Intrepid Kiwis sail the dream

in the Greek Islands

Guest post by Caryl and Keith Turner who spent four years at sea.

We are Caryl and Keith Turner.  I would describe us as a resourceful couple wanting to get the most out of life.  I wanted to travel through Europe and Keith wanted to sail around NZ so we compromised by sailing overseas.

The time of our lives!

Lydia and Lincoln love the caravaning lifestyle.

Heidi with Lydia and Lincoln

By Heidi Chandler, intrepid caravaner

My husband and I have always been the restless type, looking for new adventures or projects to keep our selves sane.  

We have played with several ideas over the years.  Moving overseas, travelling round Australia, moving within NZ, yet we’ve always managed to come up with a variety of excuses to just stay put!

Then in February we brought a caravan.  We left on our maiden voyage down south for two weeks in February.  I was convinced that the kids would never sleep, wake each other at night, be constantly bored, and would be in my pocket 24/7, not to mention that it didn’t have a dishwasher!!  As it turned out, the whole trip was a huge success! 

We arrived home, got back into ‘routine’… and that’s when the idea of calling the caravan home took shape.  We agreed to rent our house out for a year and see what happened.

We found a property manger that got our house rented within the week, all of a sudden we had four weeks to pack up our life and more importantly compact it into a 22ft caravan! Luckily we got tenants that wanted a furnished place, and were flexible as to what we left behind.  Needless to say we only packed what was either necessary or irreplaceable. 

The Mum Squad goes tramping in Tongariro National Park

The Mum Squad on top of the world at Tama Lakes

By Angela Bensemann

For those of you who haven’t yet met the Mum Squad we’re a group of cricket mums who have bonded over years of watching our boys play cricket.

The accountant, the nurse, the hairdresser, the social worker
and the PR consultant

Our latest adventure was tramping in Tongariro National Park just a few weekends ago.  Not all the Mum Squad could make it but we managed to be well represented by the hairdresser, the social worker, the accountant, the nurse and the public relations consultant.

Our goal was to do the Tongariro Crossing – one of the most famous tramps in New Zealand.  But sometimes circumstances outside your control conspire against you and get in the way of achieving your goals.  That’s where Plan B kicks in.

Kickstart you future – sign up now!

Late registrations accepted until Tuesday 12th June.

Kickstart your future! is a workshop where you can find the motivation and confidence you need to take control of your future.

You'll get:

• A wellness framework and immunity test from naturopath Gillian Fry of Symmetry Health and Wellness
• A personal plan to identify and achieve your goals from WorksWonders founders Angela Bensemann and Jane Comben
• A stretch and relaxation session from our sponsor Deidre-Lee Allen of PureBalance
• Prize draws, wine and nibbles

Saturday 16th June, 2.00 – 5.30pm at the Plimmerton Bowling Club, 11 Grays Road, Plimmerton, Porirua, New Zealand
Only $45 per person (introductory offer)

Now’s your time - take an afternoon out for yourself and be inspired. This is a chance to think about what it is you want to get out of your life.  You can do it in a fun environment with supportive people.


Secure your place now!
Register by Friday 8 June 
Email kickstart@workswonders.co.nz
Phone: Angela on 027 498 2697

Catching hold of your dreams

By Angela Bensemann

We all have dreams and lots of them remain just that – dreams.  But how can we turn them into reality?  It’s quite simple really – you take that dream, you put a plan in place and (as Nike would tell you) JUST DO IT.

We all know people who seem to be living the dream – we’ve had a lot of them do guest posts on our blog this year.

There’s Brenda who has spent the last few years sailing around exotic parts of the world.

Gillian who threw in the corporate world, took on six years of study and came out the other end as a trained naturopath.

Jane and Winton who set up their own business and sold it just three years later.

Rob England who ‘downshifted’ to get a better work life balance.

Paula Birnie who began life as a hairdresser and now runs a successful make over business.

Heidi Chandler who rented out the family home, bought a camper van, packed up the husband and kids and has taken a year off to see the country (watch out for her blog in the next month or so).

Caryl and Keith who spend three months every year on canal boats in Europe (check out their blog in the next couple of weeks).

One thing they’ve all got in common is that they didn’t just sit and admire their idea bringing it out, dusting it off and putting it back on the shelf.  They embraced it, worked out what they had to do to turn it into reality and then did it!

We’ve developed a dream catcher worksheet to help you define your dream and work out how to attain it.  Put it together with our personal goal setting worksheet and there’ll be no stopping you.

And if you want to take it one step further come along to our KickstartYour Future! workshop on Saturday 16 June where you’ll work through a personal plan for setting and achieving goals – but be in quick, registrations need to be in by Friday 8 June.