Mapua Chalets

Luke and I have settled nicely into our new home on the hilltops of Mapua. It is the same town that we were in last month, but now we are working for the owners of Mapua Chalets. Our first week here (which started this past Monday) we are living in one of the four chalets looking out over the sea from every room. We are getting to know the way the Chalets are run and doing some odd jobs around the property until next week. Then the owners will leave for a 6 week vacation and we will move into their house and run the show!

So far we have planted some Agapanthus around the property which would be fine if the places they wanted them planted were not steep cliffs of clay! The important thing is that we accomplished it and now the clay mounds look less like clay mounds and a little bit more like a garden. We have trimmed some Pine Trees and been left smelling of Christmas for the rest of the day which seems fitting since it is winter here after all! Today it rained so we helped them clean their house which will soon be our house and called it a day! So far it seems a little bit too good to be true. I'll try not to jynx it by explaining all of the other great things about where we are (hot tub, pool, hikes nearby).

We also went for a walk on the beach on Tuesday in a place called Ruby Bay. It the twin town boardering Mapua and is basically just a bay and some houses and a fish and chip shop. The beach is mostly made of stones and not so much sand, but the stones are some of the most interesting and beautiful looking stones I have ever seen. We stayed until the sunset -New Zealand sunsets are like seeing it for the first time every time. The colors are vibrant, and when there are clouds as there usually are, the way the colors change around them is just amazing. If you haven't watched a sunset recently, you probably should.

Tonight we are wining and dining our hosts by cooking them Braised Beef in Beer (stew) with freshly baked Beer bread (noticing a theme?). These are both recipes we have acquired since we've been in New Zealand and continue to search for new recipes that sound delicious. It's really nice to have something warm and filling even (especially) when you are travelling constantly.

The beach at sunset

The cool rocks I found..

The view from our deck outside our chalet :)