The Hogans are on a Mission

So much has been happening with our family over the last couple of months, and as usual we have been able to fit in lots of places, people and things. Celebrations Just before Christmas we were able to spend a weekend at Waihi Beach (fortunately before sharks started attacking people there) with Roy’s family to celebrate his brother turning 40. It was a fun weekend filled with fishing, bodyboarding, swimming and spending time with the family. There were some special moments for a family that don’t often get the chance to spend a lot of time together. Since we had just had a weekend away with Roy’s side of the family and were heading down to Wellington in January, we decided to have a quiet Christmas at home alone in Pirongia. It is also a bit of a novelty to be at our house (with all our stuff) as opposed to travelling around so it made for a quiet and enjoyable day for us all being on our own schedule.  “I love Christmas, especially when we don’t have to go anywhere.” Gabrielle. “...

Moirs Point Christian Centre There are definitely worse places you could spend a November than in Northland. We have been lucky enough to be working at Moirs Point Christian Centre in Mangawhai.  Having worked in Christian camps for over 10 years, Roy and I both love the fact that he can now use his building skills to support those same camps. We really enjoyed, in this instance, the opportunity to support a camp where there is only one couple (Ben and Mel) on staff.  The main aspect of the job was to give the staff house a small renovation by replacing all the windows with new double glazing and installing a new kitchen in the staff house. But there was plenty going on elsewhere with some new cladding being done on parts of the house and garage, as well as painting a fence and part of the camp dining room exterior. For the first two weeks we had a large team of people to help, staying in motorhomes and the amazing camp lodges with us. There was a great community feel and it w...

Sometimes it feels a bit like we are in ‘The Amazing Race’, an old TV show we used to watch. We face constant challenges (good and bad); change and travel is always on the cards, often these things are beyond our control. Yet we do all this while meeting some awesome people and seeing and experiencing some priceless things. Pitstop Pirongia We started this leg of the race with a ‘Pitstop’ in Pirongia. Pirongia feels like a ‘Pitstop’ as this is where life slows down to our speed a little more. We have our own space, all of our ‘stuff’ (which we are still constantly and slowly getting rid of in a plan to one day emigrate to Fiji), and our own timetable. It is nice to have our own routine, some downtime and a chance to rest here. We live in an intense world, where information and needs are constantly thrown at us. It is nice to intentionally slow down and breathe a little. The bouncy pillow at Totara Springs Soul On our way home from Tairua in September we stopped in at Soul . This is a ...

It feels kinda surreal to be leaving this place. As I look over the photos of the last couple of months we have had so many adventures here, met so many amazing people and done so many things. It’s going to be sad to leave.  When we travel, we don’t like being tourists; we love getting to know and live like the locals and I think we have achieved that here. We have explored this area well and returned many times to some of our favourite spots like Sailors Grave. We have also had the chance to check out a fair bit of the Coromandel including Whitianga, Coromandel town and Broken Hills in the Coromandel Forest Park. In our original pre-COVID plan, we were meant to be in Fiji now on a month long trip checking out what will be our home one day and to help decide what we need to take there, whilst also helpin g out on a couple of local jobs. Instead we have been able to slow down and enjoy an extended stay in a small beach town in the winter. Sailor's Grave - a favourite local beach to ...