Gosh, where does time go to? Here we are marching well into August. Winter is over here in the sunny north, the weather is definitely warming up and the spring flowers and trees are starting to come out. We have had a wet winter but not a cold one – I saw only two frosts on the ground this year. The grass will soon take off and my cows will be in clover again!

Dave & I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in June – what a wonderful year its been. I was told to leave the weekend free and to relax. He went to huge lengths to recreate our first ever date – which was really quite funny and very sweet. Then he whisked me away to the quaint little fishing village of Mangonui in the Far North where we stayed at the delightfully refurbished Old Oak Inn for a couple of nights. The inn is now a boutique hotel, with wonderful views over the Mangonui harbour and right alongside it is the Acorn Bar & Bistro – we recommend it.

We loved the Post Office Café for breakfasts and quirky shopping, and enjoyed a Fish & Chip supper at the fully licensed world famous Mangonui Fish & Chip Shop, right on the wharf. It was a lovely weekend, and so much better for being a total surprise!

Then in July we sneaked away to Tonga for some extended R&R. My friend Hazel came out from UK and we all flew out a few days later to spend an idyllic week on a tiny coral atoll in the northern Vava’u group. Quite an effort needed to get there – three hours on the plane from NZ, then 1 hour on the smaller plane, 20 min drive in an island taxi complete with dashboard full of teddy’s and assorted religious miscellanea, followed by 45 mins on a boat. Our island was home to just our eco-lodge of about half a dozen fales (houses) – there were two other groups of people and ourselves! At one point we had the entire island to ourselves for 48hrs. Bliss. It was picture postcard perfect – white sandy beaches, palm trees, turquoise waters, amazing sea life right off the beach. We snorkelled every day and I was lucky enough to see a shark and a turtle, and we all saw moray eels as well as the hundreds of different coloured fishes. Doubtlessly, the highlight for the three of us was the day spent out whale watching.


Humpback whales come up from the Antarctic to breed in Vava’u’s warm waters every year. We were allowed to don our snorkel gear and get very up close and personal with these wonderful whales – it was just amazing especially the mother and her calf. Breathtaking. We spent a night and a day in the capital Nuku’alofa before flying home, and were very impressed by all the new building and pavement construction going on. It’s a safe and interesting place, and very unspoilt.

On the farm we have been busy with all the normal sorts of things, fencing, fixing pumps, and dealing with the odd flood. The cattle have all grown well and will really start putting on condition as spring arrives and the grass takes off.

Ally is a happy cat – I installed a new cat door with electromagnetic catch so that only SHE can enter. She had been suffering from Dad’s cat’s pushy ways, and also suspect a wild cat of becoming a bit bold too. Ally is a lot more relaxed now, and getting wider now someone isn’t stealing her food! (not too wide for her cat flap yet).

The Rugby World Cup is about to happen – the grand opening is September 9. We will be in Auckland attending – should be an amazing event. Our little B&B is fully booked for both the games we are hosting in Whangarei – Canada v Tonga, and Tonga v Japan. I know a lot of accommodation providers have capitalised on this event by substantially increasing tariffs around the country. Well, that’s free trade I guess. We have chosen to keep our prices the same as normal however, and look forward to being busy, busy!

Till next time,
Sammi & Dave