At the bottom of the valley there is Tunnel Gully Recreational area. It’s about an hours walk along the Rimutaka Trail to get there and a welcoming picnic area to rest before starting the hike back up the hill.Bob and Sheila did this walk a week or so ago and... Today I closed down my companion site – Kaitoke Grand Design. A blog designed to chronicle the build of the house. You can check it out. Despite the hot weather the garden is starting to thrive with the plants in the beds around the house really setting down roots. It is starting to look like a real garden should. The bees are loving the plants close to the front veranda which makes it difficult for... I’ve never been hugely lucky with neighbours apart from a lovely older couple in Ouston, Chester-le-Street, who had the downstairs flat. Although they fought all the time and I could listen to what they watched on TV they were really friendly and always... This week I declared warfare on the weeds on our land. I know that I’ll be fighting a losing battle for years to come but you have to start somewhere.This decision followed a rather painful lesson in weeding – make sure that your teeshirt meets your shorts... 