I'm moving to a shack, with no power, on top of a mountain! [Archive]

Steam

27th July 2008, 19:25

I'm moving to a shack on top of a mountain!
It has no electricity, no phone and it is currently covered in snow...
but it has a huge log-burner, an endless supply of firewood, and the rent is tiny.
It has a gorgeous view out to the sea, huge windows to the north, and plenty of room out the front of the shack for installing a wood-heated spa tub thing for naked drunken frolicking.

Rocking!

It is an old shearers quarters out the back of a friend's farm, he said I should move in and save on rent and stop the place from falling down. Nobody has lived there for about 20 years so it's full of rat shit, straw, and farming implements. Oh, and the old longdrop toilet has fallen down, I have to build a new one. I've got a bit of work ahead of me!

It will mean an end to my posting on Kiwibiker, but oh well, that's a small price to pay for such an awesome place to live. And only 7km from the city, so it's still just a quick commute to work.
It will remain without power or phone, as it's about 2km from the nearest power-lines, but I do get cell-phone reception out there. I think I will be using a lot of candles! or Tilley lamps.

The semi-knobbly tyres will go back on the bike, as there's a muddy 300m track to ride up the hill to get to the shack.

Fun eh!

EDIT: I have added these photos

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2812677057_5e2420b31a.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2812677057_f934f40283_o.jpg)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2813527268_8430fe266f.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2813527268_ed03147b60_o.jpg)

JimO

27th July 2008, 19:39

Flagstaff, Mt Cargill??

megageoff76

27th July 2008, 19:39

Living the Hillbilly dream eh.

You'll have to change your username to Pa Rug.

Grub

27th July 2008, 19:40

That sounds amazing fun. If you have a laptop, they run on only 12 or 9 volts. You can get a vodem card which runs on the 3G cell network.

Think of the possiblilities ... I'm already scheming about how you could have a little wind turbine and a bank of old truck batteries. Also, for water you can have an awesome hot water system by throwing a coil of black alkathene pipe (all farms have them) on the northern side of a slope. Add a non-return valve and the thing will produce a hell of a lot of warm-hot(ish) water into an old hot water cyclinder or similar. Anything that's well insulated from heat loss will do. Even better if you can cover the alkathene with a clear topped box with a bit of silver buiding paper in the bottom - that would build some serious heat inside.

Then it gets better, you can dress in cammo, play a banjo and become a US-styled survivalist shooting at the city folks who try to come into your teritry.

tri boy

27th July 2008, 20:07

Where theres rat shit, there is rats.
Busted shit house, drafty old shed, no power. He should be paying you.;)
Lets start a poll about how many weeks you last.
I say 5.

Headbanger

27th July 2008, 20:10

Those rats are going to kill and eat you.

I bet 3 nights.

If you last 5 weeks I'll send you a 20.

Ocean1

27th July 2008, 20:21

Onya mate.

Everyone should have to live like that for a while, rectifies the humours amazingly...

scumdog

27th July 2008, 20:21

Freakin' hippy - you'll love it.:lol:

scracha

27th July 2008, 20:23

Don't envy ya mate. We've just had the power reconnected about 20 minutes ago after the weather bomb thing.

Hell, it was frightning.
No telly
No internet
We had to talk to each other

Rollestonchick

27th July 2008, 20:27

can i come too?:woohoo:

CookMySock

27th July 2008, 20:40

the chix will be lining up, watch..

DB

Gubb

27th July 2008, 20:48

but I do get cell-phone reception out there.

Heh. Not much use if you can't charge it!

Good luck mate, I couldn't last more than a week without power!

Mike748

27th July 2008, 20:59

Good on ya!! there's nothing like being stuck out in the wild to harden you up.
City living makes us way too soft.

tri boy

27th July 2008, 21:21

the chix will be lining up, watch..

DB

Feral chicks who don't wash.

scumdog

27th July 2008, 21:23

Feral chicks who don't wash.

Or shave...

rottiguy

27th July 2008, 21:23

Good luck, you could buy a small solar panel to charge the mobile. Could also use it to charge mp3 player etc.. for some tunes and such. A mate wound a coil of copper pipe around the chimney of his wood burner and got shitloads of hot water like that so could be worth a try.

Heh. Not much use if you can't charge it!

Good luck mate, I couldn't last more than a week without power!

Ixion

27th July 2008, 21:36

What an idyllic existence. I am envious

Sounds very like the house I was born in and grew up in.

You will find that most modern "essentials" are very overrated and non-essential

Boob Johnson

27th July 2008, 21:37

Rats, busted shit house, drafty old shed, no power. He should be paying you.;)
lol I reckon, free rent in place for doin it up.

YOU pay to live THERE!!!??? :rofl:

FJRider

27th July 2008, 21:40

Or shave...

And those are the better one's....

Ixion

27th July 2008, 21:45

Feral chicks who don't wash.

You realise of course that the habitation described by Mr Steam is almost certainly exactly the sort of house in which your mother , or grandmother, depending on your age, grew up in ? I am not sure they would be pleased by so unflattering a dismissal of their maidenly hygiene.

There is absolutely no reason whatspoever why living in such a state should not be entirely conducive of every propiety. There is firewood to heat water, so why should there be any stint of washing or shaving ?

tri boy

27th July 2008, 21:50

All very good points Ixion, but you have forgotten that young women of today can barely identify a broom, let alone be able to comprehend, interpret, then apply the operational instructions t'wards said apparatus.
So making a fire to heat up a wetback, to boil water that will soften the home made soap to wash away the crabs that steam will infest them with, is like flying to Mars for them.

Ixion

27th July 2008, 21:51

:jerry:

I await the response of the young women!

jrandom

27th July 2008, 21:52

I reckon it sounds awesome.

So long as one is the sort of chap that doesn't mind one's own company, of course.

Which I get the impression is the case with Mr Steam.

He'll last.

tri boy

27th July 2008, 21:57

I reckon it sounds awesome.

So long as one is the sort of chap that doesn't mind one's own company, of course.

Which I get the impression is the case with Mr Steam.

He'll last.

Or start to have conversations with pet rats.
(Sorry Steam, but this thread is bound to develop into a classic. Good luck to ya ol man).:yes:

Ixion

27th July 2008, 22:01

Well, rats is easily dealt with. either a cat, a terrier or a raptor. Mr Steam being Mr Steam, I imagine it will be the latter.

Anyway rats is an overexaggerated problem. Keep them out of the house and they are not a problem.

Ixion

27th July 2008, 22:05

Um. Just one point . Up a mountian, open fires. Do please invest in a BIG fire extinguisher. No, bigger then that . That's still quite small. Can you see over the top of it? OK, bigger.

scracha

27th July 2008, 22:09

I await the response of the young women!

Story of your life?

Brett

27th July 2008, 22:09

I reckon that it sounds like a helluva lot of fun! Good on ya mate, I am sure you will enjoy it!

Cruisin' Craig

27th July 2008, 22:09

I'm moving to a shack on top of a mountain!

Fun eh!

I think it sounds fantastic. I hope you stay there for ages, like it, and save loads of money. Those of us who have gone and had families and stuff cant do things like that any more, so you enjoy it on my behalf O.K?

Ixion

27th July 2008, 22:10

Story of your life?

Yes indeed. I always wait for their response before completing my own. They prefer it thus.

FJRider

27th July 2008, 22:12

Rats are good...fresh meat in small quantitys. NO WASTE...

Cruisin' Craig

27th July 2008, 22:14

Can just get up at dawn and go to bed at dusk to save on candle money right?

Monorail

27th July 2008, 22:16

if you've got cellphone reception, you've got mobile internet.
you've got no excuse to ditch us now

Ixion

27th July 2008, 22:18

Rats are good...fresh meat in small quantitys. NO WASTE...

Rat's not bad. But the amount of meat y' get is hardly worth the bother of gutting and boning. And the bones are too big and hard to just boil 'em up like sardines.

Bound to be plenty of possums. They're a much better feed

James Deuce

27th July 2008, 22:19

Got GPS co-ordinates so we can Google Earth the location?

FJRider

27th July 2008, 22:20

Phone and laptop battery's can be topped up at work... thats why we have WORK...

FJRider

27th July 2008, 22:22

Rat's not bad. But the amount of meat y' get is hardly worth the bother of gutting and boning. And the bones are too big and hard to just boil 'em up like sardines.

Bound to be plenty of possums. They're a much better feed

Need more GARLIC... MUCH more...

Ixion

27th July 2008, 22:22

Do you have your own banjo, BTW ?

oldrider

27th July 2008, 22:38

FJRider

27th July 2008, 22:54

Not wishing to rain on your parade Steam but.

The reason modern conveniences are called conveniences and are so popular is.......because they bloody well are convenient! :blip:

Good luck, we must all have our dreams, hope it works for you. :yes: Cheers John.

Think of the water savings ..... doesn't have to flush.
Living on top of a hill means, everything is downhill from there...

karla

27th July 2008, 23:19

Ah - takes me back to the old days ... :rolleyes:

... used to rent a house in Benhar (small hick town where the only toilets in the southern hemisphere were made, until the factory burned down). We paid $6.00 a week for a three bedroom house. There was enough electricity for lights and a stereo, and there was a coal range for cooking and heating hot water. Next door was empty and we had raised pigs in it.

You can pick up a solar shower at the Swearhouse nowadays for next to nothing (works in summer), and even a small petrol generator for long term necessities (running a fridge or heater). My laptop runs off my car battery, and cooking on gas isn't really a hassle for only one or two people. A thermos would be a handi thing for coffee, so you only need to heat water once or twice a day.

In the first house I owned had an old bath set up at the top of the section that we lit a fire under - there is nothing like a bath under the stars. You have to put a piece of timber along the bottom of the bath so you don't touch the metal, and have cold water ready so you don't overcook like a crayfish. Might be a bit hard to get baths nowadays. And, it takes a while to heat the water.

Did you know that you can get a cooked meal at the mens shelter for $1.00 donation?

Being a student in Dunedin was tough in the winter, but I kind of miss it in a way - I learned a lot of good survival skills. The last generation was far more resourceful - imagine being a deer culler and raising a family in a one bedroom hut up in a valley that you can only reach by jetboat. Washing nappies in the river every day, and listening to the radio in the dark each night, to stay in touch with the world. Best of luck Steam ~ take lots of books. :)

jonbuoy

27th July 2008, 23:32

I know a couple that live "off the grid", well water, generator, solar panels wind generator charging old-ish giant yacht batteries driving a good quality sinewave inverter for the fridge and computer. As long as your a practicle hands on guy you'll love it. Better with a bit of female company and a dog I reckon. :buggerd:

gammaguy

27th July 2008, 23:46

fredie

27th July 2008, 23:53

you need a solar panel or 2 . and a deep cycle batterie bank . 12 volt tv.lights.transforma for cellphone.laptop.you could get a custom made electric extension cable made too reach the big house:niceone:

fredie

28th July 2008, 00:02

you can get gas fridges aswell.gas hot water.240volt inverters . you would be surprised what you can get now :rockon:

RantyDave

28th July 2008, 00:42

I'm moving to a shack on top of a mountain!
You are my hero.

Get one of the Vodafone 3G cards, if you can get coverage. Failing that find some radio nerds and do a long distance WiFi thing.

Dunno how you're powering the spa though.

Dave

my-bonaventure

28th July 2008, 08:20

Good on ya, it's liberating living like that. Did so myself out the back of Nelson in a converted shed, log fire, gas bbq and califont, eco toilet, miss the place heaps for lots of reasons.

sinfull

28th July 2008, 08:36

Know yr doing this to save money, but a small investment on an inverter be well worth the madness you will save ! For a larger investment i hear you can now get inverters that will multiply the power input by heaps (no idea exactly how much, but think the idea goes something like 12vdc to 240v few hundred watt inverter then 240v 200w run through the new inverter to give ya 240v 2 or 3 kw of power !) choice to make would be buy 12v fridge gas cooker etc or the inverter (grand is what i been told) To run all yr old appliances !
Heard that gentle annie W/M motors generate 12 v so scoring a couple of those would be well worth it ! Dont take much to set up some 12v lights around the place
Wind ? Water ?
Copper coiled round the inside of the chimney sounds like a go (removable ? clean the chimney first)
Good shit man have fun ! I wish lol

tri boy

28th July 2008, 09:39

Mr Steam, the modern day thinking man's hermit.
Umm, ya might need a few more clothes though.

Lias

28th July 2008, 10:22

Or shave...

Ahh soutland girls.. so much nipple hair they can plait it!

Mr Merde

28th July 2008, 10:23

Or shave...

You mean French ones !!!

fredie

28th July 2008, 11:02

you get big gas bottles last a few months .gas fridge;):beer:

avgas

28th July 2008, 11:21

12V solar panels are $30 @ supercheap

jrandom

28th July 2008, 11:38

For a larger investment i hear you can now get inverters that will multiply the power input by heaps

That'd be nice.

:crazy:

Unfortunately, you can put stuff in series with your power source and take the voltage up and down and swap between DC and AC, but you can't get more power out. 1KW in = 1KW out. You can only get a higher voltage at the expense of being able to draw less current.

Be nice if one didn't have to work within the limitations of thermodynamics, but physics is a bastard like that.

If I were Steam, I'd use what I saved on rent and get a wee diesel generator. There are some sexy products out there (http://www.mastervolt.com/view_product.php?section=marine&prggr_id=1015&group=Generators&prg_id=1078&pro_id=5041&prg_name=3000/3600%20rpm%A0wet%20exhaust).

mstriumph

28th July 2008, 11:53

I think it sounds fantastic. I hope you stay there for ages, like it, and save loads of money. Those of us who have gone and had families and stuff cant do things like that any more, so you enjoy it on my behalf O.K?

from all the sighing and 'i wishing' going on here, Steam, seems to me you could cover the rent [and get the firewood chopped] by taking in paying guests??

Steam

28th July 2008, 12:35

from all the sighing and 'i wishing' going on here, Steam, seems to me you could cover the rent [and get the firewood chopped] by taking in paying guests??

True! It's a common dream to move out to a shack in the country. I am very happy to have the chance to try it out. Friends of mine have just finished four years on a feral commune in Golden Bay, and finally moved out because they had a baby and the place wasn't really set up for newborns.

If you last 5 weeks I'll send you a 20.

I will hold you to that! $20 will pay for a lot of candles, or a steel bathtub from the recycle centre at the dump for lighting a fire under.
There's an old seed-bin by the shack I can use as a hot-tub for larger parties, but I'll need a smaller bath for everyday washing. Um... every week washing maybe.
Washing is overrated. As long as ya don't stink, eh!

martybabe

28th July 2008, 12:41

Onya mate, good luck. Any chance of some pix of the hut? ;)

007XX

28th July 2008, 12:46

There's an old seed-bin by the shack I can use as a hot-tub for larger parties, but I'll need a smaller bath for everyday washing. Um... every week washing maybe.
Washing is overrated. As long as ya don't stink, eh!

I am hugely jealous...I've often said that i'd much rather live on Great Barrier raising goats than put up with the falsehood of city life.

Enjoy it as much as you can and post pics goddamit!

Mikkel

28th July 2008, 12:56

Any small streams nearby? I'm thinking micro-hydro here.

Am I the only one who loved building dams on small streams when I was a kid... and haven't really been able to kick the habit yet. :D

Steam

28th July 2008, 12:56

Onya mate, good luck. Any chance of some pix of the hut? ;)

I will definitely post photos but not just yet, I move in one month, when I get back from Auckland.
First I have to ride from Dunedin to Auckland and back on a four-week holiday, then I have to move into a cool shack in the country. Life is hard!

Any small streams nearby? I'm thinking micro-hydro here.
Am I the only one who loved building dams on small streams when I was a kid... and haven't really been able to kick the habit yet. :D
Yeah me too, dams on small streams are cool. There is a stream but it is low flow, so I'd need to build a dam then set the system to activate every few hours or so when the dam is full, use the turbine to charge a bank of batteries. It shouldn't be too hard. The difficult part is getting hold of a very cheap old pelton-wheel or some other kind of water-turbine.

Anyway, that's for the medium-term future, not just yet! It'd be worth doing if I was planning on living there for a few years or more, but I don't know if it's going to be hell yet. We'll see...

jrandom

28th July 2008, 12:57

falsehood of city life

Eh?

What's false about it?

Ixion

28th July 2008, 12:58

Fulla people a-whoring after false gods.

scumdog

28th July 2008, 13:04

Eh?

What's false about it?

Yeah.

The violence, traffic jams, rubbish and crime are ALL real!!:devil2:

jrandom

28th July 2008, 13:06

The violence, traffic jams, rubbish and crime are ALL real!!:devil2:

I didn't say it was nice. Just not quite sure what 'false' means in this context.

007XX

28th July 2008, 13:58

Eh?

What's false about it?

The falsehood of some people's friendships in cities...one day hugging you, the next stabbing you in the back for some corporate advancement. The whole *insert fake air kisses noises here*: :"Daaaaaaaaling!! You look so very thin/ cosmopolitan with that blue hair and overpriced pashmina!...blah, blah, BS"...all about the latest Rolex or expensive car.

Anyway, I'm not saying it's everyone like that. I guess it's gotten worse for me since I started working with real estate agents :crazy:

martybabe

28th July 2008, 14:03

. I guess it's gotten worse for me since I started working with real estate agents :crazy:

Ah, the salt of the earth them fellas. Yep gimme a hut and some sheep over an office and suits any day.

P.s. Sheep for food and comradeship only :nono::laugh:

jrandom

28th July 2008, 14:03

The falsehood of some people's friendships in cities...one day hugging you, the next stabbing you in the back for some corporate advancement. The whole *insert fake air kisses noises here*: :"Daaaaaaaaling!! You look so very thin/ cosmopolitan with that blue hair and overpriced pashmina!...blah, blah, BS"...all about the latest Rolex or expensive car.

Not something I've ever had to deal with.

Then again, I'm quite happy wearing my Citizen Eco-Drive and getting around on the only vehicle that can be purchased brand new in NZ for $10 per engine cc.

... I started working with real estate agents

Well, there you go. You kinda made your own bed, didn't you?

007XX

28th July 2008, 14:08

Ah, the salt of the earth them fellas. Yep gimme a hut and some sheep over an office and suits any day.

P.s. Sheep for food and comradeship only :nono::laugh:

Exactly! :D

Not something I've ever had to deal with.

Then again, I'm quite happy wearing my Citizen Eco-Drive and getting around on the only vehicle that can be purchased brand new in NZ for $10 per engine cc.

Living a sheltered life does not make for a suitable comparison, now does it?

Biggles2000

28th July 2008, 14:08

Good on you.

I live in a Batch on the south side of Lyttleton Harbour. Sounds like a few more utilitys but it sounds like you are in for a lot of fun. Good luck.

jrandom

28th July 2008, 14:09

Living a sheltered life does not make for a suitable comparison, now does it?

Are you calling my life sheltered?

:blink:

sinfull

28th July 2008, 14:10

That'd be nice.

:crazy:

Unfortunately, you can put stuff in series with your power source and take the voltage up and down and swap between DC and AC, but you can't get more power out. 1KW in = 1KW out. You can only get a higher voltage at the expense of being able to draw less current.

Be nice if one didn't have to work within the limitations of thermodynamics, but physics is a bastard like that.

Well i want my money back then lol
Took it with a dose of salt though !
Teach me to believe everthing i hear ! Sounded good at the time, but then i know nothing of physics

tri boy

28th July 2008, 14:10

The falsehood of some people's friendships in cities...one day hugging you, the next stabbing you in the back for some corporate advancement. The whole *insert fake air kisses noises here*: :"Daaaaaaaaling!! You look so very thin/

Move down to the Waikato. We slap our women on the arse, and TELL them they're getting fat.:Oops:
Can't bet "in ya face" honesty.:first: (doesn't help with their weight loss, but sure as hell helps with my running fitness).

007XX

28th July 2008, 14:12

Are you calling my life sheltered?

:blink:

A house by definition is a shelter, and you live in one of those, don't you?

So yeah, you live a sheltered life :D

jrandom

28th July 2008, 14:12

Can't bet "in ya face" honesty.:first:

Or 'on ya arse' honesty?

jrandom

28th July 2008, 14:12

A house by definition is a shelter, and you live in one of those, don't you?

So yeah, you live a sheltered life :D

You're bored today, aren't you.

007XX

28th July 2008, 14:29

Move down to the Waikato. We slap our women on the arse, and TELL them they're getting fat.:Oops:
Can't bet "in ya face" honesty.:first: (doesn't help with their weight loss, but sure as hell helps with my running fitness).

Eh, that sounds like fun...maybe I should move to the Waikato!

You're bored today, aren't you.

guilty as charged your honour...

DUCATI*HARD

28th July 2008, 16:56

I'm moving to a shack on top of a mountain!
It has no electricity, no phone

well if its anything like my shack we have built your gonna love it,we have no power(but we do run a generator time to time),we have a flush toilet,and you can only access our shack by boat.am awaitng coal range,heres a few pics

geoffm

28th July 2008, 22:13

If you have a small streamm, a ram pump woudl be good - they pump water uphill with basically no moving parts, so you could have water at the door. Rainwater is an alternative.
I woudl get batteries, a solar panel charger adn an inverter, and check out second hand caravan stuff for 12v fridges, gas cookers, etc. A 9kg gas bottle will last 5 months just running a gas hob. There are plans out there for making wind generators from Smartdrive motors - check out recent issues of the Shed magazine.
Wetback in the woodburner with a (second hand) hot water cylinder or several for storage. Add home made solar hot water heating and if the house has several rooms, some old school radiators hooked up to the wetback. You wil need a lot of firewood. Get a good chainsaw, hire a logsplitter, borrow/buy a car and trailer or run the whole lot on coal and get a ton or so delivered each winter.
An aquaintnace in Invercargill has an old Anderson steam boiler for heating (he likes steam) with automatic (IIRC) coal feed auger, as used in schools in the Old Days. Way to go for more heat than you will ever need.

Steam

28th July 2008, 23:17

well if its anything like my shack we have built your gonna love it,we have no power(but we do run a generator time to time),we have a flush toilet,and you can only access our shack by boat.am awaitng coal range,heres a few pics
Primo! Awesome! Thanks for the photos.:rockon:

peasea

28th July 2008, 23:19

I'm moving to a shack on top of a mountain!
It has no electricity, no phone and it is currently covered in snow...
but it has a huge log-burner, an endless supply of firewood, and the rent is tiny.
It has a gorgeous view out to the sea, huge windows to the north, and plenty of room out the front of the shack for installing a wood-heated spa tub thing for naked drunken frolicking.

Rocking!

It is an old shearers quarters out the back of a friend's farm, he said I should move in and save on rent and stop the place from falling down. Nobody has lived there for about 20 years so it's full of rat shit, straw, and farming implements. Oh, and the old longdrop toilet has fallen down, I have to build a new one. I've got a bit of work ahead of me!

It will mean an end to my posting on Kiwibiker, but oh well, that's a small price to pay for such an awesome place to live. And only 7km from the city, so it's still just a quick commute to work.
It will remain without power or phone, as it's about 2km from the nearest power-lines, but I do get cell-phone reception out there. I think I will be using a lot of candles! or Tilley lamps.

The semi-knobbly tyres will go back on the bike, as there's a muddy 300m track to ride up the hill to get to the shack.

Fun eh!

Erm, words fail me. Just off to the fridge, back to the fire...........

scumdog

28th July 2008, 23:35

An aquaintnace in Invercargill has an old Anderson steam boiler for heating (he likes steam) with automatic (IIRC) coal feed auger, as used in schools in the Old Days. Way to go for more heat than you will ever need.

The modern equal is a McKenzie boiler, same basic principle, only thing is you still need 'lectrikery.

peasea

28th July 2008, 23:50

The modern equal is a McKenzie boiler, same basic principle, only thing is you still need 'lectrikery.

So, build yourself a hydro lake, take lotsa beer and urinate into said dam with all you've got.

Or get a generator, one of the two.

DUCATI*HARD

29th July 2008, 10:44

Primo! Awesome! Thanks for the photos.:rockon:

your welcome:niceone:maybe we could see sum pics of yours:msn-wink:

Ixion

29th July 2008, 10:57

..
An aquaintnace in Invercargill has an old Anderson steam boiler for heating (he likes steam) with automatic (IIRC) coal feed auger, as used in schools in the Old Days. Way to go for more heat than you will ever need.

If you have steam you don't need all the batteries and shit. Just use a steam engine to drive a dynamo. I like steam. Good stuff. Some of those old Andersons (they were NZ made BTW, back in the days when NZ actually MADE stuff) had a bootstrap mode. You only needed external electricity (from a battery bank ) at fireup. After that the boiler generated its own lectricity.

The REALLY old ones didn't use electricity at all. You just had to hand prime everything.

GaZBur

29th July 2008, 11:23

Erm, words fail me. Just off to the fridge, back to the fire...........
Well Steam will have a fire and to keep stuff cold just leave it away from the fire in this weather.
Don't shoot rats with a 22 or 12gauge inside - it puts holes in the wall. A 410 guage may bounce shot back at you off hardwood walls. You need a real high power air rifle so you can shoot the rats that try to gnaw at your feet while you are asleep. Remember to aim high so you keep all your toes!

Good luck, and if you are so far off the beaten track and alone make sure that a friend will keep track of you every now and then in case you havent been seen for a few days and had an accident or misshap.

DMNTD

4th August 2008, 01:51

Good onya Steam...:niceone:
I lived without mains power by choice for 11months at one stage when I was living up North. Was bloody awesome too,something I'll always remember.
I had a gas califont for my hot water and ran a water wheel from a small creek to charge the house's batteries.
To get a higher pressure from the hose (for the water wheel) simply run a length of 7/8ths alkathene,block off the end and then drill a 8mm hole in it. It'll produce a fine yet powerful jet of water.
Also do remember that a warm,dry yet well ventilated shed will be required to dry your cash crop plus if you're unfortunate enough to miss a male plant in your garden and it does its business thus seeding the rest...those rats are just fantastic for de-seeding!! :bleh:
BTW....goats and possums are NOT your friends :nono:

Griffin

4th August 2008, 16:10

Sheesh - no power, no mains gas supply, no TV, no puter / internet, no flushing toilet, no microwave, no instant hot water... sounds like a mini version of hell to me - except that you will be freezin your twanger off rather than burning to death. Good on ya - I couldnt do it

enigma51

4th August 2008, 16:18

DMNTD

4th August 2008, 18:19

Selling franchises again are you?

How else am I going to buy new bikes? :shifty:

Steam

31st August 2008, 19:50

Here's my hippy shack, I took photos today before getting stuck into cleaning it. Bloody shambles!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2812677057_5e2420b31a.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2812677057_f934f40283_o.jpg)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2813527268_8430fe266f.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2813527268_ed03147b60_o.jpg)

gijoe1313

31st August 2008, 20:49

It has that certain rustic quality to it, a potential fixer-upper for those home handy-man types, you have quality views with natural bush and privacy ... :lol:

Actually, looks minters ... when everything goes to hell in a handbasket, you will be able to look down as Soddom and Gommorah get purged again! :yes:

martybabe

31st August 2008, 20:56

By my daughters standards that shack is immaculate.

Good luck Steam, keep us posted, when ya get to a puta that is. :bye:

HTFU

31st August 2008, 21:00

Mate what an adventure. Our bach down the Waikato river looks 5 star in comparison. :shit:

Have just set up solar panels and lights in our Caravan (we spend a month each year at the beach with no mod cons).

Battery clinic do 30-40 amp/hr batteries for $40-50 which is bloody good value. I run 10 and 15 watt panels that cost $50 and $ 100 each which charge 1.5 amps/hr.

We run 3 watt led bulbs ($20-40 each) that are equivalent to 20 watt globes, so 3-4 of them running at once would give you good light. They draw about .25 amps an hr so 4 of them is only drawing 1 amp an hr. Using it for 4 hours a night is 4 amps out of your battery and with the panels putting in 1.5 an hour, 3 hours a day of sunlight each day will top them back no problems. :blink:

Solar regulator for $50 will be needed to properly charge the batteries.

A small inverter 300-500 watts can be had for $60-80 and will top up computer and phones.

We run a 12 volt shower which sucks the hot water (boiled on the gas) out of a bucket and gives good pressure. $30 on trademe.

Gas fridge/freezer combo can be had for $500-1000 on trademe. Will use about a 9kg bottle every 3-4 weeks in summer. $20 a month on gas to run the fridge and cooker would be about right. If you go camping the portable chest fridge/freezer that electrolux/waeco/dometic do would be a good purchase because you would use it once this crazy adventure is over.

Have fun creating your little self sufficient hide away. :clap:

kevfromcoro

31st August 2008, 21:01

GREAT pics steam..bit of elbow grease and it will look like new.
do you have to get up a couple of times a night and bash the possums of the roof like i do

Grub

31st August 2008, 21:02

I like it!

Actually, it looks pretty waterproof and wow it's got a bed, reading materials, pot plants :innocent: and a sofa and everything!

Had you actually seen it before you agreed to this?

The Pastor

31st August 2008, 21:04

looks real good bro, good luck :)

cave weta

31st August 2008, 21:38

LoL - I live in a J4 Bedford house truck, solar panel , worm composting toilet, gas caliphont lasts 3 months with the stove on the same bottle. Outdoor bath has double gas burner underneath. washing machine has Briggs and Statton power, also has 12v alternator on same belt to top up batteries in winter.
Its a grand life! KBers whizz past on the weekends. Tourists sneak photos over the fence in the summer, The council try to procecute me and lose! hahahahahah:woohoo:
I used to travel the gypsy fairs in it. Now it just lurks behind the hedge!<center>
<img src="http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x205/piranha77/GartenzwergeSmall.jpg" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"><br><br>
</center>

Steam

31st August 2008, 21:42

LoL - I live in a J4 Bedford house truck...

Oh excellent! You are my new hero. :niceone:
Jeez that's a big chassis on a small truck. What was your top speed?
The parking meter is a nice touch.

cave weta

31st August 2008, 22:06

Oh excellent! You are my new hero. :niceone:
Jeez that's a big chassis on a small truck. What was your top speed?
The parking meter is a nice touch.

I once cracked 60mph coming down the Titiokura on the way into HB from Taupo! -it was 2 or 3 mph faster than the hippy housebus that plunged into the Mohaka River a decade earlier. If you service the brakes every weekend these old girls are just fine....

biggles74

31st August 2008, 22:22

thats the house where in the early 80s a guy murdered his family and then topped himself ,my mate only lasted 2 nights in that place good luck!

cave weta

31st August 2008, 22:32

thats the house where in the early 80s a guy murdered his family and then topped himself ,my mate only lasted 2 nights in that place good luck!

Brilliant!!:jerry:

martybabe

31st August 2008, 22:46

LoL - I live in a J4 Bedford house truck, solar panel , worm composting toilet, gas caliphont lasts 3 months with the stove on the same bottle. Outdoor bath has double gas burner underneath. washing machine has Briggs and Statton power, also has 12v alternator on same belt to top up batteries in winter.
Its a grand life! KBers whizz past on the weekends. Tourists sneak photos over the fence in the summer, The council try to procecute me and lose! hahahahahah:woohoo:
I used to travel the gypsy fairs in it. Now it just lurks behind the hedge.

:lol: brilliant, you wild man you, best put some money in that meter dude or you'll have the parking nazis and the council on yer back. onya :apint:

Wolf

1st September 2008, 12:07

Just a "heads-up", Steam, strayjuliet utterly detests you and is probably going to get a contract put out on your life - I'm looking at your little bach and thinking "Hmmmmmm..." with that look in my eyes and stray's getting veeerrrry nervous...

In all seriousness, that place is probably a lot more than my ancestress had when she arrived in NZ - and she had 5 kids including an infant that was born on the boat on the way from Cornwall and her husband drowned in Petone Bay a few months after arriving here:

...the foreshore at Petone had become a busy locality. Tents were supplemented by shanties of various descriptions, but some of the whares put up with the help of the Maoris were of a more ambitious character, and so well built that they lasted several years. Round about this somewhat incongruous camp-settlement the belongings of the settlers were scattered, and as there were by this time about 500 white people ashore the scene was decidedly animated."

No cellphone, no vehicle, no modern convenient foods, no battery-operated or gas-powered appliances...

She couldn't just screw the hose of a gas hob onto a convenient LPG cylinder to cook dinner or flick the switch of a torch to find her way to the shithouse in the middle of the night.

And people these days whinge that they've got it hard if the power's off for a couple of hours!

Good on ya, dude. Looking forward to hearing the continuing adventures and seeing what the place looks like as you fix it up - more pics, please.

mstriumph

1st September 2008, 12:14

........No cellphone............... bring it ON!!! :yes:

alanzs

1st September 2008, 12:24

Have fun and keep us in touch!

Wolf

1st September 2008, 12:39

bring it ON!!! :yes:

FUUUUCK YEAH!

A bit closer to the here-and-now:

My grandparents living in Owhango around the time of "The Great Depression" - 4 kids, no electricity or phone but all the "mod cons" - proper long-drop toilet, wood-burning stove with wet-back, fireplace in the lounge, plenty of kerosene lanterns, wood-burning "copper" in the wash house, full woodshed and grandad's Matchless-with-sidecar for transport!

Fucking "lap of luxury" stuff - hot water on demand, proper stove and oven, a cool, ventilated food safe to put perishables in, bins in the kitchen for flour and sugar for baking, grandad's home-brew set-up in the shed (grandma wouldn't allow it in the house. She wasn't a wowser, it's just that the brew was an explosion risk) and a motorbike! Did I mention the motorbike?

Only a 3 mile walk into town for the kids to get to school, too. And it only snowed in winter.

klingon

1st September 2008, 12:58

the chix will be lining up, watch.

*klingon lines up*

Feral chicks who don't wash.

*klingon offers tri boy to sniff her armpits to prove her cleanliness*

...There is absolutely no reason whatspoever why living in such a state should not be entirely conducive of every propiety. There is firewood to heat water, so why should there be any stint of washing or shaving ?

Absolutely agree Mr Ixion.

I lived in a little shed on top of a hill in Northland for a few months (was meant to be a few years but then I got cancer and had to come down to make use of medical facilities... that's another story...

The place I lived had no power, no phone and no cell phone coverage. I used candles for lighting, a gas cooker or outdoor fire for cooking and heating water, gravity-fed rain water off the roof for drinking. Seriously, that's all you need.

The key differences here seem to be that Steam is still intending to keep his job. A lifestyle like this is very labour intensive. Cooking a meal, washing dishes, washing clothes, chopping fire wood... all take a long time. Also Steam's place looks like it will get very cold in winter, and the insulation doesn't look particularly good.

Congrats, Steam. You're going to have a wonderful time.

And for all those who are saying you'd love to try it but you can't because of [insert reason here], plenty of people actually do choose to live this way. You probably won't meet many of them on KB because they're just getting on with living. If you really wanted to do it, you probably could.

GaZBur

1st September 2008, 13:24

Were you doing a clean up on Saturday, is that why you dissapeared from the BSA poker run, or did you just stay at the first pub? :beer:
I haven't met you but have seen you on the road a few times- your bike is hard to not recognise even from a distance, seen it parked on George Street prior to its infamous chickening incident and been meaning to stop and say hi!

mstriumph

1st September 2008, 14:43

........... Also Steam's place looks like it will get very cold in winter, and the insulation doesn't look particularly good.

................. insulation? i saw no insulation??

ahhhhhh THAT'S wat all those old newspapers lying around the floor were meant to be !! :msn-wink:

Wolf

1st September 2008, 15:09

I lived in a little shed on top of a hill in Northland for a few months (was meant to be a few years but then I got cancer and had to come down to make use of medical facilities... that's another story...
Sorry to hear that the dream lifestyle was shattered in such a nasty way.

The place I lived had no power, no phone and no cell phone coverage. I used candles for lighting, a gas cooker or outdoor fire for cooking and heating water, gravity-fed rain water off the roof for drinking. Seriously, that's all you need.
That's true. A flushing toilet and septic tank are luxuries, as are wood/coal ranges and wet-backs. People these days forget that people once lived and raised families with so much less than all the stuff now deemed "essential". Rain water is quite potable (I prefer it over the chlorinated/fluoridated crap we get in town) and a decent feed setup allows decent pressure (we had crap pressure in some of the farm houses I lived in as a kid but the last place I stayed in with roof water had a proper set-up (I suspect decreasing pipe diameters to build up the pressure) that was quite sufficient).

I do love my electronic luxuries, though, such as the ability to listen to music or play on the computer - but they can be handled with low DC voltages: MP3 players run on a single 1.5V cell, a laptop can run happily off a 12V car battery (and that'd play CDs, DVDs etc), radios require bugger all power (unless you're one of those people who can't survive without a 5GW stereo surround-sound system with a subwoofer the size of a small bach...)

A lifestyle like this is very labour intensive. Cooking a meal, washing dishes, washing clothes, chopping fire wood... all take a long time.
True. Also sweeping the floor is more labour-intensive than vacuuming. Wooden floors with rugs are better than carpet - take the rugs outside and shake them out. Occasionally hang them on the line and set-to with a stout stick...

Hard to balance that with a full-time job but not impossible if you have a good routine to minimise effort (i.e. not let the dishes build up for so long that you have to spend an entire day alternating between boiling water and washing dishes...)

A small place is also better - less cleaning required (minimising on clutter and junk would also help.)

Also Steam's place looks like it will get very cold in winter, and the insulation doesn't look particularly good.
Hmmmmm. A -10 degree sleeping bag sounds like a good investment.

And for all those who are saying you'd love to try it but you can't because of [insert reason here], plenty of people actually do choose to live this way.
The trick is finding a suitable place in our overly sanitised and upgraded country within a reasonable distance of work - I'd also want to keep working and not spend all my savings on petrol and bike maintenance. I'd also need to fit it out for three sleeping spaces - one for strayj and I, one for the two boys and one for the two girls - shared family sleeping arrangements have been frowned on since our pioneering days when a modesty screen (sheet) or two strung up in the crude single-room A-frame (with, if you were lucky, saddles hanging from the ceiling beams) was sufficient.

Knew a bloke up in Hokianga who lived a few minutes' walk across the paddocks from the last property on a gravel road who had a nice, sizeable house (carried all the stuff to build it in there on his back) for his wife and tribe of kids - no 'leccy, no phone, no driveway (he'd park his battered old panel van at the "neighbour's" and carry his supplies of kero, batteries (for the radio) and candles home on his back). Good on him. He supplemented his meagre income by growing his own veges and killing his own meat.

cave weta

1st September 2008, 15:29

:wari::wari::wari: My morgage gets paid by my tennents in the House!- Im just the dopesmokin hippy in the housetruck at the end of the garden with the fabulous lifestyle and the bath under the stars!
I toured the country for 6 years with the Gypsy Fair and lived off selling handcrafts. every weekend people would say 'you are so lucky'...

It wasnt luck! I worked my arse off in a marraige and a business and an old 4 bedroom Villa and then lost the lot when I couldnt work for a year. I got chemical poisening from catalysts and solvents used in fibreglassing. so then I sold my Cappucino machine, widescreen TV and the jetski, built the truck, and drove off into the sunset! It was hard work and culture shock at first but 9 years later Ive bought a new place, built up a rocking business, made freinds all over the country and people still say " you are so lucky"

mstriumph

1st September 2008, 15:33

....................Rain water is quite potable .;..................

you bet
i only HAVE tank water at our place ---- have had a lot fewer colds and other infections since i moved there 10 years ago .......... it's all those dead rats and crap in the downspouts - toughens ya up!! :laugh:

cave weta

1st September 2008, 15:34

OFF TOPIC

Hey GIXER- I sent you a PM about advertising on the site, weeks ago!
You havent got back to me!

Wolf

1st September 2008, 15:43

you bet
i only HAVE tank water at our place ---- have had a lot fewer colds and other infections since i moved there 10 years ago .......... it's all those dead rats and crap in the downspouts - toughens ya up!! :laugh:
Never underestimate the auto-immune-boosting properties of bird- and possum-shit, eh.

scumdog

1st September 2008, 17:21

Here's my hippy shack, I took photos today before getting stuck into cleaning it. Bloody shambles!

As the real-estate notices use to say "A snip for the handy-man":shit:

ynot slow

1st September 2008, 21:09

Great to try the alternative lifestyle.We used to stay in back country baches,some were rough as guts,but waterproof in winter,great times had in late 70's early 80's as teenagers.

Hardest thing was working out who would carry the beers,one trip we divied up one guys' pack of food,clothes and all he carried was 36 cans of double brown,the old tin 460mls cans.We were impressed as his pack was reasonably heavy,but after the first night(a 2 hour hike)in a bivouac,then the next day to the hut(another hour or so)his pack was getting lighter.

My grandparents never had a seperate hot water system until they were in their 60's when they got a gas cylinder,they had wet back whilst all their kids grew up,then us grandkids would stay,they had a huge claw foot bath,but never enough hot water to fill it lol.They still used the coal range even after the new stove was installed,and nanas' scones and roasts from the range were choice.Nana used the wringer washing machine when all her kids had automatic ones.

Steam

1st September 2008, 22:42

Were you doing a clean up on Saturday, is that why you dissapeared from the BSA poker run, or did you just stay at the first pub? :beer:

Actually, yes I was doing the cleanup on Saturday, it took five hours!
Ripped the filthy mouldy carpets out, stuffed junk into rubbish bags, discovered both treasures and trash, and realised bedroom bit is built on top of an old trailer, using the trailer deck as the floor.

I'll meet you in real life sometime:soon:

Steam

8th October 2008, 19:11

Those rats are going to kill and eat you.

I bet 3 nights.

If you last 5 weeks I'll send you a 20.

Where's my money?!!:beer:
I've killed three rats so far. They bypass the bread and muesli lying around, and they go straight for the soap. So I bait my traps with soap. Works well, madness!:2thumbsup

Madness

8th October 2008, 19:19

Works well, madness!:2thumbsup

I prefer to use Peanut Butter. Smooth Sanitarium, but not the Chinese crap.

Headbanger

8th October 2008, 19:29

Where's my money?!!:beer:
I've killed three rats so far. They bypass the bread and muesli lying around, and they go straight for the soap. So I bait my traps with soap. Works well, madness!:2thumbsup

uh...In my pocket.

Next time your in this part of the country gimme me a yell and I'll shout ya a beer and a feed

How does it feel to be a mountain man?

Wolf

8th October 2008, 19:35

Where's my money?!!:beer:
I've killed three rats so far. They bypass the bread and muesli lying around, and they go straight for the soap. So I bait my traps with soap. Works well, madness!:2thumbsup
I found that roach traps were good at catching mice - but I don't know if they were after the lure or merely trying to hide in the trap to evade the cat that was prowling around. Whatever the reason for going in it, the sticky crap on the floor of the trap works well on mouse fur when they try to slither through it...

I prefer to use Peanut Butter. Smooth Sanitarium, but not the Chinese crap.
Wise move, the melamine in it is likely to kill the poor little buggers!

klingon

17th October 2008, 13:44

Where's my money?!!:beer:
I've killed three rats so far. They bypass the bread and muesli lying around, and they go straight for the soap. So I bait my traps with soap. Works well, madness!:2thumbsup

OK you're definitely showing your hippie colours here.
1) You have muesli lying around
2) You think soap is for catching rats

Good on you for sticking with it. I'm still jealous!

vifferman

17th October 2008, 13:51

You think soap is for catching rats
Hmmmmm....
I once worked on a sheep farm (professional sheepshagger), and the rats there were interesting. They used to live in three main places: in tunnels under the dog kennels, down by the creek, and in the roof of the offices. They were almost impossible to eradicate, as they're cunning. Confronted with strange new free food, they send in the very young, old or infirm rats to check it out, so poisoned baits were never 100% successful.
The ones in the office used to chew up all the old records we stuck in the ceiling for storage. Much more effective than an expensive paper shredder.
The reason we knew some lived by the creek was that in the winter they used to go in the shed and eat the crayons in the tupping harnesses, so there'd be multicoloured rat droppings all the way down their little rat trails to the creek.

oldrider

17th October 2008, 16:41

I have caught a "lot" of rats like this:

Put half a saveloy in an open tin can and a set gin trap in front of the can opening.

Rats can not resist saveloys and run across the gin trap to get to it......viola. :shit:

Sure rats are smart but saveloys smell good and gin traps are like the Police......it's what they do, they just hang about and wait!

Sooner or later the hungry rat forgets how smart he is and :Police: dang! :eek5: John.

Toaster

17th October 2008, 16:50

Wow - that pad will seriously pull the chicks eh!!

Toaster

17th October 2008, 16:51

Would you like to buy some home-made claymores to keep the possums out?

Just don't get up for a drunken piss in the middle of the night.

klingon

20th October 2008, 17:25

Wow - that pad will seriously pull the chicks eh!!

:blip:

(Where's the girlie version of that smilie?)

The Pastor

20th October 2008, 21:55

anyone got an update from steam?

GaZBur

21st October 2008, 07:03

anyone got an update from steam?

Hmmm. I havent seen his bike around town or varsity recently. Do you think he is up there caught in one of his own traps and deciding if its better to starve or gnaw off his own leg to escape?

Anybody seen him or does he need a rescue party?

cave weta

11th May 2009, 13:04

Last year Steam went to live in a shack on a hill.......
is he back yet?

cave weta

11th May 2009, 13:07

OK you're definitely showing your hippie colours here.
1) You have muesli lying around
2) You think soap is for catching rats

Good on you for sticking with it. I'm still jealous!

Klingon- you still have that invite to come down here and see how the hippies do it!

GaZBur

11th May 2009, 18:32

Saw his bike in Moray place about a month or so ago. So either he is ok or the rats have finally figured out how to ride his bike, it is a ratbike after all!

u4ea

12th May 2009, 16:39

you have forgotten that young women of today can barely identify a broom, let alone be able to comprehend, interpret, then apply the operational instructions t'wards said apparatus.
So making a fire to heat up a wetback, to boil water that will soften the home made soap to wash away the crabs that steam will infest them with, is like flying to Mars for them.

Stayed on a commune for 4 days up the Wanganui River when I was 7 mnths pregnant. Had to cross the river in a boat. No flush loos and the veiw from the po was amazing!!!!!!Porridge made on the wetback stove .. moon bath,you know the rest..

Saw his bike in Moray place about a month or so ago. So either he is ok or the rats have finally figured out how to ride his bike, it is a ratbike after all!

Sounds like hes playing Possum!

klingon

12th May 2009, 22:14

Klingon- you still have that invite to come down here and see how the hippies do it!

LOL... I just browsed back over this thread and was reminded that you live in the back of a truck! Brilliant! I will definitely take you up on that offer one day... and I'll show you how the real hippies do it!

:woohoo: <-- klingon folk-dancing

Steam

30th May 2009, 18:20

I'm alive, I'm back on KB (temporarily), I'm off to ride a bike around the country again!

My shack (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3114/2812677057_5e2420b31a.jpg) is great.
I've planted an organic vege garden... made a composting toilet (i'm going to eat my own shit!)... wired up a 12v lighting system for reading and cooking... use candles otherwise... put in a new rainwater catchment tank to replace the nasty slimy buckets I was storing water in...
I've scavenged pink-batts from demolition sites to insulate the hut for winter... installed a fireplace... cut about 10 cubic meters of firewood to get me through the cold months... built a fire-bath... trapped countless rats, which seems to be magnetically attracted to the hut, and in particular seem to like the damn ceiling space above my bed at night...

We eat road-kill about once a week (fresh roadkill, hit the previous night). So far we have eaten road-killed possum, hare, and rabbit.

Yep, it's pretty great.
There are a pair of riflemen (NZ's smallest birds) who live in a tree nearby and visit every few hours... heaps of tui and bellbirds, piwakawaka and wood-pigeons.
Lots of possums too; I've trapped about 15 and a keen woman on the community has skinned them and tanned the furs. She's stitching together a possum-skin bedspread.

I have also found women love the rustic feel. I bring female friends home, light the fire and candles, and gosh, suddenly they're suggesting a fire-bath! This was unexpected. I thought the lack of showers and flush toilets and suchlike would discourage women, but I guess I know the right women. Yeah, I suppose they're mostly rather alternative too.

I've been off the bike for a while, I sold it to a feral mate who lives in a shack about 100m from mine.
But on Monday I'm heading up to Auckland on a 250cc bike, to deliver it to my brother. I'm spending 2 months in Auckland, then I'm riding another 250 back down to Dunedin, making a delivery the other way! Convenient!

Ixion

30th May 2009, 18:27

envy . :drool:

cave weta

30th May 2009, 19:38

kevfromcoro

30th May 2009, 19:54

Looks lke you have given it a bit of a scrub up..
looking good.........

what more does a bloke whant.

Phurrball

30th May 2009, 20:23

I'm alive, I'm back on KB (temporarily), I'm off to ride a bike around the country again!(snippy)

Yep, it's pretty great.
There are a pair of riflemen (NZ's smallest birds) who live in a tree nearby and visit every few hours... heaps of tui and bellbirds, piwakawaka and wood-pigeons.
Lots of possums too; I've trapped about 15 and a keen woman on the community has skinned them and tanned the furs. She's stitching together a possum-skin bedspread.

I have also found women love the rustic feel. I bring female friends home, light the fire and candles, and gosh, suddenly they're suggesting a fire-bath! This was unexpected. I thought the lack of showers and flush toilets and suchlike would discourage women, but I guess I know the right women. Yeah, I suppose they're mostly rather alternative too.

I've been off the bike for a while, I sold it to a feral mate who lives in a shack about 100m from mine.
But on Monday I'm heading up to Auckland on a 250cc bike, to deliver it to my brother. I'm spending 2 months in Auckland, then I'm riding another 250 back down to Dunedin, making a delivery the other way! Convenient!

Nice going Steam! I sincerely wish I didn't have to pay power bills...our shack in the Waitakeres has only marginally more insulation and is electrically heated...:doh:

Hippies in a community near Dunedin...Volco perchance? Beautiful part of the world (My mother lives not too far away in Waitati)

Make yourself known to us northern hippies when you're up here!