Judy Rice, a self-proclaimed ‘mistress’ to her gnome Winkle, is about to store her collection of indoor and backyard buddies and embark on a country-wide adventure.
The 69-year-old Sockburn resident has collected more than 400 garden friends since 1990, but when she and her partner Murray Wilson move into a 30ft Rockwood caravan, only a few will join.
“The house is on the market, and we have already placed a deposit on our caravan. I’m getting old – if we don’t go now, we will never do it.
“Winkle, his girlfriend Trixie, Moonshine the Joker and a few of Murray’s will come. The rest will go into storage – they won’t be happy about it either.”
Judy hopes to be off by June, picking up Murray from Ashburton and then following the warmer weather around the country.
Having left in November 2022 for a five-month trip across the North Island, she is not new to travelling for long periods.
“It was on my bucket list for a long time and came to fruition after my mother died from age-related issues in January 2022 and my husband’s death five weeks later, from surgery complications and dementia.
“I’ve lived in Christchurch for about 45 years and I needed to go. I looked around while planning and thought, can I do this by myself? Then I noticed Winkle winking at me from his shelf.He makes me laugh, and other people laugh too. ”
Some highlights of the prior trip included meeting the captain’s right-hand man on the Cook Strait ferry, flying in a plane, riding a double-decker bus, meeting a robot waiter and sandboarding.
Judy documented their adventures in a blog, Judy and the Travelling Gnome, which is written from the perspective of Winkle and has attracted more than 17,000 viewers worldwide.
She has also written a children’s book, Winkle Goes on Holiday, and an adult story, Winkle the Travelling Gnome, which is being worked on by her editor before hopefully going on sale this year.
“I’ll keep writing as long as people keep reading – so another book is planned and will be about the new adventure.”
