My Te Awamutu house sit finally came to an end last week, and from there I moved straight onto the next (and current) property, which is about a 25-minute drive south of Rotorua, in a rural district called Ngakuru.
I’ve been here a week and everything is going really well. It’s nice out here, so peaceful and quiet with virtually no traffic noise. It’s good to be back in the countryside again.
This house sit is a new property, and it finds me on a small farm which presently runs a single mob of thirty-one drystock heifers, who are pretty easy to tend to, with a shift onto fresh pasture when necessary and a daily dose of minerals in their trough.
I check on them through the day when I give the doggie her walks around the farm – three walks per day, about an hour for each walk. The doggie is a Springer Spaniel who goes by the name of Willow. She’s five years of age and her birthday just happens to be today. It’s not often I come across a pet where the owners know the exact birthdate of their pets, so that’s pretty neat. Willow’s super friendly and has been awesome company. Not so much into chasing tennis balls or frisbees, she prefers birds, hedgehogs, and the odd possum. Or just relaxing on the couch with yours truly.
There’re also a couple kitty cats. The first is Lucy, who’s a friendly and smoochy Tortoiseshell. And there’s Maisie, who’s a bit timid and seems to spend most of her days in the neighbour’s barn, and only appearing in the evenings when she’s looking for some dinner. Unfortunately Lucy and Maisie are not the best of buddies, and Lucy likes to guard the cat door to make sure Maisie doesn’t come in. But Maisie does manage to breach the defences during the night when Lucy is camping with me.
I’m here for another fortnight or so and then it’s down the line a bit further to Taumarunui.
Lucy
Maisie
Willow
Drystock Heifers
