Out of Storage

Animals of Africa

Our journey through Kruger National Park was an absolute highlight. The animals of africa are awe inspiring. This is a country of it's own, the size of Wales - "Where nearly 2 million hectares of unrivalled diversity of life forms fuses with historical and archaeological sights – this is real Africa. The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa. " (http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/)

The Sentinel - South Africa

Well it has been a long time coming but here is a collection of our experiences from our trip to South Africa. We kick off first with our climb up the Sentinel. The Sentinel is part of the spectacular Drakensberg escarpment. This hike took us 3000m above sea level and was estimated to take 5hrs from the carpark. We started with a 12km zigzag UP the mountain 'meadows' and then came to the shear rock face. Check out the chain-ladders we had to climb - stretching 40m vertically! Once we had overcome our fears and had our feet back on stable land - we wandered another half hour across the top of the mountain to the awesome amphitheater, waterfall and rock pools. By this time the cold mist had cleared and we were able to marvel at the spectacular views, mountain flora and fauna, and enjoy the feeling of having conquered the Sentinel.

Building - Final

And so the dream took shape, the windows became the eyes and the people are the soul.

Building - Part 2

The painting, the rain and the building continue...
Check out the finale - Part 3

Buildling our Dream - Part 1

Here - with the music and photos is how the dream began to unfold...
Check out Part 2

Finding our niche

We started off together and that made it all seem possible. For just three years from the darkness of our rental flat we explored the bays of the Whangarei Heads and the slopes of Mt Manaia. First there was the potential backpackers villa. The ancient home with rambling corridors and large rooms looked out over 2 acres and a bubbling brook. The acres had gorse, and the kauri walls needed stripping, but that could be conquered for an extra $100,000. Then there was the villa in town - beautifully restored and easily accessible. The quarter acre, traffic at the door, and neighbours to peer - were unrectifiable. We had a dream...
The RealEstate agent asked us to verbalise our ultimate dream. This is was our dream....
5-10 acres, indigenous established trees, and hey - lets chuck in a view of the sea. For a dream you can make a sacrifice - so when she took us to our ultimate aspirations - sacrifices had to be made. Unfortunately, even at the limit of our budget, it did not come with a house - but that was solvable - one day - eventually - if we gave it our all.