Well we are back!! However the break wasn't without drama, settle back and read on...
We left home Monday and made our way to our holiday home which was situated in the Horowhenua (pronounced Horofenua) district, we stayed just outside Levin. We were welcomed by Liz and Jim at their gorgeous home called the Dragonfly Countrystay.
We entered our 'home' for the next few days and were surprised at how spacious it was, how immaculately kept it was and what amazing views it had over their 4 acres of land.
Our first day was wonderful, the sun shone, we explored the land, Bethany fed Buddy (the horse) his tea, we had fun in the hot tub and we relaxed listening to some relaxing music with of course a bottle of bubbly at hand. It was pure bliss. We even managed a dip in the indoor pool which adjoined the cottage...however with it being solar heated it was a quick in and out at 12 degrees!!!
Then around 4am the next day Bethany came bounding into our room panicking because her night light had gone off, it was then we realised the power had gone out and the storm raging outside was the answer! See this news report. New Zealand was rocked with Horowhenua being one of the worst hit area's. The storm took out power, blew down homes, trees were lifted, and trains were cancelled.
We spent the whole day wondering what to do. We drove down into Levin and it was like a ghost town, the weather was horrendous, no power meant no shops, no traffic lights, no petrol and no supermarket!!
Luckily for us we did some shopping when we arrived the previous day and with the worry of it going off due to having no fridge we were kindly offered the use of Liz and Jim's BBQ. We set it up by the poolside (to avoid the clashing weather) and we managed to have lunch in what was a wonderful setting - by the pool!
However not long after lunch we were informed by Liz and Jim that there was a problem with the back up generator for the water tank system. Jim was trying to fix it but with everywhere being closed, and unable to get petrol we now had no water either.
With the lack of powered entertainment and the intense silence that you never normally notice, we needed to find things to do. We headed out for a really long walk on Hokio Beach which was lovely, we could see the breaking of the storm in the distance. Sand blasted and wet we headed home, tired yet exhilarated.
Another thing we did too was a jigsaw!! Yes an actual jigsaw. Michael and I haven't done a jigsaw since we were kids (well apart from Bethany's!) and we not only faced the 2000 piece head on we completed it too...even if we were slightly deflated when we found two pieces missing!
So wondering what we should do - should we go? Should we stay? Being without power wasn't a big deal, but without water too it was a bit of a worry. Luckily we heard that the local New World had pulled in a giant generator and although without lighting we were all welcome to shop there - brilliant!!
In the end we decided to stick it out and from there it became an adventure. That night we joined forces with Liz and Jim, they helped us out with candles, bottled water and we got the wood burners fired up. That night we enjoyed a delicious meal all together in their home (as they have gas cooking) in the candle light, again drinking bubbly and talking the night away by the roaring fire.
You forget when you don't have the simple luxury of a light switch. Popping to the bathroom meant taking a torch, looking in the cupboards for a glass meant taking the torch. Many times we fell over the dog, many times we fell over each other. Many times we would reach for that switch and try in, a few seconds later we would click 'oh yeah there is no power!'.
We went to bed early that night, despite having wonderful family time snuggled round the wood burner there is only so much you can do by candlelight and only so much of Bethany's out of tune singing we can stand!!
Funny enough we forgot to turn off the radio at bedtime, we woke at 4am thinking there was a party we had missed out on in the front room, power was back on!
With 'normal' service restored we continued our last day yesterday by the pool, playing golf, in the spa and walking along the beach again. We also had lunch and dinner out in some gorgeous restaurants in Levin. It has rained like hell the whole time but that didn't stop us getting kitted out in waterproofs and heading out.
The journey back was an interesting one, seeing all the fallen trees on the road and railway lines, hearing on the radio of how people are still without power, and just seeing the general devastation was quite worrying. We were lucky but of course there will be people who have had it hard (and still are) and they are in our thoughts.
We did make sure though that we spent some time on the beach the one last time before heading back. This time though we stopped at Peka Peka beach - it was also wonderful. Massive amounts of wooden debris and sea foam that would make Denver jump made for a wonderful last holiday walk.
Back home now it's all a distant memory - but not a horrible one. We had the most amazing time, we set off in search of pure family alone time and we found it. We spent some of the most amazing time together (I recommend a jigsaw for maximum family bonding!) and we had an adventure along the way.
Below is a video of things from Bethany's point of view and the photos are on the right hand side (and here) in their own folder. Enjoy!See you again soon Horowhenua, but next time can we order you without the storm!
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