sheep – Mr & Mrs Hale

Day 1

We drove to Nordfjord to visit our friends at the farm that we visited on our travels around 6 years ago! The drive was through snow as well as a lot of tunnels and we got to see a bunch of new places we hadn’t seen!

On the way, we stopped at a bakery in Rødberg for a cinnamon bun and then we carried on to the farm.

We arrived and had some lunch and some coffee, as is tradition, and we caught up with the family who now have an extra child than they did last time which was lovely to see and amazing to meet them.

We were chatting about badgers being a problem and of course, one appeared! We had to chase it down and trap it.

We walked through the forest and cleared it up, clearing up rubbish and also branches that are in the way. The plan is for them to make it into a field that can be used.

We ended the night with some food and a chat. We got to sleep in the cabin we slept in last time which we loved!

Day 2

We had some breakfast and then went down to where the lambs and sheep live to stack a bunch of firewood/logs so they can dry and are stored for the winter. We love doing this so this was great!

We had a coffee break, as you should, it was really nice to sit and chat with them whenever we had a chance.

We needed to move some wood planks from a trailer onto the floor so the trailer could be used again. There were a lot of planks but we worked with Martin to get it sorted.

We loved the opportunity to feed the lambs, too! Some had to be bottle fed, so it was a super nice experience and something new!

For dinner, we had a big roast with a big lamb/sheep leg which was slow cooked. Kim obviously didn’t eat it but Curtis did and it was excellent! The vegetables were a delicious side too.

We needed to make a fence to put around the new sheep field, so we helped to get that done after dinner, which was nice and relaxing.

Day 3

We started with breakfast, as expected and then right when we were getting ready for getting some work done, there was unfortunately a crazy incident with a stabbing in the local town.

This meant that we needed to be vigilant just in case and also the owners of the farm went to see if they could get their kids from school and to see if they can help at all.

The craziness went on for a while and once the evening hit, we walked around and checked all the old fences for holes or trees sitting on them before moving the sheep to their new field!

We had a beer in the sheep field once they’d moved and it was a very nice feeling to see our work come to fruition.

We finished our time there with a curry night! Martin made some really good homemade curry and we even had a visit from one of their friends who sat and had some food with us as well.

We had about 1/2 a day left after this, which will be covered in the next post!

We loved visiting the family again and we can’t wait to head back, see even more farm improvements and help them out.

Austin,TX

Place 79 – Day 3: Austin,TX – Horse Riding, Shooting & Barton Springs Pool

Apr 12, 2019Apr 12, 2019 Kim & Curtis Hale

Ranch Experience!

Horse Riding

We got up with plenty of time to get ready, but someone else was in the bathroom, so this meant we really had to rush when it was available.We hopped in the car and drove to a ranch called Lone Star Ranch. We got there, were welcomed really nicely and signed some forms.We got led out by our wrangler to meet our horses and get helmets.Curtis got a white horse called West and Kim got a dark brown horse called Julian.We were shown what to do and how to control the horses and off we went!We walked though creeks, up steep hills, down steep hills, through jungle areas and beautiful fields. We even got to trot a little bit, which was exciting!

Ranch Animals

After our horse ride, we had some time to kill, so we had a snack and said hi to the other animals on the ranch. There are some sheep and goats, as well as some cats, so we said hi to those.

Washers

We played the game washers for a bit, which is similar to cornhole. Both of us got much better at this as time went on.

Shootin’

We were next taken by Robert to do some clay pigeon shooting. We were using military style pump action shotguns and it turned out Curtis was pretty good at shooting but we both had a great time, if not a bruised shoulder.

We shot for a while and it was great fun!After we finished shooting, we olayed some washers with Robert, and Kim beat everyone!We then went leave but bumped into the owner who was very lovely. We got talking and she was interested in our blog, too, which is great! We thanked everyone again and headed to the car.

Lone Star Ranch | Austin,TX

Rating:- 10/10

Barton Springs Pool

We got into some shorts as it had gotten warm and we drove to Barton Springs pool.Before we paid our $9 entry fee and entered, we sat outside and ate our chicken wraps we bought.This pool is a natural pool which has been created in the middle of a large river/creek.The water was incredibly cold, but it was beautiful and the sun was in the perfect spot.

There was a diving board there, too, which Kim took full advantage of!

We spent a couple of hours here and then drove back home, but it took a while due to rush hour traffic.

Accidental Nap & Dinner

We had been out non-stop for over 8 hours, so we were very tired.We showered and then watched one video and before we were having dinner, we had an accidental nap! It felt amazing to get some solid sleep for an hour.We then had dinner, which was the exact same as yesterday.We have another fun day planned tomorrow, but just a bit less hectic.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Kerikeri

Place 68 – Day 1: Kerikeri 🇳🇿 – False Alarm, Pigs & HelpX Again!

Jan 14, 2019Jan 14, 2019 Kim & Curtis Hale

We were up at a decent time to call a few garages to get them to have a look at our car.

Most garages were full, but Josh & Danielle were able to suggest a great garage for us who weren’t full either!

We arrived at the garage and the guy was really nice. He was able to do the diagnostics on the car and told us what the issue was. Luckily, it seems to be a false alarm, so we were able to go on our way with no worries.

We got back in the car, in the rain, and drove to McDonald’s to get a spot of brekkie.

We then drove 3.5 hours up north to Kerikeri, which is quite far up north.

We got to Kerikeri and spoke to the receptionist who was lovely and got us settled in and gave us a tour.

We are sleeping in a cabin with another person, but we are in our own room.

We went to the shop to get our food for a week which is just 1 minute down the road.

Once we got back home, we had a chat with another helper here for a while and then had a walk around the land here. There are some pigs here, too, who were very happy to see us!

We also saw some sheep/goats (we aren’t sure yet).

We walked back and made some dinner. We had chicken pesto pasta…throwing it back to the old-school traveling days.

We sat and watched some TV and went to bed at a good time so we are awake tomorrow morning when we get up to do some work here at the resort.

This time last year!

Poroporoaki!

– Mr & Mrs Hale

Auckland

Place 49 – Day 304: Auckland- Onehunga Shopping & Cornwall Park

Oct 13, 2018Oct 13, 2018 Kim & Curtis Hale

We woke up way later than planned or expected, at 11:30!

We had a quick bite of breakfast, showered and left the house.

We met Josh and Danielle in Onehunga, at the mall.

The mall was very busy! We walked around the mall with Danielle and Josh, stopping in a lot of shops. The mall is an outlet mall, so lots of great deals! Kim got some sunglasses and Curtis got some swimming shorts.

We left here and Curtis wasn’t feeling great, so we grabbed a bottle of orange juice to drink. We then drove over to Cornwall Park and walked to see the sheep and lambs!

We left Cornwall park and headed to Glenfield mall. The day today had odd weather. we were warm and then absolutely freezing, especially once the wind came in.

When we got to Glenfield, we went to get just a couple of items from the shop (pasta, wine & strawberries…A normal shop!) And then went to get a coffee from Little Things, which as excellent as always.

We got home and did a bit of laundry, then watched the Great British Bake Off.

After that, Kim made hoisin duck and mushroom pasta and we watched some YouTube videos whilst we ate.

After that, we watched the apprentice.

Once we were done with that, we played some Call of Duty with Kim’s friend Ryan, then it was bedtime.