house sitting – Kiwis Do Fly

It’s A Kind Of Magic

Published on March 1, 2025 by kiwisdofly24 Comments

Uoleva, Kingdom Of Tonga

I love it in the mornings when you come out onto the beach. You see evidence of the overnight activity of the beach inhabitants, the crabs! The little tiny hermit crabs with their gorgeous shells. They come in all different shapes and sizes. There are long cone shape shells and short stubby shells. They are always so beautiful. They are never broken or damaged. You see their tracks all over the beach, their big heavy shells dragging in between the row of little claws.

The red hermit crabs. I think they are the coconut crabs, as we find them in the bush as well, on top of coconuts which have fallen. They have all got the same kind of shell, a kind of a rounded shape, all about the same size. It is so funny in the mornings. They have these meetings on the beach around a coconut husk. Sometimes 6 or 8 of them and they are all just climbing on top of each other having a good old yarn. Then you come along and POP inside their shells they go, I can’t see you so you can’t see me! They are so round when their bodies are inside their shell, sometimes they roll down the slope of the sand. I wonder what that feels like for them, so very cute.

The little beige and black crabs, they are kind of mid-size. They run sideways so fast. Their little black eyes, close together sticking up like little antennae and their little legs all splayed out side ways. Scuttling down the beach into the water as soon as they see you coming. They dig holes in the sand, takes them hours. They are very meticulous bringing sand out of the hole and dumping it one arm full at a time. It is such a labour of love.

And then there are the bigger grey/green crabs, they are a lot bigger. I don’t think they would be big enough to eat but they are much bigger than these other little guys. They have beady red eyes spread quite far apart. They are so funny, they see you coming and back into the crevasses of the rock. As you move around the rock they scuttle around backwards to the other side, they think they are being hidden. Then Jenga will see them and bark and their claws stick straight out; attack mode. They just walk sideways very slowly, step by step, claws up facing their opponent. Jenga barks again, and the crab keeps walking, claws up, until he ends up back in the water to hide.

You know there are no other footprints on this beach, just us and Jenga. Nothing but that beautiful sun coming up, that golden hour. It is a bit cooler than what it will be as the day progresses. Overnight there has been a high tide so there is a new dump of sand and shells. We love beach-combing, looking at all the beautiful shells, but of course the nicest ones are all taken by the hermit crabs.

Jenga loves the morning walks, he has a fascination with the bait fish and the little black tip sharks. Poor old boy, he is getting a bit hard of seeing. He can’t always see them, but he knows there is something there. He runs along, barks, and splashes in the water, forever hopeful. He loves it, enjoying just being out there doing it. He has never caught anything yet but apparently he can.

At the end of the island there is a sand spit. At low tide it reaches, or has the potential to reach half way across the gap between us and Lifuka, the next island up. It has changed dramatically in the 3 months we have been here. Our home owners call it the magic sands. The spit used to go straight out. For a while, it went out towards the north. Now, it heads out to the east. It has completely changed sides. The colours and the patterns that come from this ever changing environment is incredible. Nature, what she can do and the power of the ocean is just beautiful.

We have managed to walk right out to that sand island. This is effectively the very end of the sand spit, which never gets covered by water. It was fascinating, it felt like we were right at the end of the world. The current is quite strong through this gap and the sand is very soft in places. As we were forging our way through the sinking sand we were taking really good notice of the tide. We knew that if we dilly dallied too much we would get stuck out there. It was so cool, we didn’t want to leave.

The colours and patterns are out of this world

There is nothing on this island that can harm us badly. Except maybe for the pigs, but I don’t think that is very likely. There are no snakes, or deadly spiders like in Australia. But oh my, the spiders are huge! The Huntsman spider is here and she is very intimidating to look at, but harmless. There are plenty of spiders in the bush and they are very proficient at building webs right across out path. When we walk, we carry a stick. We wave it in front of us to catch the webs. It is a horrible feeling when you walk right into one! Mosquitoes, yes but not that bad. There are rats and mice around, but that is to be expected and they are more annoying than anything else. And that is why we have a cat, right? The worst thing is the paper wasps, we have both been stung and it is not pleasant, but again – not going to kill us!

The marine creatures are amazing. Every time we go out on the boat we see flying fish. They fly out of the water and dance their way across the water surface right in front of us. There are always turtles around. We see them out from the seat of knowledge and also from the boat in the lagoon. It is always a thrill to see the turtles, I don’t think I could ever get tired of them. One trip, we were coming back from the China shop on the boat. A Ray jumped right out of the water in front of us. It was incredible as we both saw it and could hardly believe our eyes. It jumped out of the water with its belly to us. It seemed to have a fish in its mouth. The fish dropped as it breached the surface then splashed back down into the water. We thought it could have been a Manta Ray, we clearly saw his mouth. But they are not meat eaters, so we are not sure what kind of Ray it was, but super exciting to see. We were buzzing for ages after that encounter.

There are big bats in the trees. They fly around right at sunset and land in the coconut trees, they are so lovely to watch. I think they could be flying foxes, which is just a big fruit eating bat. They make quite a racket during the night but we are getting used to it now.

It is so untouched out here, there is time to stop watch and listen to nature. I have been surprised at the lack of flowers. We only seem to have a hibiscus type of flower and we only see them once they have fallen from the tree. Maybe it is the time of the year? It is so green though, lush greenery everywhere. The sound of the ocean is ever present, waves crashing on the reef. Sometimes when the wind is blowing the right way, we can hear the crash of the waves landing on the outer reef beyond the lagoon on the other side of the island. Occasionally we hear a boom of the under water caves as they fill and empty with ocean surges.

Long shadows from the sun coming up on the other side of the island

We are loving this life, it is pretty unique. It is very refreshing to leave all the stresses of “normal” life behind for a while. But I always ask the question – “what is normal?” I will leave you with that to ponder!

Thank you for reading our story

Life on a Deserted Island: Embracing Isolation

Published on February 10, 2025 by kiwisdofly24 Comments

Uoleva, Ha’apai, Kingdom Of Tonga

Who doesn’t want to go live on a deserted island? Where the sun shines all the time. The cool, crystal clear water of the ocean is right there in front of you. The gentle breeze through the coconut trees, white sand as far as you can see. Leave behind all those day to day grinds. Who wouldn’t want to have that – even just for a while. Hands up if you do!

It is an interesting concept, to just leave the rest of the world behind, sounds idyllic, sounds perfect even. It is the most unique situation I think we’ve ever been in and probably will ever be in again. This whole island, we are the only people on it; us and our little furry friends, and the crabs and the bats. It is a really unusual feeling. So freeing, we have escaped an everyday life of schedules and expectations.

We do miss the people though. Of course we miss our families and our friends. We also miss the strangers we meet on the street, in the shops, at the parks, on the train even. That is something we really enjoy about house-sitting and we are missing it a bit this time. We are so thankful for the awesome star link system here. It means we can easily keep in really good contact with people back home, which is vital. And just if you were wondering, Chris and I are still talking to each other haha! The parting comment from daughter when we left was “don’t kill each other!” Well, we haven’t – yet!!

We are coming to the end of our stay here. Well I say that, we still have 5 weeks to go. Just in the last week we have connected with people! We are in the low season just now, the rainy season, the cyclone season. This is when the people who live here go on their holidays, they get out of town so-to-speak. Close down the resorts and go somewhere else; hence the need (for some) for house-sitters. We have been here 3 months now and the people are starting to come back! We have now connected with a couple of people. We met them last time we visited Ha’apai in 2011. Through them, we have met other people. And so it goes.

We realised that there is a family who live in Pangai. It’s a village on the next island up. They have a property on Uoleva too. They said they would be out there on Saturday for the day, we should come for a visit. So we take the inflatable down the lagoon side of the island and try to find the track that goes through to the other side. The track up at our place is about 350m but this part of the island is a bit wider. The track has not been used since the end of the last season, probably not since October. So we are not sure how overgrown the track will be, or even if we can find it. We are so excited to be doing something different, and we get to hang out with some new people.

Yip, there is a boat and we can smell the fire

We see a buoy hanging from a tree and decide that this will be as good a place as any to start looking for said track. We anchor Wodga, the inflatable, and go ashore. Well how about that, this actually is the start of the path across, how clever are we. It was about 20 minute walk. Toward the end we just follow the smell wood smoke – yes, there must be people nearby! We come out the on beach and see their boat anchored just offshore, looks like we made it!

We had the best afternoon. The whole family was there, we met the kids, 3 girls, and Aunty. Dad had the fire going. He used branches from the trees to make a rotisserie for some lamb and chicken and started cooking over the fire. There was a pot of boiled root vegetables. Aunty weaved a table cloth from a palm frond and when the meat was cooked, we all sat around the table and had a feast. The meat was cooked to perfection, dripping with flavour, so simple yet so perfect. Grease all over our faces, licking our fingers, the kids fighting over the juiciest piece, could this have been any better! We were not expecting to stay for a meal. The kindness and hospitality was so beautiful, we felt like part of the family.

After the meal, we had fruit grown on the island. More sticks were sharpened so the girls could toast marshmallows over the hot coals. They were so soft and melty, squished between cookies and ended up all over the girls faces, so much fun. Reluctantly, we had to leave. We needed to get ourselves back across the track. We also had to return through the lagoon before the tide got too low. We had a great afternoon, days like this a gold, this is what it is all about, this is our “why”

We have been making amazing meals here, probably the best home-made meals we have ever created. We take turns in the hot-house (kitchen), it can be 38°C in there in the afternoons. We have plenty of meat, thanks to our awesome home-owners, and a pantry full of goodies. We just lack a bit of fresh produce. We can get potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic from the little China shop on the next island up. But that is a trip in the inflatable, and only when weather and tides are permitting, We can’t just go if we are missing an ingredient, it can be weeks between visits. We have been creating all sorts of dishes using what we have to hand. We have been using Papaya and Pele (Tongan Spinach) regularly. We have learnt how to make our vegies last in storage so we can buy bulk and not waste anything. Blanching and freezing, refrigerating in water, storing dry – it has been an awesome learning experience.

There is only a basic supply at the China shop. But we can order supplies from Tongatapu, which is about 160 km away. This involves an agent on Tongatapu to do the shopping, then package it up and deliver to the airport. On arrival at Ha’apai, the cargo then gets delivered by another person, to a place where we can get to by dinghy, dependent on weather and tides of course. It’s a challenge in itself, believe me! So we have not done this very often. We have made do with what we can get locally. If there’s something we can’t do with a carrot, it’s not worth knowing!

BUT……..

One day we get a message from our home-owners (currently in Bali). They say that we are to meet a guy at the end of the next island on Saturday. There is a box of cargo to pick up. So we just go and get on the boat and make our way across. Collect said cargo to find it is actually a box of vegetables and fruit for us. Oh My Goodness, we were so excited to see all this fresh produce. We feel very overwhelmed by the thoughtful kindness. What a surprise, just like Christmas all over again! We spent the next week creating even more amazing dishes with fresh produce! Thank you again Glen and Karen!

The colours and freshness – we are so lucky

The weather has remained dry for us. It is rainy season as mentioned, Cyclone season in-fact, but we have just had hot hot hot and very little rain. My seeds as mentioned in my last story have not survived! Just too hot, 30°C feels like 41° C, nothing will grow in that heat, especially tender baby plants. Last week we had a little rain at some point almost every day. This was a very welcome reprieve from the heat. The forecast was for rain again, every day this week, but it has not come and is again hot hot hot. We have noticed a strange phenomenon with this island. All the weather seems to go around us. We seem to be in this little bubble in the middle of the chaos. We often watch the black storm clouds building, but we don’t get the effect. The ocean temperature is currently 29°C. Warm sea temperatures spur on Cyclones, so let’s all keep fingers X’d for the next 5 weeks!! But a bit more rain would be nice!

Thank you for reading our story!

We Put The Turbo Boosters On And Found Our Wings

Published on January 15, 2025January 15, 2025 by kiwisdofly24 Comments

2024 – it’s a wrap!

Recently I made a reel of all our 2024 house-sits, it was awesome, it turned out so well. Trusted House-sitters prompted that reel as a competition and I was hoping we would win a go-pro haha – of course I thought our house-sits and our pets were the BEST, and was very surprised that we did not win the competition.

As I was going through the photos and making that reel, I realised that the house-sits for last year were only a part of what 2024 was for us. Since 2017, (excluding the COVID 1.5 years and 2018 when we tried time back in the real world and worked), House-sitting has been our top focus. We have traveled around the world several times. Like bees, we have moved from flower to flower and from country to country. We always have the next 6 months or more booked up. But last year was different, we tried to slow things down a bit – HA!

The years go by so fast, don’t they? We are already almost half way through January and If I wanted to wrap up last year, then I better get on with it because before we know it we will be half way through July!

So, 2024, what did that look like for us? 12 months from the beginning of December 2023 looked like this:-

Lumin and Rana, Engin Germany, the snow was outstanding!

December we were in Engin, Germany, doing a new (for us)house-sit. We fell in love with 2 beautiful Sight Hounds, were enchanted with the village, especially when it snowed, and made awesome new friends. Then off to Leros, Greece to do a sit we have done before, we feel so at home on Leros. That was house-sits 1 and 2.

A few nights in Athens being tourists then off to Paris. 3 nights in Thure, France, catching up with friends we made while house-sitting there in 2019, then up to The Netherlands. We never visit Europe without a visit to our friends in Holland, we always have the best time, even though it is often years between visits.

Château de La Barbelinière, Thure, France – She still looks stunning through the mid-winter fog (house-sit 2019)

We cannot be in this part of the world without a visit to Belgium – even if it is purely to drink beer! And that is exactly what we did. 3 nights in Brussels, 1^st time visiting this city. Now, across the channel, House-sit 3 and 4 in South England, Weymouth then Shoreham-by-Sea. Some more new pets to get to know and love, and awesome homeowners/new friends.

We want to head over to Puerto Rico, not to house-sit this time but purely to visit all the wonderful people we had met there during the 2 X 6 month sits we have done in the past. So, this time we jump on a ship and sail from Southampton to Miami. 11 days crossing the Atlantic – truly a bucket list item! On arrival we fly straight to Puerto Rico and then on to Vieques. Two weeks was not enough, but we must move on.

By now it is March and our next stop New Zealand. Now this is novel, haven’t had much time here in the last few years. We have a full immersion into our family and friends. It is awesome! Exhausting but fantastic. We make our way up and down and around the country and have a great old time. Chris spends 8 weeks here and I have 6. I opted to head over to Queensland, Australia for 2 weeks to spend a bit of time catching up with friends and family there.

Precious time with the family – all in the same country at once for a change!

It is now May and we each jump back on a plane. Chris flies from Auckland. I fly from Brisbane. We meet in Langkawi, Malaysia. Back to a house-sit we have done before; this is house sit-number 5. From Langkawi it is a quick 3-day visit to Kuala Lumpur to be tourists again. We just love Malaysia, the food, the people the warmth – everything! But now time for Thailand.

We have been to Hua Hin, Thailand several times now. While there, we have made great friends. We have 3 house-sits here over the next 2 months, all through word-of-mouth for friends. Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to Thailand without a sit for the 44+ dogs and our dear friend Cristina. We are so glad to be able to be there so she can get away for a break. That was house-sits 6, 7 and 8.

August we head to The Sunshine Coast, Australia. Maybe put our feet up for a bit? Fat chance! Chris stays for 4 weeks and heads back to Langkawi to do that sit again that we did in May. House-sit number 9. I chose to sit this one out and stayed put in Australia for about 2½ months. Meanwhile Chris finishes in Langkawi. He heads first to Kuala Lumpur then to Tioman Island, Malaysia to be tourist for a few weeks. He absolutely loves it – though he says it was not the same without me…..

I have 2 weeks in New Zealand again and by late October Chris arrives into New Zealand also. Only for a week though, November we head off to the most remote house-sit we have ever done. Uoleva, Tonga. House sit-number 10. And here we are, halfway through this 4 month sit. Lots of time to reminisce over the past 12 / 13 months. Wow we have been busy! I am feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

What a year!

10 house sits, 63 pets. 13 countries, we won’t count USA, we only transited, 12 international journeys together and 7 separately, that’s average 15½ each.

We travelled between places by ferry 3 times, bus 8 times, train 3 times, were driven by car twice and sailed on a ship once. I can’t remember how many domestic flights we took while in New Zealand. It was more than I can count on two hands!

During this year, we celebrated an awesome milestones. Our daughter Tayla and her partner Jesse got engaged! Huge congratulations to them both, we are so very proud. Such a privilege to have been there to celebrate with them! WOW, It has been quite a year.

So that is a year in the life of the house-sitters. How did we ever have time to work a 9 – 5?

We often get asked how do we do this? How do we step away from the conventional? My answer? what is normal? And often a comment comes back, oh I could never do that! but you know what? you can! All you need to do is put your mind to it and just take that first step. It’s just one foot in front of the other. I say just go for it, go on! give it a chance. Life is too short and you never know what you’re gonna find out there. There are so many wonderful people to meet and sights to see. Give it a go! you might just surprise yourself.

We have each and every one of these stories in detail with loads more cool photos. If you want to see more, check out the rest of our blog……https://kiwisdofly.blog/

Boarding the Ferry in Leros heading to Athens

A big year but nicely balanced, exhausting and exciting all at the same time.

Thank you for reading our story

The Tale Of A Remote Island

Published on December 13, 2024 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

Uoleva, Ha’apai, Tonga

One month in – 3 months to go! Oh boy what have we done?

It is like we are on a big boat, nothing but ocean all around. No connection to the mainland, ie no power supply, no water mains, no sewage. Just what we have here on our “boat”. Chris and I have lived remotely before, but this is the most extreme. Are we loving it, are we managing ok? Hell yes! we are loving it. Every day brings joy and challenges in equal parts.

North end of the island, only 350m across where we are staying

This is Uoleva, smack bang in the middle of nowhere! Actually not nowhere, the Kingdom of Tonga, in the South Pacific. 19°50.5’S 174°23.65’W to be exact! A 4 X 1 km (at the widest point) island of sand and coconut trees, running almost North-South. There is almost no one else around. We are looking after 1 of 4 small resorts on the island and besides the resort owners, staff and guests, Uoleva is uninhabited. No roads, no infrastructure. Access is by boat only and completely off grid. We are in the rainy season now and all businesses are closed, there are no guests, and the owners and staff have, mostly, left the island. So, we really are on our “todd”

West side, we hear these waves all day and all night – love it!
East side, Lagoon side
Never short of a fabulous sunset

Our amazing owners have been here for over 10 years and have built this place from the ground up. Literally, from the clearing of the land to the supply of materials and building of the dwellings. Blood sweat and tears have gone into this project which has been an absolute labour of love and passion. We are so in awe of what they have done! A young couple with a dream, a vision, and they made it a reality! Following their love of Kite Surfing and their respect for marine wildlife and the ocean, they have found a spot with perfect conditions to make that dream become real. We are so lucky to be here and live in their shoes for a while.

Check out their website, and see their full story https://kitesurftonga.com/

Kitchen fale, complete with the naked chef!
The house fale

It is always exciting to learn the ropes of a new house sit, but this one is out the gate! We have to call on all our experience and knowledge from the past. We have done the no power, remote food supply, the unique challenges of island life, the hurricane zone, the long sit duration, the excessive heat and humidity, the bugs and mosquitos, sick and medicated animals; but not all at once! We must take everything we have learnt before and wrap it all up into one package, and we are ready for the challenge.

Having said that, we thought we might get fired in the first few days of being here. The dinghy disappeared on our first night here, off the mooring right outside the house. A mystery which will probably never be solved. Then poor Jenga, the dog, was mauled by either another dog or perhaps a pig?? Blood everywhere! Big wounds around his head and ear. Very pleased this happened while the owners were still here as we had not had enough time to bond with him. We are very much bonded now! Poor guy! He remained sedated and on antibiotics for a few days after our owners departed. And then the cows; there have not been cows on the property for 10 years, first day on our own and the cows come in, sheesh! Thankfully they didn’t do too much damage, and now that Jenga is better – and not in a drugged up state, the cows have not returned!

So here we are, getting into the swing now and pinching ourselves that this is real. We feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to look after this little piece of paradise. We have a very efficient solar power system, gas for cooking and hot water, a water well and rain water tanks. We have a Starlink satellite system, so comms will not be a problem! What more does one need?

There should be no shortage of sunshine here in the South Pacific – she says hopefully! There is ability to capture enough sunshine to provide power for 12 guests in the season, so I think with just the 2 of us, we should not run out of power. The systems they have in place are quite substantial. No doubt this has come from experience, anything can happen in this unpredictable and volatile environment – Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Cyclones, and just the mere fact that we are sitting on a tiny sandcastle, surrounded by salt water which can kill anything, if you give it half a chance. The corrosion is a continual battle. So we have a generator, in fact we have a three, and spares for everything, just in case.

1 of 3 banks of solar panels
The water well

Along with plenty of sunshine, there is also plenty of rain, particularly at this time of the year. Rain fills the freshwater tanks from the runoff from the roofs, this is our drinking water, and the well water is pumped into other tanks for everything else. The well water is mostly fresh water, but there is an element of sea water mixed in there. So, there is always a saltiness to the well water, we are getting used to showering and washing dishes in salty water. There is enough water to furnish 12 guests plus staff in the season, so I think we “2” will be fine for water. And there are spare pumps, just in case!

And what goes in, must come out! The toilets are composting, and there is a complex composting system for food and other scraps. So no damaging effect on the environment. What goes on the island, stays on the island.

We are finding this to be a healthy lifestyle, we are out in the elements all day and by 7:30pm we are exhausted and ready to retire to the house fale and watch some Netflix – yes, we do have a TV, there is even a spare!! Planning and cooking food is a daily job, the nearest shop is a boat ride away, over a reef, so we can only go when the weather and tides are favourable. We are baking bread, loaves, cookies, making our own sauces and curries and pizza dough from scratch. Chris is getting coconuts each day and we are drinking fresh coconut water – that has got to be good for you! We have planted some seeds and are coaxing them along; we are hopeful they will yield some food soon. Neither of us have had a lot to do with gardening. We learnt a lot at the Chateau in France, but that garden was already established – so watch this space, when I start singing and telling stories to the plants, maybe send help!

The seat of knowledge, a favourite spot to think and plan and reflect

Being on a small island we are very conscious and dependent on the weather around us. As I said before, just like being on a boat, we consistently have to check the forecast and be aware of and recognise the changes. We are getting temperatures up to 30°C most days and it is not dropping below 27°C at night with up to 90% humidity. There is a fairly consistent Easterly wind which is very well received. We have use of an inflatable dinghy which is on a mooring in the lagoon. This is our life line to the other islands, and our mode of transport to get supplies. Both Chris and I are loving the boat, it is not a chore to get out in the boat and navigate our way through the reefs over to the other island, its what we do!

Cannot believe the clarity of this water in the lagoon! off this planet!
Ever loyal Jenga

Has it really been a month already? This first month has been amazing, we are looking forward the the next 3. Day to day we are finding plenty to do. Along with the coconuts, Chris is harvesting bananas, papaya and passion fruit every day – he is attempting to make wine from the bananas – we will keep you posted on that one! We have a few projects on the go here on the property along side the normal daily chores, so we are not getting bored! We are finding it pretty hot though and not a lot can get done in the middle part of the day, so reading books under the fan is another one of our daily jobs! We are swimming a lot, kayaking and snorkelling too. Its a great life!

By the way, Jenga is all better now, he has recovered fully from his ordeal, and he is an absolute joy to have around! Him along with our darling little girl cat Tigger “T I double G er” are delightful members of our wee family here on the island.

Thank you for reading out story

There is more coming soon…..

It Is Always An Adventure, Visas, Flat Tyres And Snakes

Published on August 23, 2024 by kiwisdofly23 Comments

Cows joining us for our afternoon beers at the beach

Getting into Thailand is never been difficult for us. We have been here each year for the past three years. We never planned it that way but there you go, we are here again. We have never had to be here for more than 30 days, so never thought about the visa requirements. This time we are in for a longer stay. The Thai government increased the stay in Thailand for a lot of countries from 30 days to 60 days, effective from 1 June. Perfect timing, we are arriving on 11^th. But, Alas, No. On arrival, the immigration guy said this was in fact, only a concept. 30 days it is then; we will get an extension. This trip we require exactly 60 days.

I was curious to know how this extension thing works. We had been told by friends in Thailand that it is easy, just go to the place and pay the money (equivalent $85NZD) and voilà, extension granted. This sounds good, but being me, I was still a bit concerned. What if they say no for some reason? I feel immigration people have so much power it is frightening. Quite often it seems to be an opinion, or interpretation of the rules by the individual guard, and if they got up on the wrong side on the bed that morning, then you are screwed! And have you ever noticed that different airlines seem to have different rules? Picture this, same day – New Zealand passport holder number 1 – Go to Malaysia on Batik Airline, you need an onward ticket from Malaysia to board the plane, New Zealand passport holder number 2 – go to Malaysia on China Eastern Airlines – you do not. Go from Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico on InterCaribbean Airlines, you need an onward ticket from Puerto Rico, take the same route the day before on Frontier Airlines, and you do not. (we actually missed that flight all together – but that is ANOTHER story all together!!) Really??

The people at the immigration office in Hua Hin were so nice. We ended up going twice as we needed proof of where we were staying in Thailand, along with photos, our passports and the signed application form that we already had. We were given the correct paperwork from our awesome homeowners landlord and within minutes we had our extension. Our friends were right, it is very easy, job done!

As we have been to this part of Thailand recently, it takes no time to settle back into the old neighbourhood. Our homeowners head away on their adventure, and we are left with 2 adorable big dogs. Our daily routine starts with 6am dog walk. We were introduced to a French family at the end of the street with 2 dogs and we end up enjoying our daily morning walk together. It is so wonderful to meet people you know will always be friends, our different nationalities and language challenges makes no difference.

We are very lucky and have been left a car and bicycles to use. We head out on the bikes a few times until one day we stopped for coffee, and when we got to get back on the bike, I realise I have a flat rear tyre. We are about 6 km from home. So I start walking the bike and Chris cycles back to get the car.

Chris heads out on a journey a few days later alone and wham! Another flat tyre. But, this time he was about 8 km from home. If anyone knows Chris you will know – of course he did not have a phone on him. So a long, hot walk back for him. This time there are 3 punctures in the one tube, so a new tube goes in. A few days later we notice that the front tyre on the other bike is flat. Another patch! We realise that the thorns from the trees along the beach road are killing us!

Our friend Cristina very kindly has now lent us her motorbike. This is more like it! BUT… First time out – guess what! Flat tyre – Yes, it is true! We had been at the Wyndham resort to celebrate my birthday. On the way there we were thinking that the tyre felt a little soft going over the bumps – but with 2 large Kiwis onboard……. what did we expect! One completely new tyre later, we start to wonder what it is with us – 6 wheels and 6 punctures, not bad odds! Thankfully that was the last of the flat tyres.

It was incredibly hot for the first few weeks, and then the rain started. At last, some relief from the heat. We manage to fill our days with dog walks and food hunting. I joined a group and did yoga a couple of times a week and played cards and board games once a week. We try all the local restaurants and marvel at the price of some of the menus. You can eat incredibly cheap here if you stick to the local places. $3 for two, flat rice noodles with chicken, Pad Thai, including soup. And so tasty! We love it how they take your order and start chopping, bit of this and a bit of that and within a very short time you have the most delicious meal in front of you.

A bit more expensive at the bigger restaurants but still, very cheap for us spending New Zealand dollars. We occasionally cook eggs on toast at home, but there are so many places to eat around, so why dirty the dishes at home?? Occasionally we crave a burger or something like that but we love Thai food so much that we never get tired of it.

fish cakes, fried cashews and tempura veg and squid – and of course a couple of large Chang!
Honey toast with ice cream – actually really good!
Mango sticky rice – one of my favourites!!

It is interesting, the condiments for the Thai food. There will always be bowls or small packets of fish sauce with small green chillies, chilli powder and sugar. Sugar goes into almost everything and then you have the opportunity to put more in, it is quite different to what we are used to. This is not unique to Thailand, it is the same in Malaysia. There is quite a problem of diabetes here, I guess you can see why.

Squid boats on the horizon starting their night fishing

Oh the snake!! Driving into our drive we see a green tail disappear under the gate. It is an electric gate, runs on steal wheels along a rail – you know the type. Not sure what the tail belonged too, lizard? Snake? Gate opens, park the car and go to see where “it” went. Oh no! the gate wheels had chopped the snake right in half! You could not have done this if you tried, the poor snake. He was not a poisonous one and he was quite pretty but chopped in two places! Unbelievable!

Next house sit is back with our dear friend Cristina with all the dogs. We only spend 3 days here this time as she takes a well-deserved weekend off. All the dogs remember us! There are a few new ones, but it takes no time to win their affection. There are a few there who we would dearly love to bring home, but importing dogs from Thailand to NZ is pretty difficult.

A bit of gardening with Tank and Rosie supervising

Last house sit is in the same neighbourhood as the first, 2 dear wee cats, Mumma and daughter. They are pretty timid, but it doesn’t take too long for them to come round, especially the Mumma. We continue to visit with friends from around the corner and eat our way around the district.

One of our favourite things is to go down to the beach about 4pm, have a couple of large Leo’s sitting in the bamboo salas, watch and listen to the ocean, order some ridiculously cheap food, and just enjoy our surroundings. This is what it is all about!

One of our favourite spots to while away an afternoon
Caught in a storm – what is one to do??
Feet in the sand, delicious food and great company – this is the life!
Walking with the girls

We spent 2 months in Thailand, 3 house sits, 46 dogs, 2 cats and 1 snake later we are heading back to Australia. We always have such a wonderful time in South East Asia, it goes too quickly!! Sad to say goodbye! But we will see you again!

Thank you for reading our story

House Sitting in Southeast Asia: A Rustic Paradise

Published on July 28, 2024 by kiwisdofly22 Comments

House sitting in Southeast Asia, we just keep coming back!

It was an interesting journey to get here this time, but once on the ground, everything just slotted back into place.

We love Malaysia, and Langkawi is a fabulous island. It is not super busy or highly modern, in fact, some might say it is very rustic. And this is what we love. It is nice to become part of the village, part of the place. Malaysian people are so caring and giving and very accepting of everyone. No matter what your religion or nationality, they never judge or disapprove; beautiful people.

We commence a very pleasant five weeks. We reacquaint ourselves with our favourite foods and reconnect with dear friends we made on the last trip. Lots of walks on the beach, plunging in the pool and duty free beer! We quickly remember the feeling of being in a constant state of sweatiness and mosquito bites! The time flies by, how can these weeks go so fast? It is true what they say – time flies when you are having fun!

We have been to this house sit before, one year ago. So we know the drill, and the dogs, HobNob and BD know us. This is the most magical spot. The house is open so there is a constant breeze coming through. We share the space with all manner of beasties including snakes and the resident Tokay Gecko. The Gecko hangs out upstairs and hides behind the picture frames and talks to us every night. We dont see the snakes but the snake skins are around, which tells us they are there somewhere! We saw centipedes, flying termites and of course mosquitos, we all learn to live together in relative harmony.

There are monkeys in the trees out the back but they don’t try to come in because of the dogs. There is so much bird life here, it is like being in David Attenborough documentary. A pack of Hornbills live on the property, they are always flying around or hopping around the base of the palm trees with their white baggy pants on. A couple of pairs of Greater Racket-tailed Drongs are nesting in the coconut palm, we see them foraging on the tree trunk, eating bugs with their flag-like tail feathers swishing around. It is so amazing, so much nature all around us.

Open air house, perfect spot of yoga – HobNob joining in

This time in Langkawi we get to go up the SkyCab gondola to the SkyBridge. Our friend from NZ had called into Langkawi on her way to Thailand so this was the perfect opportunity to play tourist. If you ever get to Langkawi this is a must see! At 125 metres, the SkyBridge is the longest free span and curved bridge in the world. The bridge deck is 600 metres above sea level and as we are on a small island, that makes it a long way straight up! It is an incredible engineering feat and well worth the visit to see it up close. We had the best day for it too. The bridge is closed if the wind is too high and often the bridge and the mountain peaks around it are shrouded in cloud, so we timed it perfectly.

We are here again in the rainy season, but again, there is not much rain. The rainy season is April to November but it is the worst in September/October. We had forgotten the intensity of the humidity here, consistently being in a “sweaty mess”

We went up to the 7 Wells waterfall and was so surprised at the lack of water, it was a sure tell-tale of how dry the island has been. Drag the arrow to see the difference.

No wonder we are in a constant sweaty mess!

The Tiga Pulau – means Three Islands – right in front of our house, that is Thailand at the back!

From Langkawi we make our way by train to Kuala Lumpur. We love travelling by train and it is a nice change. We were not in a hurry to get anywhere so this was the perfect option. Air travel within Southeast Asia is so cheap and you can fly from Langkawi to KL for about the same as the train. It is always so surprising when converting into New Zealand dollars, just how cheap some things are over this part of the world. $42NZD one way flight, KL – LK, crazy!

Our room in the East wing of the Berjaya Times Square

We have 4 nights in KL, really just to fill in time as we cannot enter Thailand until 11 June as we need the full 60 days in Thailand to complete the 2 house sits we have booked there. The Thai government has announced that the tourist visa-on-arrival has changed from 30 days to 60 days, as of 1 June. This is great news as it means we won’t have to get an extension when we get there – but wait one caller!! On arrival at Bangkok airport, we only get 30 days. We very politely questioned this and were told “oh no, 60 days on arrival is only a concept” OK so we will have to go get an extension.

It is funny how things work out. This is the third year in a row that we have come to Thailand, to this area near Hua Hin. We didn’t actually plan it this way, it just happened! The first 2 years we were here to house sit for Cristina at Paws and Tails. Check out those stories by the links below! 44 dogs is not for the faint hearted! We met some awesome people through Cristina while we were here during those times, and now we are back and sitting for them. We hardly use the housesitting web sites now, we are either doing repeat sits or being requested through word of mouth. So we have two sits ahead, both for friends. In between these sits we will have a few days looking after the dogs at Paws and Tails.

What is it that keep taking us back to Southeast Asia? Malaysia? Thailand, the land of smiles?. Well, it is the food, that’s for sure, the warmth of course and mostly it’s the people! The friendships we make along the way are what it is all about!

Stories of Paws and Tails

The Tale Of Paws And Tails

Another Tale Of Paws And Tails

As the sun sets on Langkawi…… just me and my dog

See you in Thailand, our next adventure has just begun!

Thank you for reading our story

“Time Flies” Metaphore. Time appears to pass more quickly when engaged in something you enjoy

A Quick Trip To South England

Published on February 9, 2024 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

Weymouth, United Kingdom, January 2024

After a whirlwind visit to Western Europe to catch up with friends we have made it to England. It has been many, many years since either Chris, or I have been in the UK.

Travelling from Belgium to England was very easy, we have had a few near misses and were not expecting it to have been quite so easy. We took the train to Brussels International Airport, and went straight through passport control and security quickly and efficiently. On arrival at Heathrow, we were both stunned at how easy it was getting through. Back in the day, Heathrow was a nightmare, mega long queues, oodles of questions of your “right to be there”, which infuriated Chris back then, so much so that he was not too keen to be back. New Zealand is part of the British Commonwealth, we are under the same King. 1000’s of New Zealand soldiers lost while fighting in the World Wars alongside Britain, but still multiple questions of our right to enter. But this time? We didn’t talk to one person! It was all automated. We scanned our own passport, picked up our bags and walked straight out. We looked at each other and thought there must be more…. No, all done!

Heading to our first house sit, Weymouth. Weymouth is on the South Coast of England. A train from Heathrow to Bournemouth then a bus to Weymouth. After a couple of hours, we were there.

We had a fabulous evening getting to know our homeowners and their lovely pets, Bonnie (Cockapoo dog) and Maisie and Polly (jet black cats). We have been so lucky with our house sits, we always have amazing people to spend time with, people we would never have normally met. This is far and away the best part of what we do. The next morning, we send them off on their holiday and settle in.

Bonnie

Weymouth is a lovely town, long sweeping beach with bathing beach boxes and cafes dotted most of the way along. It was a 4 km walk from the house into the centre of town. We did this once then got a bus pass and used the busses every day. We had fantastic weather but there had been a lot of rain, so the ground was soddened, lots of mud and puddles.

We took Bonnie on the coastal pathway walk, towards the Smugglers pub. It was 5.5 km and we thought we would head there for a pub lunch. There was so much mud! The path was impassable in places, we had to climb the fence and walk along the farmers paddocks at times just to get through. It was also very slippery and the 1.5 hour walk took us over 2 hours! Bonnie had a wonderful time, at only 2ys old she was very happily running back and forth, trying to hurry us up! By the time we got there the soles of our boots were clogged with sticky mud, mine were leaking through the split in my sole so I had muddy sox. We wondered if we would be allowed inside the pub in this state, but we were, this was obviously not an unusual sight for the people here.

We had a good lunch at this oldie-worldie pub, complete with thatch roof, then headed home. But there was no way I was going to try to traverse all that slippery mud again and was very glad when we decided that we would get the bus home. We headed up to the road to find that the buses were few and far between way out here, so we ended up walking all the way home. Surprisingly enough, we found another pub very close to home and, of course, had to stop. Bonnie by now is feeling a bit tired, and so are we.

On our first walk into town, we came across this monument. We were very surprised to see it. Made us feel very proud. Then I found online that during WW1 120,000 Australia and NZ Army Corps (ANZAC’s) convalesced in Weymouth after being injured at Gallipoli. The existing army camps and mild climate made it an ideal location. Most of the soldiers we repatriated in 1919, but some stayed and married local women. We find history of brave New Zealanders all over the word!

We found a few more pubs and, of course, had fish and chips more than once! We love the ancientness of the old English towns, the low ceilings in the pubs, the quaint narrow streets. It would be so amazing to be transported back in time to see it 500 years ago. It would be fascinating.

We took Bonnie with us on the bus most days, she was so good. We were surprised how dog friendly it is here. Most shops and cafes/pubs allow dogs, they even have doggie treats on the counters – and Bonnie knows it!

We took the bus to the Isle of Portland and walked out to the end of the peninsular to see the lighthouses. Portland Bill lighthouse is an active lighthouse. She was built early 20^th century and took over from the two lighthouses that had been in use since 1716. Looking over the cliffs you can see the desperate need for safe navigation into Portland and Weymouth harbour. The sheer cliffs and rugged coastline is spectacular, but so dangerous to shipping.

Portland Bill Lighthouse
The old Lower Lighthouse

The RNLI has had a lifeboat station here since 1869, and is currently one of the busiest in the country. It was very cool to see the Weymouth Severn Class lifeboat tied up. I was lucky enough to go out on one of her sister ships from the Staithes and Runswick RNLI Station about 15 years ago. It is always interesting for both Chris and I to see these harbour towns and anything to do with maritime search and rescue and boating safety, as we were heavily involved in this back in New Zealand for so long.

But all good things must come to an end and after just 10 days we have to say goodbye. We have loved Weymouth, we are very much looking forward to returning one day.

Thank you for reading our story!!

A Little Bit Of Stress Is Good For You

Published on January 24, 2024 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

Greece to Belgium and two countries in between.

We seem to be encountering more mishaps, or stressful moments as we travel these days. I am not sure whether it is all “Post COVID” fallout, or just that we are getting older, but we are finding that travel is not as easy as it used to be. And it is so much more expensive.

We flew from Brisbane to Zurich via Doha with no problems at all. Leaving Germany to get back to Zurich (train ride) was fraught with stress, but we got there on time and made it to our flight to Athens.

To read that story, click here – https://kiwisdofly.blog/2024/01/10/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/

Getting to Leros Island, in the Dodecanese island group, there are 2 options. A 10 hour ferry ride from Piraeus or a flight on a 30 (or so) seater plane 3 or 4 times a week – depending on the weather. We chose the flight and it was perfect, on time, smooth and spectacular views as we flew into Leros. We could recognise the whole island from above and got pretty excited to be coming back.

Our awesome house owner came to pick us up and we fell instantly in-love with the island all over again. We were here at the end of 2019 for 7 weeks doing this same house sit and we loved it. It is so wonderful to see Michael and all the cats again.

Life on the island has not changed a lot. We felt instantly at home and spent many hours walking the tracks and hills, finding new routes and going over old favourites. The scenery is fabulous and the hospitality is still very Greek – ie so welcoming and generous. Chris did a bit of snorkelling and found more WWII relics including a pistol thingie and many bullets.

Sadly all our house sits have to come to an end at some point. The weather had been really nice, around 16-18 degC most day until the last week. The temperature dropped and the wind came up. 5 days out from our departure, we were studying the weather forecast. We had booked the plane to leave on Saturday, the forecast was not looking good. We had 2 nights accomodation in booked in Athens and a flight to Paris booked for Monday.

What are we going to do if the flight is cancelled? Just to put it into perspective, we have been on the island and experienced 4 departures, 2 were cancelled, so that is 50% chance of being cancelled and the weather was not looking good. We found there was a ferry leaving on Thursday night and Sunday night. If out flight was cancelled then we could get the next flight on Tuesday or the ferry on Sunday, but either way we would lose our accommodation and miss the flight to Paris.

Thursday morning we made the decision to leave the island early. We took the overnight ferry on Thursday night and arrived in Athens a day early, but at lease we got there. We had a fabulous extra day in Athens and on Saturday we watched to see if the flight we were supposed to be on went ……..it did not! We made a good call! But how stressful was that for the last few days on Leros?

Athens is a great city, we loved being there and it turned out to be a bonus that we had an extra day. The Parthenon and the Acropolis were breath-taking. The history and ancientness is almost incomprehensible.

Next stop Paris. Then a very easy trip from Charles De Gaulle through the Metro system to meet a BlaBlaCar in the city centre – I think the Arc de Triomphe was right above us! Our driver took us to Chatellerault. Yes! We are going back to the Chateau!

Read our Fairy tail castle story here – https://kiwisdofly.blog/2019/11/15/our-fairy-tale-in-france/

I cant really describe how wonderful it was to be back. We feel very much part of this family after having 3 months here with them in 2019. They have been super busy the last four years and there are many changes and improvements, and the whole estate is looking amazing! We met the current house sitters and had 3 days of wonderful company, food and lots of laughs.

But, again, it is time to move on. Train, Train, bus – all the way to Amsterdam. When we get to Paris we have 90 minutes to get from Montparnasse to Bercy Seine, google says it is a 30 minute journey. Cool, we can make it. Oh no, here comes our friend “travel stress” The train from Chatellerault, on time. Train to from Poitiers to Paris – delayed 45 minutes. Oh crap, we have a good idea how to get from Montparnasse to Bercy, but it will be 11pm and dark. Sitting at the station, tap tap tapping our feet just praying it all works out. The bus from Paris is an overnight bus, leaving at midnight, if we miss this, then what? Tap tap tap….. 45 minutes late becomes 35 minutes late – yes! And once we were on the train, the driver must have put his foot down because we were only 25 minutes late getting in. phew. we did it!

The Metro system in Paris is so easy. The sign posts and information is so clear, we made it to Bercy Sein Bus station in plenty of time.

The bus ride was great, Blablabus this time, really comfortable seats and we both managed to get a bit of sleep.

Our friends were there at 0630 to pick us up and oh what a fabulous weekend we had. There was still some snow in Holland, which made everything look so beautiful. We did some sight-seeing, saw clogs being made, saw loads of windmills – even went inside one! Saw a frozen lake, watched Mama Mia (well the girls did, the boys went to the brewery!) and ate a lot of wonderful food! So the motto of the weekend was “I am so full – or am I just still full” Again, so wonderful to see friends we have not seen in 4 years.

But yes, it is time to move on again! This time down to Brussels to meet the plane to London. Denis drove us all the way from Holland which was over and above, but we appreciated it so much. A rainy day in Brussels, a few beers and of course frits (French fries) and that is it, our 90 days here in Europe is done and dusted.

Fun Fact

French Fries actually originate in Belgium. Yes its a fact! During WWI, American soldiers stationed in Belgium discovered these fried potatos. But because most people in the southern part of Belgium spoke French, they ended up calling these little slices of heaven “French Fries”

Thank you for reading our story!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Published on January 10, 2024 by kiwisdofly21 Comment

Engen, Germany November 2023

It is November and here we are back in Europe. It has been 4 years since we were here last, and we have been really looking forward to coming back. Sadly, it is Autumn (Fall) and will be full on winter soon, but we love Europe and how cold can it really get? (remember I said that!)

We are met at Zurich airport by our lovely homeowner and accompanied through the three-change train journey up to and into the village of Engen in Germany. It is a sunny day, so everything looks so pretty as we make our way through into the German country side.

The two dogs we will be looking after are shy to start with but soon come round and are so lovely. We have not had anything to do with Sighthounds before and found these two to have such gentle natures and are so loving . It did not take long for us both to fall in love.

The village of Engen is small, only 10,000 population. We were staying in the “Old Town”, very cute and very old. A High Street with a beautiful church and a castle. It is said to be one of the best preserved medieval urban ensembles in Southern Germany. Our house was toasty and warm, built right under the castle. With only one external wall, it was as if the house had been sculptured and pressed into a mound of clay that hardened into the bedrock that was the castle’s foundation. The house was 4 levels high, and the walls were near enough half a metre think. Shutters on the windows, door opening right onto the street, so pretty.

The dogs were gorgeous! Such elegant faces and long legs. It was fascinating watching them sit and curl up with those long legs, they seemed to fold up like a builder’s measuring tape. We walked with them 3 or 4 times each day, there was so much beautiful countryside to explore. It was not very warm so the doggies had coats to wear if it was below 10°C, – they only went without their coats once! The colours were beautiful as the leaves had changed and were falling, we expected that all the leaves would be gone by the time we left.

I really admire people who speak multiple languages. We can only speak English but can usually get away with being understood with various hand gestures and of course “Google Translate” We love the challenge of being understood, but this one takes the cake. Our gorgeous neighbour, Maria, has lived in that same house for sixty years. She is originally from Italy and is so lovely. She would knock knock on our window and bring us espresso – Italian espresso that she had made, or a bottle of Italian Rosé. We would sit and have a conversation. We don’t speak German or Italian, she does not speak English and prefers not to speak German. So we manage with a bit of everything – a bit of Spanish even comes out. So funny! the laughs we had over that Italian Rosé, unforgettable moments we will never forget.

I had researched the weather in Engen before we got there and was told (by Google – so must be true!) to expect 4 snow days in November and that the average high would be 7°C and low of 1°C. I would love to see the snow! We do get snow in New Zealand but not, generally, in the North Island where we are from, unless you go up the mountains to ski. It was starting to get colder and colder; my app was starting to show the snow icon and the lows were getting lower and lower as the weeks went by. I could not believe what I was seeing when it predicted -13°C.

One night it said it would snow at 11pm. We went to put the light out at 11:15 and as a joke I said to Chris “is it snowing yet?” He looked out the window and we could hardly believe what we were seeing! It was snowing! OMG it was actually snowing!

Our house with the blue shutters, tucked in under the castle

In the morning there was a dusting of snow and that was the beginning. It carried on snowing and snowing and snowing, the trees, the fences, the cars, the roads, getting whiter and whiter and whiter. The sky was quite grey to start with but the dogs loved being out in the snow, we double coated them as it was quite wet. Then the sun came out and the whole place became a fairy tale, like a scene from a Christmas card, it was so pretty with the blue sky making all the white sparkle. It was such a treat to be here in these conditions, everything I had hoped for.

Just had to have a go at making a snowman with Helen, Reinhard and Olivia

Sunday, the day before we leave. It has been snowing heavily for days but the sun is now shining and the sky is a brilliant blue. We have met Helen, who is from New Zealand, we all decide to go build a snowman. The snow is as soft as silk and so dry that our snowman turns out a little unconventional. Reinhard pulls a few beers out of a basket in the trunk to celebrate our fabulous snowman making skills! What goes with Beer? Sausages! Well, this IS Germany, Right? but it is Sunday! everything is closed. So we just “pop” over to Switzerland to the supermarket – Switzerland is NOT closed! This is the most bizarre concept for us, to be able to just pop over to another country to buy sausages! But we did, and we had sausages and more beer back at their house. The sausages were even cooked on a BBQ, after the BBQ was dig out of the snow! What a fantastic day!

The snow was unusually heavy for this time of the year and on our day of departure the trains on the route we needed to take to Zurich airport were not running as snow laden trees had fallen across the tracks and damaged the electrics. They had put on a replacement bus from our first train-change to a destination we could use to pick up a train to connect with the one to the airport. We had to take a taxi from the house as we could not wheel our bags through the snow. We were so thankful that out awesome homeowner came with us and we decided to take the taxi all the way to the bus pick up point. Thank goodness he was with us; we don’t think we would have found the place on our own. Then we waited and waited. The bus finally turned up and we are looking at our watches thinking “ok we will still make it”

BUT…The bus driver would not let us on the bus. A whole line of people standing in the snow outside the bus while he reclined his seat, crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes!

20 minutes later he let us all on and we were heading out of town. Will we make it? The bus seemed to go the long way, cross-country through narrow streets and we really are thinking we will not make it. We had three options once we got to Schaffhausen, and as time marched on, each option became an impossibility. Then we stopped, about 5 minutes ahead of what my google maps was telling me. We ran to find the train that was our “if all else fails” option for getting to the airport on time. Made it! But we did ask two different people if this was the right train to the airport, it wasn’t showing as a stop on the screen and we didn’t trust that we wouldn’t end up on a train going in the opposite direction. Anyway, all’s well that ends well, we made it and got to the airport in time!

Looking back, our trip to Engen was wonderful, beautiful pets, wonderful people, cute village and the prettiest snow covered landscape I have ever seen – a bit of stress getting out of there – but hey! thats what travel is all about – expect the unexpected!

Thank you for reading our story!

The Story Of Mr Peanut And Friends

Published on November 22, 2023 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

Sunshine Coast August – October

It has been 3 and a half months since we left Thailand. I remember my Mum saying that time will go faster and faster the older you get, and I am seeing how right she was! Where has this year gone?

Since Thailand, we’ve been on a roll! We’ve rocked 2 house sits, 1 camping trip and had a blast hanging out with friends and family. No dull moments thats for sure!

I took a week in NZ on the way back to Australia to see family and friends. My youngest daughter Tay, flew back to Australia with me to see her sister. It was so good to have two weeks with her and to have my two beautiful girls together, even for such a short time.

We did a four week house sit in a small village at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast called Pomona. We usually like to stay on the coast and be by the ocean, so this was a change for us being in the hinterland. We thoroughly enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of the area. We had 1 dog, 4 cats, 4 geese and 2 chickens to look after. There were kangaroos regularly visiting right into the back yard and the bird life was amazing. King parrots, Cockatoos and Kookaburras to name just a few. The Australian bush is so unique with the smell of the gumtrees and is so full of life. We spent a lot of time walking with Redley around the outskirts of the village through the bush. We did not see any snakes, that would be taking the wildlife a little bit to extremes!

Redley is a beautiful girl, an Australian Kelpie with a gentle nature, we both fell instantly in love. She was such great company and constantly entertaining.

The Geese were a new one for us. We could let them out in the afternoons about 4pm and they would run around in a line, flapping their wings squawking or is it honking?? eating up all the oranges that had fallen to the ground. Redley would round them and the chickens up, it was so funny to watch, around and around the house they would go, bums wabbling, wings flapping. The chickens, John and Jon, laid eggs most days but we had a mystery on our hands. We would find broken eggs in strange places, outside of the coop. There was one wooden egg in the nesting box to encourage laying, that egg ended up in all sorts of weird places too, then it would disappear for a couple of days then turn up again. How is this happening? The coop is fox proof, there were no markings on the dirt of a snake or lizard. Turns out it was a crow! Chris did some temporary crow-proofing and we started getting more eggs for the pan. Those crows are clever though and found a way in, again! The geese started to lay, the crows never picked any of these big beauties up! Very cool to have goose eggs which were made into bacon and egg pies!

Though we loved being out in the country, the time came for us to leave, it was good to be by back on the coast. Chris stayed at his apartment in Marcoola, and I went on to look after my dear friend Shelley’s cat, Mr Peanut, while she went on holiday.

Shelley’s house is out in the hinterland, so I am back in the country. Kookaburras start laughing even before it is light around here! Again, so peaceful and pitch black at night showing up the beautiful stars in the sky.

The health and wellbeing of the pets we care for is always a very big concern for us when house sitting. What is normal behaviour for these pets? and what is out of the ordinary? As we don’t have that “parent intuition” it can sometimes be a bit of a guessing game. We are learning more and more what a huge responsibility this is and how much trust our home/pet owners are putting into us to do the right thing for their beloved pets.

Mr Peanut had an adventure a few years ago where he got lost and did not return for 3.5 years. It is quite a miracle really and a story we will never know fully. If only Mr Peanut could talk! Since then, he has been a bit of a “scardy cat” One day he got such a fright he took off under the house and out the other side toward the paddocks. He stumbled at the fence then ran, hell for leather, down toward the bush. Leigh (my daughter) was there at the time and we tried to find him. We called and called and traipsed up and down the paddocks and even into the bush, no sign. Oh boy! I am hoping it is not going to be another 3.5 years until we see him again!!

He didn’t come home that night, Leigh stayed over and we searched again the next day. I made a flyer and got my cousin to print it out to distribute around the neighbourhood the next day if he didn’t turn up. Late that second night he meowed at the door. He was filthy and hungry, my relief was unmeasurable, he was back!! But he was broken! Something very wrong with his face, and he was dribbling and couldn’t eat, but he was purring and he was back! I couldn’t figure out what had happened, I tried to think of all scenarios even thinking he may have had a stroke as the side of his face was droopy.

Leigh and I took him to the vet the next day and were hoping that the vet would be able to solve the puzzle of what could have happened to poor Mr Peanut. He was none the wiser other than the fact that his jaw was dislocated, and as he was examining him it just popped it back in! That looks better already! But an Xray was still needed to check the rest of his face. After consultation with his Mum, Mr Peanut stayed in overnight and had surgery the next day to wire his broken jaw. Poor boy! What a thing to go through.

He came home and was so brave. He hated the big blue collar he had to wear and didn’t much like the runny, soupy food he had to eat, but otherwise all fixed. The wire would come out in 6 weeks. Now he is shaved we think we know what happened. As he ran through the fence, the bottom wire went between his teeth into his mouth and that is why he stumbled, pretty much stopped dead in his tracks, the momentum dislocated and broke his jaw. What a freak accident.

Poor Mr Peanut.

Our last 3 weeks on the Sunshine Coast was filled with lots of friends visiting from NZ and spending as much time as possible with our friends and family who live here. We are heading to Europe and are not entirely sure when we will be returning to Australia. We have been having a very social time thats for sure! who would ever have time to fit work into this very busy schedule!

We did managed to squeeze in a quick 2 night camping trip with Steve and Shelley at Inskip Point. This is a favourite spot and never disappoints. A roast pork in the camp oven, lots of beach time and of course plenty of wine.

I feel so very lucky to have so many beautiful friends and of course my family, who are my best friends of all!

Category: house sitting

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The Tale Of A Remote Island

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Be Careful What You Wish For

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The Story Of Mr Peanut And Friends

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SO it is good bye to Australia for now, see you when we see you!

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