finished, so I should be able to get it and finish the rest of it over a few months. Plus it is just down the road from The Naked Possum. Not that I’m interested in running a B&B, but it is income.
Tarsha graduated the other weekend, so we went to the Grad ceremony at Auckland Uni, fully qualified Pharmacist at last.
I’m still at a loose end here, it’s coming up to Christmas, and not a lot of places hiring staff just before the summer holidays, and not wanting to pay holiday pay to new people. Plus trying to get the house in Golden Bay.
New Year soon, new start again somewhere else I hope.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Saturday 20th November
It’s been a busy week. Flew down to Nelson Monday morning, picked up a rental and drove over the hill to Takaka. It was a bit overcast, so things did look a bit gloomy at times driving over, still some snow on the peaks and thick fog from Canaan Downs till near Upper Takaka.
Met up with the Real estate agent at Harcourts, and with my list of places we drove off to Pakawau, Collingwood, Banhaim and a few places on the outskirts of Collingwood and Takaka
The one I am really interested in is this one, at Pakawau, well, about another 15 minutes from Pakawau, about half way to Puponga. I’ve put an offer in, there are some things that need doing, the septic tank has to be relocated, a few window sills need replacing, some of the exterior timber siding will need to be replaced, but overall, for a 100+ year old house it is in surprisingly good condition.
There is enough room at the back of the house for a good sized tunnel house, probably one of the bigger Morriefield ones, http://www.morrifield.com/tunnel-house-models.php, I’d like a wider one than 2.350m, have asked if they can make one to suit.
Some of the other houses were really good, some were totally so far away from what I like. This one has been on the market for over a year now, and only had one offer made so far in that time. Inside it is still close to original, all Matai flooring, Rimu architraves and trim. The kitchen needs a bit of a tidy up, hopefully the wood fired range still works, and the fireplaces.
Takaka is still fairly much the same as it has been for a long while now, the shops still smell of incense and patchouli oil, a lot of really good restaurants, organic and other food shops, clothing. Just in walking around asking about the costs involved in repair work got me 3 work offers, also went to The Naked Possum http://www.nakedpossum.com/ for a look. It’s tucked back off the main road a bit, at the start of the Kaituna Track http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/nelson-marlborough/golden-bay/kaituna-track/
Grant had a major stroke last year, and is slowly recovering, and the tannery and nursery have fallen behind a little. So I left my contact details, had a long talk with Jocelyn, and once I move down there I’ll go back and start to learn how to bark tan possum skins.
Got into Wellington Tuesday afternoon, it was 27*C when I left Golden Bay, it was overcast, windy and 17*C 30 minutes later in Wellington.
Met up with everyone at VSA on Wednesday, had a couple of pleasant surprises with some of the comments. I feel that I didn’t actually achieve very much in Honiara, but VSA seemed to feel I got more done than they expected. And I lasted longer than anyone thought as well, given the conditions, attitudes and general difficulties involved with living there.
I got offered 3 counselling sessions, like? Counselling??? For what?
Anyway, I agreed to go back to VSA a couple of times each year for orientation meetings with new volunteers, and go through the pitfalls and high points of volunteering. I don’t regret anything about going to the Solomons, I’m more annoyed and angry that things got to the stage where nothing was going to happen or change. Good experience in all ways.
Met up with the Real estate agent at Harcourts, and with my list of places we drove off to Pakawau, Collingwood, Banhaim and a few places on the outskirts of Collingwood and Takaka
The one I am really interested in is this one, at Pakawau, well, about another 15 minutes from Pakawau, about half way to Puponga. I’ve put an offer in, there are some things that need doing, the septic tank has to be relocated, a few window sills need replacing, some of the exterior timber siding will need to be replaced, but overall, for a 100+ year old house it is in surprisingly good condition.
There is enough room at the back of the house for a good sized tunnel house, probably one of the bigger Morriefield ones, http://www.morrifield.com/tunnel-house-models.php, I’d like a wider one than 2.350m, have asked if they can make one to suit.
Some of the other houses were really good, some were totally so far away from what I like. This one has been on the market for over a year now, and only had one offer made so far in that time. Inside it is still close to original, all Matai flooring, Rimu architraves and trim. The kitchen needs a bit of a tidy up, hopefully the wood fired range still works, and the fireplaces.
Takaka is still fairly much the same as it has been for a long while now, the shops still smell of incense and patchouli oil, a lot of really good restaurants, organic and other food shops, clothing. Just in walking around asking about the costs involved in repair work got me 3 work offers, also went to The Naked Possum http://www.nakedpossum.com/ for a look. It’s tucked back off the main road a bit, at the start of the Kaituna Track http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/nelson-marlborough/golden-bay/kaituna-track/
Grant had a major stroke last year, and is slowly recovering, and the tannery and nursery have fallen behind a little. So I left my contact details, had a long talk with Jocelyn, and once I move down there I’ll go back and start to learn how to bark tan possum skins.
Got into Wellington Tuesday afternoon, it was 27*C when I left Golden Bay, it was overcast, windy and 17*C 30 minutes later in Wellington.
Met up with everyone at VSA on Wednesday, had a couple of pleasant surprises with some of the comments. I feel that I didn’t actually achieve very much in Honiara, but VSA seemed to feel I got more done than they expected. And I lasted longer than anyone thought as well, given the conditions, attitudes and general difficulties involved with living there.
I got offered 3 counselling sessions, like? Counselling??? For what?
Anyway, I agreed to go back to VSA a couple of times each year for orientation meetings with new volunteers, and go through the pitfalls and high points of volunteering. I don’t regret anything about going to the Solomons, I’m more annoyed and angry that things got to the stage where nothing was going to happen or change. Good experience in all ways.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Saturday 13th November
I’ve been back 3 weeks? 4? It seems forever at times. We had our usual fireworks night last week 5th, at Damians, with the usual large amount of fireworks. Considering the amount we had, it was a wonder we got through them all without a mishap until the final flower blossom that blew out as Damian lit it, and he’s now got a couple of weeks off work and his hand has some incredibly huge blisters and damaged skin.
Kahu as Spiderman
I’m flying down to Nelson Monday to look at a property in Golden Bay, on the beach, huge house and a lot of ground with it. There is a garage and workshop, large back yard suitable for tunnel houses, and just the width of the road from the beach. It’s on the market for $310K, which I should be able to raise against Mums apartment.
Then a meeting with VSA in Wellington on Wednesday, and finally back to Auckland Thursday.
I’ve been wandering along the beach with the camera in the evenings and mornings, so you’ll have to put up with more photos J
Kahu as Spiderman
I’m flying down to Nelson Monday to look at a property in Golden Bay, on the beach, huge house and a lot of ground with it. There is a garage and workshop, large back yard suitable for tunnel houses, and just the width of the road from the beach. It’s on the market for $310K, which I should be able to raise against Mums apartment.
Then a meeting with VSA in Wellington on Wednesday, and finally back to Auckland Thursday.
I’ve been wandering along the beach with the camera in the evenings and mornings, so you’ll have to put up with more photos J
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Thursday 11th November
I know, it’s been over 3 weeks, I should have written this up before but it’s not been an easy thing to put down in words.
I left Honiara, well tried to leave, Thursday 14th, got onto the plane then as usual with Pacific Blue, the plane had a fault and we were stuck overnight in Honiara. I got hold of Steve and he booked me into Kitano Mendana for the night. Adrian was upset over me leaving, somehow we managed to have a really good relationship, despite everything.
Friday I spent the morning with Adrian at Don Bosco, waiting to see if Pacific Blue had managed to organise another plane or replacement parts for the one sitting on the tarmac. The maintenance guys flew up on Solomon Air with parts, then spent till nearly 5pm getting it all sorted. Consequently, we were too late into Brisbane to make connection flights so those of us travelling further were booked into the Chancellor Hotel for the night with Pacific Blue picking up the cost. Nice hotel, if anyone has seen Hotel Babylon on tv, that almost sums it up.
Anyway, after a long disjointed journey, I finally got into Auckland about 4.30pm Saturday afternoon, rang Damian and he came and picked me up at AKL, and I stayed at his place for the night.
Moved back into Mums place sharing with sister since then.
The last 3 weeks have been a mix of job hunting, and clearing up stuff with VSA, medical etc, and finally getting to see Leonard Cohen in Concert. Absolutely brilliant. All the years I’ve spent listening to him made the wait well worth it.
At present I’m considering moving to Takaka or Golden Bay, if I can get the finance and buy down that way. Then I’ll start my own small nursery and just potter about with some fishing, hunting and growing stuff. And get used to NZ winters again. I’ve been freezing since I got back, even though it is almost summer and temperatures have been around the 15 – 20 C mark.
There is work around Auckland, it’s more a matter of convincing employers that I’m still capable despite being out of the country for a while.
Will keep updates coming into this from now on.
I left Honiara, well tried to leave, Thursday 14th, got onto the plane then as usual with Pacific Blue, the plane had a fault and we were stuck overnight in Honiara. I got hold of Steve and he booked me into Kitano Mendana for the night. Adrian was upset over me leaving, somehow we managed to have a really good relationship, despite everything.
Friday I spent the morning with Adrian at Don Bosco, waiting to see if Pacific Blue had managed to organise another plane or replacement parts for the one sitting on the tarmac. The maintenance guys flew up on Solomon Air with parts, then spent till nearly 5pm getting it all sorted. Consequently, we were too late into Brisbane to make connection flights so those of us travelling further were booked into the Chancellor Hotel for the night with Pacific Blue picking up the cost. Nice hotel, if anyone has seen Hotel Babylon on tv, that almost sums it up.
Anyway, after a long disjointed journey, I finally got into Auckland about 4.30pm Saturday afternoon, rang Damian and he came and picked me up at AKL, and I stayed at his place for the night.
Moved back into Mums place sharing with sister since then.
The last 3 weeks have been a mix of job hunting, and clearing up stuff with VSA, medical etc, and finally getting to see Leonard Cohen in Concert. Absolutely brilliant. All the years I’ve spent listening to him made the wait well worth it.
At present I’m considering moving to Takaka or Golden Bay, if I can get the finance and buy down that way. Then I’ll start my own small nursery and just potter about with some fishing, hunting and growing stuff. And get used to NZ winters again. I’ve been freezing since I got back, even though it is almost summer and temperatures have been around the 15 – 20 C mark.
There is work around Auckland, it’s more a matter of convincing employers that I’m still capable despite being out of the country for a while.
Will keep updates coming into this from now on.
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