My trip to the Antipodes

Yesterday was a day for lounging round the pool. Trip into town mid morning to walk about the Sunday market but only bought a coffee. The locals obviously enjoyed it as it was quite busy. Local wines and port on sale. Locally made cheeses, lots of fruit n veg, home made chutneys. a bit WI in a way.

Today I did the bay tour that I had starred on last Thursday. Returned to Matauri Bay, the scene of the lost keys etc. Still very beautiful and tempting surf, but carried on around many more headlands and little bays. Most distant destination was KariKari Bay, a wild huge crescent of silver sand and deserted apart from a family group of 4 who were heading away through the dunes back to the only other car up on the cliff top. Great! Good swim and then kit off, sun cream on and help that all-over tan. Nicely getting settled, almost asleep when i heard them coming back. Subtle slip on of top and shorts preserved my modesty. "Excuse me, do you own the red Colt in the car park. Only someone has smashed the rear window" Friendly family. He came originally from Kent but long enough ago to have lost his English.  They were camping over in the next bay and had decided to go back there as the breeze was getting up on the KariKari. After  relating the episodes of Thurs/Fri they headed of back through the dunes. Right settle down again. A couple of turn-overs to avoid sunburn before a few other stragglers came onto the beach. Time to go, it was getting very breezy anyway.

Stopped off in Monganui for the famous fish n chips in the restaurant on piles over the bay. Bluefin in crisp batter, very good and just what was needed after my swim.

Keith had suggested that I take a detour on the return and go via the Kaori Forest. I involved something like 15 miles of dirt track up the hills and through various forests of different native trees and finally to the great trees in question. Certainly huge and well worth the trip. The downside was the amount of dust and grit that I had eaten and was spead throughout the car as a thick layed of dust.

Back at Glenfalloch GH I finf three Roumanian guests have arrived. Mum, who is a qualified civil engineer lecturing in Aukland, her 15 year old son and grandmother. There was some concern when granny went to join mum and son in the hot-tub. But then Mum should have been able to calculate displacement. Archimedes an all that. Mi thinks it might need refilling.

Must go and clean out the car before driving back to Auckland tomorrow to exhange it,.

bfn bertie