The Last Hurrah

Firstly, thank you so much once again for your kind messages and words of support.  I am one lucky lady to have so many wonderful caring friends, even though I have never met many of you!  And I apologise that so many of my posts have been health related lately on what is supposed to be a travel blog.  But we are real people, still living a real life.  Packing up one lifestyle and exchanging it for another, albeit simpler one doesn't stop things from happening or prevent fate from stepping in every now and then.  Anyone who lives on the road will tell you it's not perfect all the time.  But I reckon it's pretty bloody close.  Even with all its challenges, we live a truly blessed life.

Looking quite chuffed to be driving this beasty!

And one of the most brilliant things about living a mobile life is that even when the chips are down, you don't have to stop the adventures.  As long as you can still drive, or have someone to drive you, there is still no end to the exciting new places and beautiful views you can still visit and appreciate.  It doesn't matter if you have to stop and have a rest or a snooze if you feel a bit pooped, even for several days, when you have your whole house with you!  So when I got the chance recently to take a beautiful big motorhome for a whole day out, courtesy of our friend Murray at Southern Campers, I jumped at the opportunity.  My mission was simple, yet very enjoyable.  All I had to do was drive us around as much beautiful scenery as I could manage in a day, while Gareth concentrated on getting as much glorious footage as possible to make Murray some promotional videos.  That much I could do!  Even if it meant strapping my ever-present hot water bottle in tightly under my seatbelt with the rest of me.  It worked a treat and we set off excitedly.  

Our route was all planned out.  We would head off along the Southern Scenic Route, and explore Western Southland, ticking off several as yet unseen destinations along the way, then make our way up to one of our favourite parts of the country, Fiordland!  Western Southland is host to some of the most popular and well known freedom camping spots in the south and I couldn't wait to check them out.  All these months we had farewelled many a traveller off to the likes of Cosy Nook, Colac Bay and Monkey Island and at last it was our turn to follow in their footsteps.  

We travelled in style all across Western Southland

The road to Invercargill was characteristically grey as we set out, but the weather promised to improve and by the time we reached Riverton, known as the 'Riviera of the South', the sun was poking out from behind the clouds.  For me, driving a vehicle of this size was a big thing and it felt great to be finally facing one of my fears.  I had never driven anything bigger than Ken, and at 3.3 metres high and over 7 metres long, this four-berth motorhome was a heck of a lot bigger!  My newfound height was one of the first important things I was to become aware of when I casually went to park outside the local petrol station to get some supplies.  'Trees!'  Gareth made me almost jump out of my skin, mercifully in the nick of time!  Crikey, I wasn't used to having to worry about things like tree branches sticking out, or whether I could fit my vehicle underneath them!  After that I was incredibly mindful of every single twig that threatened to invade my precious aura.  And as a complete newbie at driving such a large vehicle, I could see at last why it is that motorhomers often don't pull over; even when they have queues of angry drivers behind them, who have been following them for miles.  You're so conscious of how much room you take up on the road and so busy making sure you're not too far over to the left, or to the right and that you're not going to hit anything sticking out of the roadside, you can become completely oblivious of the poor souls behind you, desperately wishing you would move over!  But once I realised I became more mindful of it, and determined not to be one of 'those' motorhomers, did my best to pull over and let others pass, earning myself many grateful beeps and waves as a result.  Not that I was going slow mind, as it turns out, motorhomes of this size are surprisingly grunty and I had no problem maintaining the speed limit!  

Colac Bay.  Sort of.

Driving a motorhome really is just like driving a car and I was chuffed to bits with myself for taking to it like a duck to water.  At least when it came to driving forwards!  However I was soon thrown when I steered us expertly down the first road to Colac Bay and discovered too late that the road was closed.  I had no choice but to try out my first three-point turn, on an incredibly narrow road, with the tide fully in just a few feet behind me!  Fortunately, with the help of Gareth yelling instructions behind me and my reversing camera, we were soon on our way again, but there were several more times in the course of the day where we both agreed a co-driver was incredibly helpful, and for the first time I could see why so many motorhoming couples often joke about bickering when it comes to parking and other manoeuvres!

With the tide being so far in, our ideas of a leisurely stroll along the renowned surf beach were quashed.  Sadly it was the same when we went to turn off to Cosy Nook.  Again the road was closed and I was sad to be unable to visit the adorable little settlement I had heard so much about.  Our run of luck continued when we arrived at Gemstone Beach.  As the name suggests, this beach is really quite stunning and semi-precious gems such as quartz, jasper, garnet and nephrite are commonly found when walking along the sand  But once again the tide was against us and the only thing we were going to get from our visit was wet feet.  Still, it didn't really worry us.  We just made a note to go back and enjoy them all again another time - and this time we would check the tides first!

I love the Southland landscape!

Besides, we still had plenty more places to visit, and the stunning landscape which was accompanying us the whole way was only reigniting our love for Southland even more.  There really is nothing like the mountains of the Deep South, at least not to us.  The absolute freaking hugeness of them is just mindblowing and it just makes me so glad to be in this beautiful part of the world.  Sometimes they're dark and brooding, other times warm and welcoming.  But on any given day they're spectacular and before long we could my favourite kind of mountains of all - snowy ones!

Nothing makes me smile like the sight of snow!

Before long we had reached our next stop, Monkey Island. To date I had heard only two things about the place; one that it was full to capacity with cars, vans and motorhomes of every description, every night during the tourist season.  Two, that it is incredibly windy and exposed all year round!  While I had no desire to stay there for both reasons, I was keen to check out this freedom camping Mecca.  As I parked the motorhome at the edge of the beach and looked out at the little island a short way out to sea, I could definitely see the appeal.  The beach was stunning and for once it wasn't even that windy!  Monkey Island got its name from the fact you can climb up it, which a lot of people do, just like monkeys.  There is even a staircase leading up to the top, which is accessible at low tide, however once again we had timed it wrong.  It really didn't matter though, the view in itself was enough, with the ocean in the foreground and the snowy mountains behind.  We were pretty much the only monkeys there too, and it was awesome to see this gorgeous spot at this time of year in all its glory, before the hordes would soon descend for the summer months.

Winter is the perfect time to visit Monkey Island!

Sea and snow in the same view?  Where else but Southland!

Monkey Island.  If you look closely you can see the steps up to the top

As we pulled back out onto the main road, Gareth wound down the window.  'Ugh, silage!' he said as he sniffed the air.  'Where else but Southland do you get sea, snow AND silage!' I laughed.  A short distance down the road I pulled in at the Clifden Suspension Bridge.  This historic structure was built in 1899 and given my fear of both heights and suspension bridges I didn't plan to set foot on it!  However I was pleasantly surprised at the workmanship of this old relic and we took a pleasant stroll both on the bridge and around the reserve.  Definitely worth the stop!  

Minnie and me on the Clifden Bridge.  She had a great day out too!

We were getting some serious kilometres under our belt now and I was enjoying the journey immensely.  It felt so good to be out and about!  We laughed and sang as we went along and as we made our way to Fiordland and more and more motorhomes and campervans began to appear, we were surprised to see how many tourists were already about for the time of year.  I was even more surprised when another rental motorhome drove towards us, with two young girls sitting in the front.  'They're giving me the finger!' I said to Gareth, shocked.  'Oh hang on, no they're not, they're waving!' I laughed, waving back enthusiastically in the nick of time.  The next motorhome waved at us too, and the next.  'They think we're overseas tourists, like them!' we giggled.  From then on I waved at every motorhome and campervan we encountered.  But you know what?  Of all the travellers we waved at, not one NZMCA member waved back.  Come on Kiwis, lift your game!

Fraser's Beach, Lake Manapouri

Lake Manapouri, Fiordland

A visit to Fiordland wouldn't be complete without a visit to one of my favourite places, Lake Manapouri.  Time was getting on now but we managed to fit in a walk at Fraser's Beach before we moved on to Te Anau.  We'd never been to Te Anau out of peak season and it was lovely to see the little town so quiet.  By now I'd become well used to parking my lovely big motorhome and was particularly impressed at how well I had positioned it into a parking space in the Subway carpark.  I even asked Gareth to take a photo, but he refused me bragging rights, pointing out that, with the exception of us, the carpark was in fact completely empty.  

I've got enough memories to last this passenger for quite a while!

From there we headed home, still singing all the way.  It was the best day I'd had in a long time and we so much appreciated Murray's kindness in trusting me with his motorhome!  I guess you could say it was just what the doctor ordered and it made me realise I wasn't quite as useless as I thought I was.  After all, I'd just driven hundreds of kilometres!  What I didn't realise at the time was that would be the last time I was allowed to drive, at least for the foreseeable future.  The very next day I was put on a bunch of pain medication which no longer allows me behind the wheel.  That was something I could never have predicted - but what a last hurrah!

The Waiting Game

Crikey, it's been a while, hasn't it?  I'd like to say the absence of blogs has been due to the fact we've been having so much fun, going all over the place and having all kinds of jolly adventures, but in reality the last few months have been one long string of medical appointments.  I'm surprised the local doctors haven't offered us one of their parking spaces as a freedom camp, it would save a lot of to-ing and fro-ing!  If you haven't seen the full explanation already, you can catch up here but to cut a long story short(ish), I'm not currently feeling the flashest and haven't been for quite some time.  We left our house for a life on the road in November 2016 and my symptoms first began eight weeks later so it's been hanging around for quite a while!  The worst part was not knowing what the heck was wrong with me and I lost a lot of sleep worrying about what it could possibly be.  I was tested for a lot of gnarly things too, which didn't help!  But after more than six months of tests we finally have a diagnosis.  I have a severe case of something called adenomyosis.  I'd never heard of it before, most people haven't and I won't go into details but it can be cured with a hysterectomy.  The downside is, it could be up to a year before I get the operation.  In the meantime, the condition has progressed to the stage where I can no longer stand or walk more than a few steps.  It sucks, but as the saying goes there is always someone worse off and I consider myself very lucky, at least I have something that is curable. 

When I took this silly selfie, showing off my stylish hospital gown to Gareth,

I had no idea that half an hour later I would be undergoing a biopsy!

To top it all off, next Tuesday I am booked in for breast surgery to have a load of naughty cells removed.  I'm not scared, I'm just grateful, I had no idea they were even there!  It doesn't matter what sort of home you have or where, it's still vital you keep up with things like mammograms, blood tests and the like and even though I wasn't anticipating any problems and we already had quite enough tests going on, I made a point of popping into the mobile 'boob bus' when it was in town.  Ironically, the very next day I saw a bunch of posts on Facebook, saying that mammograms weren't even effective and could actually give you cancer.  I'm really glad I didn't see those posts until I had already been, or it could have swayed my judgement.  As it was, that 'ineffective' mammogram saved my life.  So apologies for sharing so much personal information today, but if there's one thing I've learned you can't stick your head in the sand when it comes to these things.  You only get one body, one life and we should all make the most of every opportunity we are given to check that everything is as it should be.  The day I went for my mammogram a fellow friend  who lives on the road said to me 'Oh I don't bother with those, I know my own body!'  Well there you go.  I thought I did too.

I'm blessed every morning, waking up to a view like this!

But enough of the anatomy lessons already!  I've always considered myself to be quite a positive person - at least, I try, and I've learned to be grateful for so many more things during this time.  The friends we have here at the campground are all so wonderful and supportive, and the health care we have received here in Southland is truly outstanding.  I'm grateful for everything from the little fat sparrows which come right up to our door in the van to the noisy wee lambs which are starting to make an appearance in the field behind us.  Most of all I am grateful for my long suffering husband, who feeds me (seriously, he makes the bestest most comforting food ever), keeps me constantly supplied with hot water bottles and hugs, walks alongside me at a snail's pace on days I can manage it and is just all round amazing.

I'm also glad that my symptoms didn't start to show before we sold the house and set out on the road.  If I had known what the future held less than two years down the track, I would no doubt have imagined my health and limited mobility would have made travelling impossible and our lives could have gone down a very different path.  Which would have been an incredible shame!  It's only natural for people to make such an assumption, that living in a house must surely be easier, more convenient and more comfortable.  However, both Gareth and I (and indeed every other person we speak to who has dealt with health issues on the road) have found that on the contrary, managing an illness or disability in a small space is far easier.  Seriously, not having a whole flipping great house to keep on top of at a time like this is an absolute blessing.  As for getting to appointments, all the travelling and waiting around is a lot easier when you can take your whole house with you!  And ironically, this condition has led me to being otherwise in the best health of my life.  All the months of not knowing what was wrong with me, and wondering whether it was something I was inadvertently doing to myself caused me to gradually eliminate absolutely everything which was potentially harmful or unhealthy from my diet.  In many ways I've never felt better!  Even when I do eventually get my operation, there's no way I'll ever return to any of my previous habits.

I'm not the most patient person in the world (Gareth always bursts out laughing when I say that, I have no idea why!) but the great thing about living on the road is that plans can change and it really doesn't matter if they do.  We have all the time in the world to get where we're going and are looking forward to so many adventures.  The last couple of weeks I was feeling really down.  REALLY down.  Down dooby doo down down.  I miss my boys so much.  It's been six months since I last saw Liam and 19 months since I saw Ali!  All I wanted to do was see my family and I had been promising Ali for so long that we would come back to the North Island for a while to spend some time with him.  I was sick of my health woes constantly getting in the way and it felt as though I was letting everyone down.  But Ali had a way of making me see things differently, the way he always has.  'I'm alright Mum, I'll still be here.  There's so many cool things to do and see up here, I want to be able to do them with you.  There's no point you coming up if you can't do anything!'  he told me.  Point taken kiddo.  And so we wait.

The first signs of spring are everywhere

Winter is almost done and dusted for another year and we have to say, it was a breeze.  Despite being dogged with health problems the whole way through, and the weather gurus telling us we were in for a shocker of a season, after starting off with a hiss and a roar back in early June, the frosts have been few and far between and on the whole it's been so mild.  There's nothing we love more than being in our toasty van during winter.  Even though it gets down to -4 degrees some nights, we're so warm we're literally throwing the blankets off!  Two things we found made a big difference this year; first we parked up on the hard ground this winter.  Last year we parked on the grass and it was so darn messy, particularly when Minnie would come inside with her wet and muddy Ewok feet!  This year all that has been really kept to a minimum and it has made things so much easier.

Still happy as ever after surviving our second winter!

Secondly, we did it - we beat the van damp and put an end to our mattress woes!  I'm almost too scared to say it in case I jinx us but seeing as there are only 10 days left in winter hopefully it's safe to now.  The answer in the end was incredibly simple.  You may remember us drilling holes in the wooden bed base last year, to allow air to flow, particularly in our underbed storage area.  Sadly this didn't work.  Then in autumn this year we used plastic pallets to elevate our mattress, creating space between the foam squabs and the wooden base.  This worked fairly well but still wasn't perfect.  In a last ditch attempt, and on the advice of our neighbour Wayne, we got a small fan heater, which either blows cold or warm air as we choose and tucked it into the now large space under the bed.  The result has been a bone dry mattress, all winter!  We don't even need to have it running constantly, we just pop it on morning and night for a bit, or when we're out.  Such an easy solution after all that hassle!