Hi Abbigail,

 I've just done a road trip from Nelson to Greymouth on the West Coast to visit your Great Uncle Bob and Great Aunt Barby. Bob is Grandma Heather's younger brother, the last surviving sibling from her branch of the family. (Heather's other brother–Neil, the middle child–sadly died not long after she did in 2017.)

On the way down, I stopped near the village of Punakaiki to view the famous Pancake Rocks, which are "30-million-year-old limestone formations that resemble stacked pancakes," according to Wikipedia. Layers of marine sediment were pressed into limestone, which was then eroded by the sea and weather to form towers, caves, and even a blowhole. Unfortunately the tide was not high enough to work the blowhole, but otherwise the day was perfect for a visit. Have a look:

 I then arrived in Greymouth and stayed with Bob & Barby for a couple of nights. They live in a house they built in the 1970's at the top of a hillside overlooking parts of Greymouth, with a large parcel of land behind the house stretching back into the bush. ("The bush" is the common term for New Zealand's evergreen native forest.)

 Barby and Bob at their house. They are both retired, and are practicing artists. Barby works with sewn and printed textiles; Bob makes pottery dishware, tiles, and various art pieces.

 Here's one example of Barby's work. From memory it measures about 30 x 60 cm (12 x 24 inches). 

 Bob's large kiln. It lives in its own shed enclosure, and is wood fired. 

 One of Bob's electric kilns, with various pieces waiting to be fired.

 This looks like a hanging artwork, but it's actually the view from a top window at the front of their house. The place is surrounded by trees and ferns, and you always hear the roar of the distant surf.

 Bob gave me a short tour of part of the block of bush they own. Here's the main trail to the back...

 Bob in the bush. We had to tread carefully, not just because of tree roots and holes, but also because there are old gold mining workings in various places on their property. Apparently there were small camps of Chinese immigrants who lived up there and prospected for gold during the gold rush.

 Bob checks and resets rat traps in the bush. One of his projects is controlling predators; he has disposed of over 1000 rats, two stoats and one weasel since he started the project. The native plants, birds and insects will be much happier.

 Bob & Barby have an amazing garden behind the house that is kept alive with rainwater only. They aren't connected to the city water supply, so must collect rain from all roofs and with any handy container available. Greymouth gets plenty of rain, so water is not an issue, but the hungry birds must be kept at bay with netting over the berries and veggies.

 After departing Greymouth in the morning, I stopped for a quick look at this Davidson Bush Locomotive, a steam locomotive built locally to haul loads of logs from the bush to a sawmill. It has a unique system of pistons, gears and chains to drive the small wheels. Slow, but had good pulling power, and was easy to maintain and repair. I love old steam locomotives, so this was a treat.

 That's my road trip. Hope you enjoyed!

Love, Dad