Tag Archives: whangarei

Hanging out with the Farm Animals

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It is so great to return to Whangarei, New Zealand!  We are back in our old stomping grounds, surrounded by wonderful friends in familiar grounds.

During our first few weeks we take the time to visit a variety of farm animals at our friend’s house.

Not sure my friend’s would call these “farm” animals but rather pets.  I will let you decide.

Sharron’s Sheep Sheering

Sharron has grown up around sheep her entire life.  She had a rather large flock a few months ago but ended up giving away her ram and 3 ewes.  Now she has one mother ewe, a young 1 year old ewe and two lambs.

The adorable lambs were about 6 weeks old when I visited.

Today, the two “older” ewes were getting a hair cut.  The two shearers had a fun time trying to capture the rambunctious ewes.  But once they were placed on their back they settled and became super docile!  Strange to watch their transformation.

The shearers start on the older ewe who has been to the salon many times before.  The younger ewe just sits and patiently waits.

Before and after her haircut.  Unfortunately, the wool is no longer worth anything here in NZ.  Too many sheep and too much wool.  Back in the day the wool was worth a lot of money and then over the years it slowly declined.

But at least the sheep are more comfortable in the warmer climates.

It was so much fun for me to see the sheep sheering.  I know it is super run of the mill for Sharron and the shearers, but for me it was a great life experience.

The Greystone Farm

Our friend Rob who owns RH Precision and has done a lot of work for Sugar Shack, invited us to his farm and home.  It is a short 30 minute drive from Whangarei but it feels like it is so much further away.  

There are sweeping, green hillsides, lots of farms, and beautiful ocean views.  Rob and his wife Hannah have a gorgeous octagon type house that has 2 levels and multiple bedrooms.  Simply gorgeous.

Hannah is a lover of everything animal!  She has a wide variety of farm animals (pets) all over the ranch.  Starting at the house she takes care of 2 fish tanks with incredibly unusual fish.

They have a beautiful rottweiler, a German shepherd, 5 guinea pigs and an EMU!  Yep, you read that right.  They have an emu named Wallace whom I got to hand feed. 

Wallace used to have a mate but she passed away.  Not he is happily enjoying his large enclosure to himself.  

Evidently, when one mate dies, the other typically dies shortly after.  But not Wallace.

Rob and Hannah also have 3 feisty donkeys and a retired race horse. All of them incredibly friendly and eager to meet the city girl.

True Farm Animals

Then came the “beef cows.”  Yes, all cows are beef.  But in NZ you name the cow beef cows when they are raised for slaughter (beef) or milk cows or breeding cows.

They had 5 young cows (a few months old) that were fighting for the food dish.  It was super funny watching them push each other around to get to the food.  Politely rude I called it.  I love these farm animals.

My favorite photos are the bottom two right where the one left out cow pokes his head around the others. 

Being a true “city girl” it was great fun to hang out with so many fabulous animals.  I feel so blessed to have met generous friends who share their variety of pets with me.

We were in Whangarei at Sharron and Rob’s house toward the beginning of November 2025.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.

Did you read about our lovely stay at Whangarei, Town Basin Marina – check out the blog post.

Whangarei Town Basin Marina

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We are so thrilled to return to Whangarei and the Town Basin Marina!  We love it here!  

Evidently, we are not the only ones who love Whangarei as their moto is “Love it Here!”

Town Basin is a beautiful marina located in the heart of Whangarei.  Walking distance to restaurants, a few bars, grocery stores, marine stores, hardware stores, gift shops, and more!

Guests can utilize the Black Ball Yacht Club facilities for social hour, or hang out in the marina office with wifi, showers, toilets, laundry, and a book exchange.

The Town Basin Marina staff are absolutely amazing.  They are extremely knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, and resourceful.  You won’t get a better welcome than at this marina.

This is the lovely staff including Brian, Sharron, and Kara!

Several hundred boats berth here on either floating docks or pilings. We tend to go to the “catamaran” dock (see featured image).

The marina ends at the Canopy Bridge which lights up beautifully at night.  I love the reflection of the colored lights on our enclosure.

There can be a pretty high tide.  We saw 3 meter difference between low and high tide.

Don’t miss reading about how we celebrated Fiji Day in our last blog post.

Find Town Basin Marina on No Foreign Land.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.

We were in Town Basin Marina from late October to early November 2025.  We sure do hate to leave, but it was time to haul out at Norsand Boatyard.

Stock Cars and a Little Bit of Rough Housing

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Whangarei Saloon and Stock Car Club races every fortnight right across from the Norsand Boatyard.  Matt and I used to love watching the stock cars, speed boats, and other race car races when we lived in America so we could not resist making a trip out to Whangarei Speedway.

The stock cars, Northland Mini champs and Club Champs were scheduled to race.  The drivers ages ranged from 12 to 75 and there was a little bit of rough housing going on the muddy track. 

The stands were single rows of chairs located on 3 different levels above the track.  We scored seats on the lower level close to the start/finish line.

We had a great group come out to play with us:  Kara and Ollie (and his 2 crew: Kelsie and Owen), Sharron, Mirko, and Daniela.  

The “Cars”

There were a variety of cars racing, not just stock cars.  Some looked like they could barely run and others were transported in special enclosed trailers.

These cars were great fun to watch as they had a metal bar surrounding the car (not the beautiful yellow one) that allowed them to safely collide with each other.  The fancy yellow one had some money invested into the sport.  He was really fast and took the corners beautifully.  His front tires would always point to where he wanted to go while the rest of the car went wonky across the muddy apex.

These beautiful oldies but goodies came out to race and put on a good show.  Matt loved the confederate flag on the roof of the one car!  #5 was in it for the win.

And finally the stock cars came out.  The #8 corvette smoked everyone.  It was really fast and the driver took the corners exceptionally well.  #8 and #21 won their perspective races.

Stock Cars

Stock Cars

Of course I had to go down to the pits to see the cars up close.  As I neared the super fast corvette with a 409 engine I smiled at the driver and asked to sit inside!  It was super low to the ground and very warm!

It was a super fun day with friends.

Our blog posts typically run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  However, I switched this one up as I needed more time to complete a few other blogs.  We attended the races at the end of April.  Did you see what Matt did while I was back in the states – check out our last blog post.