Alas, poor Yorrick


As you may recall, I seriously considered staying another night in Wellington but was beset with an excess of energy on Sunday and walked up Kaukau, visited our old house in Ngaio and went to Te Papa so, along with a load of other little odds and  sods, I had pretty much done all I wanted to do in Wellington.  Besides, there was the tail end of a cyclone on its way and I didn't fancy driving through that.  So I headed for New Plymouth.Private and peaceful sleepout for guests

Please excuse the lack of photos.  My beloved Lumix camera has decided that several thousand photos is enough for one lifetime and has shuffled off.  So I am reduced to using the camera in my phone which, to be as nice about it as possible, is a piece of crap with a mind of its own.
STOP PRESS!!!!!!!!!! My camera lives!  Holding down the power button for half a minute caused the lens suddenly to groinch into action and I am apparently becameraed again.  I promise to be nicer to it in future and not just shove it in my pocket when I am done taking pictures.
Overcome by skinflintness, I chose the cheapest place I could find in NP which turned out to be a real magic find, a sleepout on a farm. Dark at night, quiet and very comfortable, I got a great night's sleep, read half a dozen chapters of my book and was on the road by 8 a.m. the next morning.  The farm was about 2km from a stunning black sand beach and the filthy weather made it far more dramatic than the photos show.  The water was also surprisingly warm.

I'd lashed out on a box of paracetomol in Stratford the previous day so my drive to Waihi was very comfortable as well as scenic (you'll have to take my word for that as I really didn't want to take more lousy cellphone pictures).  Back at Georgia's place by mid-afternoon, I took advantage of the washing machine and the shower.  It's now getting on for 11 a.m. and I am enjoying a day with not much to do.  I will probably bestir myself in a wee while to head for Waihi Beach - there's no wind today so it may be safe to venture once more into the water.
Current timetable (I have a web-based diary for this but I can't remember what it's called) is :-

  • Thursday (tomorrow) - Quiz night with Bev & Graham
  • Friday - Red Beach
  • Saturday - Nonie & Dave's place
  • Sunday - cricket international in Hamilton with Hugh Webb
  • Monday & Tuesday - Nonie & Dave's - go to Waiheke if the weather is good. Maybe Tiritiri Matangi or Goat Island
  • Wednesday - Friday - Maurice & Alex's place in Titirangi
That leaves me 13 days to wander aimlessly.  Can't think of anything I haven't done yet except go somewhere really dark to look at the night sky.  The Auckland area doesn't have as many dark places as it used to.




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