Jennifer Jeffries's Blog, page 3

Day 4 – Wellington to Pohara Beach, via Picton and Nelson

You don’t have any idea when staring at a flat map of the South Island, just how rigorous the driving might be. Today was quite a day – I maxed out on energy and driving and don’t want to do that too often. All up, once I spent the morning crossing the Cook Strait to the South Island, I then had four hours of driving to do to get here, and what driving it was too.

But let’s start with the 5.30 am beginning of the day when I got up and sorted and drove the 20 mins to the ferry. It was a splendid day for a crossing, so I was very lucky.

We were inevitable half an hour late, but the scenery was superb and I had booked a cabin for this crossing, which was a little like being on a cruise. First though, breakfast.

Bacon and eggsMy wee cabinYou can just see the Beehive, NZ’s seat of governmentWellington in all her glory

It was very still, the sky dazzling blue, and with fountains spraying high and kayakers paddling, a lovely sight as we left the harbour and past into the open sea.

Once we moved out into the strait, I moved up into my cabin and cast myself down on the bed for a power nap. So lovely with the gentle rocking of the waves. After the nap I had a shower in the ensuite, and then headed down to the cafeteria for water, and the outer decks to check out the view as we approached the spectacular Marlborough Sounds, which lead into Picton.

The water is jewel-like, and mesmerising. I got my exercise negotiating the stairs up and down to the top deck viewing space. The route can be seen on my screen shot. We arrived at Picton and eventually I joined the small cavalcade of camper vans disembarking and with great relish, set off into the South Island for the start of the real adventure.

First there were hills, some very striking and we wound through them until we hit the Marlborough plains were there are a patchwork quilt of vineyards. I enjoyed reading familiar names as I drove past – and my palate provided a memory of each as the name flashed by: Wither Hills, Villa Maria, Cloudy Bay, Brancott Estate, to name a few, and the one most often at our supermarkets, Stoneleigh. I’m sure I’ve missed some. All the stubby little vines were pruned and leafless, and must be in the prelude to sprouting forth in bright green growth.

I soon turned north west and into the foothills of some mountains that I wound through, before coming out in an oyster town called Havelock.

I was surprised how long it took to get to Nelson, through the winding hills and past numerous obstructions in the way of road works due to the recent flooding which caused slips and capsizing of the road in some of the steeper spots. It took two hours to get to Nelson (for some reason I always thought it was a hop, skip and jump from Picton). Nah.

I love the camper van – and being able to stop and have a cuppa at a good spot

With an hour yet to go to reach Nelson I encountered a narrow bridge and a spectacular river ploughing through the rocks, so I parked and made a cuppa and took photos.

Nelson was enjoying late afternoon Saturday ambience and a relaxed vibe as I drove through looking for a car park. Got one, got some cash out, and found a new sushi and kimchi place that was enjoying some brisk trade. I availed myself of some sushi, and then headed back out to the van. At this point I envisaged a straight-forward drive to the Pohara Beach in Golden Bay. I was so wrong. It baffled me how what looked like comparatively short distance was going to take two hours.

Two hours of slow tight bends – 45kms of hair-pin curves to negotiate up and down the range of hills leading to Golden Bay. It was much worse than the Remutakas the day before, leading in to Wellington!

However, it was all worth it, when I ground down the other side and the entire valley opened out to my view. It was like a vision of Paradise, and the golden sunset added the final touch.

The road levelled out and I could drive faster, and after what felt an interminable time, I drew into the small township of Taikaka, (where I will go tomorrow to fill up on diesel.) I was too late to book in with the office, but they are relaxed enough here to let you get a powered site and pay tomorrow. So I’m backed up against the beach, and powered up, and have eaten a delish dinner of miso soup, toasted sandwiches, and small salad. And taken a brief walk to the beach to appreciate the sunset.

Pohara Beach

I feel sure I will sleep well tonight!

Day 3 – a trip from Napier to Wellington (which I dedicate to the memory of Queen Elizabeth II, whose demise permeated all our thoughts today.)

Today I woke to an exceptionally beautiful morning overlooking Napier Bay with the sound of the surf on the shingle. Soon after the first glint of gold hit the horizon I received a text from my sister telling me to look at the news. It was all a bit surreal realising that the woman who has ALWAYS been Queen to me, is no longer.

The tributes still flow, and I’m enjoying listening and watching them from my cosy camper here in Wellington. I set off quite early because it was going to be a four hour drive with breaks getting down to the capital city. My brother left my company today on his own journey back north, and so I am truly on my own for now.

First stop was at a settlement originally founded by Norwegians in 1872 – a logging town. Hence its name: Norsewood. I stopped for a coffee and a most delicious savoury scone, which was more like a pizza it had so much topping on it. What a gem this township is: Off the beaten track and scattered but with a sense of history and uniqueness. Check out the few shots:

Norsewood

From Norsewood it was about an hour until the next stop: just beyond Dannevirke (another Nordic settlement) and much bigger in size, there is a sweet town called Greytown. This was my lunch stop – despite the pizza scone an hour ago.

I managed to pull in to a large space on the side of the street, and went in to what looked like a popular cafe. There I ordered an Asian salad and chai latte.

Greytown

Although I was desperately happy for vegetables, I was disappointed. My prolific range of salads I am used to has somewhat spoiled me for the ones like this that are ‘fake’. I have a gripe about restaurants that serve coleslaw they don’t chop up finely themselves. This was made up out of the bags of thick cut slaw you can get at supermarkets, with the addition of some coriander, noodles, nuts and some kind of pancake underneath (?). Oh well. No dressing to speak of. I came out and found the main street very much more to my taste, being a selection of quaint old shops all selling fairly expensive designer items. They must be used to a thriving tourist trade. Found a delightful sewing shop which had a lot of fabric for sale, and purchased a small section for my sister.

A short drive from Greytown, another quaint delight of a village: Featherstone. This one has a number of bookshops, but I only browsed one, and purchased an old book to take on my journey with me. Selections from the prose works of J.M. Barrie.

Featherstone.

Now we come to the exciting bit. By traveling this route, I had chosen to approach Wellington via the Hutt Valley, which itself is at the end of a winding and steep section of road traversing the Remutaka mountain range. I had to stop numerous times to let smaller vehicles dash past. Check out the screen shot of the road.

Remutakas

AT LAST, I was in the Hutt Valley and only 30 mins from my destination: the Top 10 Holiday Park, where I would hole up for the night in preparation for boarding the car ferry to the South Island tomorrow. However, I had yet to negotiate the school rush hour traffic, which was pretty bad, and roadworks, which were worse, before I finally pulled in to my spot. With great relief. I am not moving until early tomorrow morning when I will take to the sea.

And now that I am back on power, I can watch live stream footage of the mourning of the Queen. I’ve eaten my soup and had my toast, and am now breaking from the broadcast to keep you all informed.

Addendum to Day 2

I am now tucked up in a cosy bed with a view of the moonlight glinting on the dark ocean, and the sound of the waves on shingle. Steve and I went off to see a bit of Napier earlier and drove along the main beach promenade before returning to a cafe recommended by fellow camper vanners. Milk and Honey was a great choice. Kind of Asian Fusion and a perfect way to end the day.

Day 2 – Taupo to Napier

It’s not the end of day 2 yet, so there might be an addendum to come. Meanwhile, I am right here.

Napier beach

Yes, on a lonely skyline. My brother Steve has a powered site just further down, but this one is so new they haven’t installed power yet. I don’t mind – I’m practicing for later, and I have an amazing view:

I’m jumping ahead of myself of course. This morning started back in Taupo with a final hot swim and soak before we headed off to the local supermarket for some supplies. It’s all new to me this camper van lark – finding the special car spaces designated for the vans. Napier is two hours from Taupo through some ranges and the odd gorge – the latter half being the more scenic. Snow on the top of the hills and barely melted ice on the road made it an exciting trip.

First thing at the poolsSteam rising in the frigid airCountdown spaces

We stopped halfway through to enjoy making lunch and eating it in one of the rest places.

The excitement of a kitchen in the wildernessI don’t know who took this photoOne bag or two?Steve and I in his vanSnow

Arrived at the Napier Beach Top 10 Holiday Park and paid our (roughly) $50 for prime views. Now the funny bit. I pressed ‘go’ on my MapMyWalk and set off along the beach. Found myself sinking into the shingle and struggling to progress. Kept going thinking it must get firmer. It didn’t. This is the map of my exercise:

Don’t ask how it came to involve the sea.

And so I’ve made a cup of coffee from the gas stove top and now anticipate a pleasant evening going in to Napier with Steve to check out the area and perhaps have some dinner. Later, there may be an update.

Day 1 – Auckland to Taupo

Gordonton

And here it is – the first photo of Alfie on the road, showing my precision at backing into a car space for the first time. As you can see I straddled it. This was at Gordonton, an hour out of Auckland and when I was ready for a coffee. It felt good, and even better when the view from the cafe window was of this wee machine smiling back at me.

Tirau

Next, I stopped at Tirau, where my big brother awaited me with his much larger camper van. At last, I would have some company on the road! He’s joining me for the first two days of my trip, and being an old hand at traveling in camper van, will be able to cement some of the loose and woolly instructions rattling around in my head after my initial ‘going over’. Tirau is known for its corrugated iron sculptures – and many local businesses from Cambridge through to Taupo have signage or an icon cut out of corrugated iron and painted. We parked beside the huge sheep who are emblematic of the area and are an info centre and wool shop.

Stephen had already partaken of lunch, so I headed over to the bakery and got a couple of chicken on a stick, and chewed them on our continuing journey south. How nice to slot in behind another camper van and for once BE the annoying slower cumbersome traffic that holds up cars. What a happy feeling! Not that we did hold much up – the trucks that we followed did a much better job.

We crossed the beautiful waters flowing out of the lake into Huka river, and then just before the main township of Taupo, pulled to the right and in to the embrace of the ‘Lake Taupo Holiday Resort’. The man behind the counter was new to the job, and so made quite the stromash of signing us in with codes and passes. Eventually we trailed around to the premium spots on concrete right beside the hot pools. Joy!

Taupo

How good that first cup of Earl Grey tea tasted from my china cup lovingly tucked in amongst the plastic in the drawer. I had really enjoyed driving Alfie south, and the sense of being high up on the road and able to tackle the hills and traffic so well. It was much easier than I feared.

Before long we headed in for our first hot swim in these natural spring baths – complete with a bar/restaurant that serves food from either the pool side or behind. I had a non-alcoholic cocktail to celebrate. We soaked until we shrivelled.

Hot pools

Slopped out dripping and cold and made our quick way back to the vans. I stayed in my towelling robe and we enjoyed a champagne and cheese in celebration of the first day of travel.

“Chink”

It didn’t seem much later that we were heading back to the pools to order some dinner – fish and kumara (sweet potato) chips. Mmmm. Starting to feel quite cold and shivery, so as soon as they were downed, we were back in the hot pools as the dusk and dark cloudy skies descended, and the lights lit up the water all around.

Fish and chips

And now I’m in my cosy camper van, the curtains pulled, the heater on, and feeling very replete. A great start to the trip!

Day 0 – The Open Road

‘There you are!” cried the Toad, straddling and expanding himself. “There’s real life for you, embodied in that little cart. The open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs! Camps, villages, towns, cities! Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you and a horizon always changing! And mind, this is the finest cart of its sort that was ever built, without any exception. Come look inside at the arrangements. Planned ‘em all myself, I did!”

And so begins the tale of Toad from the Wind in the Willows. How apt I think. I picked up Alfie this afternoon and have spent some hours filling each crevice and prodding each button, and staring bewildered at the hoses. TOMORROW I set off on the big adventure and THE OPEN ROAD – Poop Poop.

Really, is my own situation so very different?

Even now Alfie is parked out on the kerb, and I am staring at the small pile of things yet to go in, and hoping I get it all.

Tomorrow I drive down from Auckland to Taupo and meet up with my brother Steve, who has his own camper, and will accompany me a couple of nights. Considering the newness of all this to me, I am very glad of the company.

I must admit to some similarities to Toad, reluctant though I am to confess it. The impulsiveness, the speeches, the longing for adventure.

Toad

Here’s Alfie, waiting on the kerb.

Ready to goPoop poop

I’ll post again tomorrow, when the adventure is well under way. Here’s hoping it doesn’t end as quickly as Toad’s did, in the ditch.

Alfie and I go South

In a short while – early September – I will be starting another adventure. In this one, I am going to discover and explore my own country, mostly the ‘adventure playground’ that is the South Island. Instead of driving and staying at B&Bs, as I did in Scotland, for the first time I am going to hire a camper van (called Alfie) and circumnavigate the gorgeous coastline, fiords, and glaciers choosing where to stay on the hop.

Alfie

The thing about the South Island is that its best places are remote, and if you want to stay on the coast or somewhere with spectacular views, you have to do it by camper van. I want to back up against a glorious sea or mountain view, open the back doors, and eat or sleep looking at this:

Back view

To that end, I have purchased a new iPad and iPen, and started practicing my sketching technique. I’m slowly accumulating the necessary items for the trip: Insect Repellant! Warm clothing. Boots.

My plan is to set off from Auckland and speed down country over a few days, then cross on the ferry to Picton, and start a more leisurely wander down the west coast, around the bottom and up the east. In the evenings, when I would normally be watching movies or shows streamed on my device, I am going to type my blog for the day and do the pics. Then I will put together a small travel log similar to my Scottish ones, and self-publish it upon arriving home.

Full of excitement

I’ll be using my blog as the basis for my written story. Hopefully it will be full of the same unexpected twists and turns that I encountered in previous travels – terrifying at the time, but good reading later. And of course, the scenery will sell itself.
If you’ve never ‘done’ the South Island of New Zealand, feel free to come along for the ride vicariously. Since I’m going alone, the sense of being in good company would be wonderful.

So, put a ring around the date Wednesday September 7, and watch this space.

My first YA book is nearly published

You can see I’ve added a page to this blog – Young Adults – where I hope to add more and more to my series on Jasper and his underwater world.

Please keep an eye out for this adventure/thriller for young teens. I hope it becomes the first in a series about Jasper, Wally, Sera and the adults in their lives.

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The next romance is on its way . . .

It’s been hot here, in New Zealand. How I love the summertime, but of course, I spend it out of doors, basking in the clear fresh waters and camping, or cycling to work or on adventures, or holidaying with friends.

However, I DID get my next manuscript in to the publishers in November last year, and I heard last week that it was accepted for publication, and will be going through the edit process soon. I can’t wait. At the moment it is called ‘Tinker’s Boy’ – but that may change.

Set in 1668 in Essex, England, it follows the journey of a young woman who disguises herself as a lad to escape life married to an obnoxious nobleman. She meets a tinker, who is also not what he seems, and the two set out on an onward path toward adventure.

I enjoyed writing Samantha’s story, and the story kept me tripping along, barely able to keep up. It’s one I hope you all enjoy too.

I found an oil painting of the time, to whet your appetites and get you in the frame of mind for the story. Until then . . . watch this space.

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What is someone’s creativity and diligence worth to you?

A word about copyright.

We live in a world bursting with opportunities, with a cornucopia of innovation and design, with an endless stream of entertainment at our fingertips. Much of what is available to us comes free, through a stream of social media apps that allow us to be able to share them with our friends or just enjoy for ourselves.

But are they really free?

If we lived in a world that had to be constructed out of our own abilities, with materials we had grown, and using skills we had acquired, imagine the cardboard kingdoms most of us would be forced to survive in. But we don’t have to rely upon our own abilities. Most of what we use is available to us because someone, somewhere, had an idea, found a producer, and distributed what we want/need to us for something that benefitted them. Nowadays, it is usually money, but it once might have been swapping or trade of some sort.

I digress.

The last two weeks have forced me to face the unpleasant side of human nature, the side that would steal or snatch from someone else what is rightfully theirs. And there is that side in us, that wants something for nothing. (Just check out the terrible videos of Black Friday sales to get some idea of what we become when there’s the possibility of getting something for much less than its worth.)

I was informed by a friend on FB that someone was selling my ‘Gabeaux Tapestry’ mugs on Amazon.com. And sure enough, when I went over to Amazon and put the words Gabeaux Tapestry into the search bar, I saw my small book that I had self-published there, and also a long range of products using the words Gabeaux in the title or copy. These are exact – or close – copies of the actual products sold legitimately through Redbubble.com here. And by the way, I invented the word ‘Gabeaux’ for my tapestry as well!

My mind drifted back to the years I had gradually worked on these 32 panels of tapestry design, and the initial idea that had burgeoned in me when I saw the Bayeux Tapestry and thought of doing the same for Outlander. It was hard work, and took a long time, but I loved every minute of it. IT COST ME. To find that some unscrupulous company or person, (changing their name regularly on the product) feels it’s okay to steal and sell my design is disheartening at the very least.

ALL OF MY GABEAUX PRODUCTS are for sale solely on Redbubble here.

Thanks to all of you who have written a review on these products saying they are stolen. I do appreciate the support you have given.

Then I found that my first published book, An Unexpected Highlander, was offered for free on some sites as a download, and to make it worse, some reviews below the download stating how happy the recipient was because they had searched for a free download for ages. Seriously? It is $3.99 to get it for Kindle – a paltry sum considering how long it took to write. (Smoke was coming out of my ears at this point). I have notified the publisher. Please spend the little amount asked for to download it from Amazon here, or Boroughs here. THANKS. (And yes, please write a review!)

I moved over to Twitter for some light relief, and there amongst the Thanksgiving greetings and memes, was one I had done a year or two ago. I had used photoshop to put each member of the cast of Outlander around the table, and put Mrs Fitz and the Laird at the far end. It took a while to do this, and I got nothing but the pleasure of knowing that people would enjoy it, out of doing it. I signed it with my customary @sniskybobfry twitter handle. In this instance, though, the person who put my old meme up, had carefully cut around the edge of the piece to obliterate my name, (also cutting out some of the people at the table), and added a Happy Thanksgiving over the top. Now, in the big scheme of things, it’s nothing really. I’m glad she liked it enough to save it and use it. But it really wouldn’t have hurt to leave my name on it as author, and I might have even been credited in the post, which would have pleased me. But no, she wanted the credit for herself. Sigh.

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And on that note: I AM THANKFUL for all the people who have regularly encouraged me and laughed at my memes, bought my book and my tapestry products.

Ah well, it’s amazing how precious one’s own work can become when you labour over it for hours, or days, or years—and had I never done so, I would probably not have felt the surge of disgust and dismay over the last two weeks that I have. Regardless, I will keep creating and keep hoping to make a little money out of some of what I do. And I will be careful to credit others I see doing the same—even the big fish in the pond, like Starz/Sony and their Outlander production. When I hear people suggesting there might be a way to get a copy for free from somewhere, I am equally disappointed.

Anything worth having, is worth paying for. You will value it more as well.