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To reach the boats, we followed a path at the end of a street. Walking down this path to the river was a lovely transition from civilisation and the world of commerce and cars and trucks, to the quiet of the water and birds and fish and boats.
Rob built Bubble and Squeak from a shell, so it has lots of unusual features. Here are a couple of the portholes on the boat.
Rob has his office in the sewing shed of his good friends Nancy and John Wood. And he owns one of the least expensive vehicles in New Zealand - purchased 10 years ago for $500 NZ, and still running!! As Rob says: as long as the wheels go round, that's all that matters.
People who donate to MEND can rest assured their money is not going to pay for flash cars, big offices, and fat salaries!! Every penny possible goes to help the disabled.Inside Nancy's sewing shed, Rob has a small space on a table.
When I was there, I set up my laptop on the ironing board.
While visiting Rob, I asked him to make a prosthetic limb out a water bottle for me. I had seen how he had done this for a disabled man on one of the MEND videos, and I wanted one for myself to show people as I traveled - as an example of what wonderful tools can be made from simple things. Here is the one he made for me. And now I can make them myself! A water or soft drink bottle, a spoon or fork and a cork, or tape to attach it to the water bottle lid. So easy!
As it turned out, I only spent 3 nights on Bubble and Squeak. I moved over to Primrose Cottage to be with Rosa while her husband was in the hospital. He had just suffered a stroke, and Rosa was blind. It worked out well for all of us. Rosa didn't like being alone, and I had access to a phone and the Internet, while I worked on the MEND database for Rob.
Here is Primrose Cottage and its garden:
One of the most interesting aspects for me of Primrose Cottage was its rainwater collection system. The water drains off the roof through a filter into a holding tank, and is then channeled to a tap just outside the back door - handy for water for tea, coffee, and drinking.
Taking a break from our work one afternoon, Rob took me to a lovely beach at Matauri Bay. He went swimming, and I climbed the hill to see the monument to the Rainbow Warrior http://www.greenpeace.org/international/about/ships/the-rainbow-warrior.
This was the Greenpeace ship sunk in Auckland harbour by the French.The ship was towed up north and rests in this harbour, and is a popular dive destination.
The monument is on top of the hill.
The Rainbow Warrior memorial at Matauri Bay, Northland was created by sculptor Chris Booth between 1988 and 1990. It was commissioned by Ngati Kura and New Zealand China Clays to commemorate the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by French agents in 1985.
During my stay in Kerikeri, I visited with some of my other friends. Yannik Wakelam is another sailor. She sailed single handedly around the world. The longer I stay in New Zealand, the more intrepid sailors I meet!
And her husband, Henry, is an inventor. Here he is holding a simple invention for the garden. When seedlings are first set out, often gardeners place jars or bottles over them to protect them from birds and some insects. But the jars and bottles blow over. Henry showed me his system to keep the protective plastic bottles in place in the garden:
Henry also told me about his invention to easily make paths through the bush. You simply lay out sections of wood to use as steps, and staple No 8 wire to the ends of each piece of wood. Then lay it down the hill, and solidly attach the top piece of wood and the wire to the top of the hill. You can walk on it immediately, and the more you walk on it, the more it digs itself into the hill. The wire keeps the wooden steps aligned and keeps them from sliding down the hill. Brilliant! I walked on one he had installed about 10 years earlier on their property, and it was still in great shape and doing its job. If you want to know more, write to me and I will send a diagram to you.
Yannik and Henry live on a large tract of land near a beautiful river, and offered for me to stay there in my tent as long as I wish. I will keep that in mind for a quiet bush retreat sometime.
The last night before leaving Kerikeri, I was treated to a beautiful sunset:
The last night before leaving Kerikeri, I was treated to a beautiful sunset:
