ABOUT US



ABOUT US
We are from Cornwall, England.
We love to travel and to explore places in a campervan. We find wide open spaces exhilarating
and do lots of walking. Show us an accessible hill or mountain and we want to go up it.
We like watching birds but are not twitchers. To be honest Lawson is more into bird spotting than me but what I find amazing
is the diversity of birdlife, and the fact birds of all sizes continue to live side by side with us humans. So, in the course of our explorations
we may make a detour to the local dump because more often than not it will be one of the best places to see birds.
We are sure New Zealand will not disappoint us when it comes to birds but what about other wildlife and natural wonders?
Will we encounter anything to beat the sight of polar bears on sea ice at the North Pole?
And what will we think of the house at Paraparaumu that Ron and Vivien have built? All will be revealed.......

Saturday, 15 February 2014

Weed Whacking

In spite of living in a spectacular country the New Zealanders are not without their complaints.

1. The cost of living. Food certainly seems expensive and it seems that it's cheaper to buy a leg of NZ lamb in the UK than it is here.Today we found Kiwi fruit from Italy in a supermarket, and in the afternoon met an Italian girl who said she buys NZ kiwi fruit at home.
2. The Maori problem. The non-Maoris think the Maoris are being pandered to excessively.The Maoris think the opposite.
3. The problem of invasive species of plants and animals. Amongst the plants Kiwis love to hate are lupins (they're everywhere) and the aforementioned gorse. As for animals, James Cook and the first settlors were responsible for introducing mammals to New Zealand (the only native mammals are 2 species of bat) including pigs, goats, rabbits and deer, rats, stoats, ferrets, and feral cats all get bad press because of the effect they've had upon the native plants and birds.
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