Boxing Day 2009 continued

Boxing Day 2009

Boxing Day in New Zealand is typically a shopping day similar to the day after Thanksgiving in the US. Instead of shopping we went sailing to Motuihe island. Here are some photos from our day trip.

Christmas 2009

While I never really felt very Christmasy this year we did put in a small effort at decorating. I made snowflakes and P wrapped our fixtures in tinsel.

Christmas morning brought Marlene and Bill! and we had a great day (it was hot!!) lounging about, opening prezzies, and BBQing off the deck. In the evening we explored Mission Beach and Bastion Point.

B and Bill have been hard at work fixing up our new dinhgy:

This is the before picture. I'll post the after pictures soon!

P's Shrine to Christmas

While for me it is not starting to feel a lot like Christmas around here, P has the Christmas Spirit. Since the most festive thing I could do was cut out some paper snow flakes P has taken upon herself to create her own Christmas shrine in her room.

As we have never been a Christmas tree family she has made her own tree out of a piece of driftwood (from my trip to the East Cape). She has covered the driftwood with red and green yarn, put a silver bell at the top, tied a ribbon around it and anchored it in a green gift box. She has collected everything else in the house that is even remotely Christmasy and has placed it under the tree. 

Awesome.

Feeling Grateful

I've been wanting to see a kingfisher for a long time.  I used to care for kookaburras when I worked at the zoo, and they won me over- very cool birds. 

Yesterday when I was on the phone with a friend I looked out the window and saw a kingfisher sitting on our porch railing.  Such a stunning turquoise color!  I think P and I are lucky, lucky girls that we got to see one so close, if only for a few seconds. 

Hope you all have a festive and happy Thanksgiving!

Did I mention we had a really fun time?

Thanks for all the laughs!

You make a very spooky curtain ghost, AM.

Gisborne and the trip home through the Waioeka gorge.

My camera battery gave out in Gisborne.
This is the ONLY picture I took there.
Thank goodness it is such a good one!



I managed to coax a few more pictures out of my battery in the gorge.

Whangara

If you've not seen Whale Rider, go see it now (and fall for Cliff Curtis). Then read the book. Then read all of Witi Ihimaera's other books, and fall for Witi Ihimaera.

These pictures will mean a lot more to you.

Ok, these little beached whale props are really cute.
I love the one struggling up the hill.

Oh look, the waka (prop) and the whale island in the background (real) that the story is based on!
Fantastic!

Tolaga Bay

Tolaga Bay has the longest wharf in the southern hemisphere at 660 meters.
It is currently being repaired so you can only walk out about 400 meters.
At the 400 meter mark there is a buoy tied to the wharf
and if you are lucky you can use that buoy to play with a dolphin that hangs out there.



We had tea at the cafe at the Tolaga Inn. Highly recommended.

Toward Gisborne

We saw this on our way back to town after greeting the sun.
Two of my favorite things: cows and wakas.
Dreamy.


The Waipu Anglican church is said to have gorgeous carvings and marvelous stained glass windows.
It was locked, so I'll have to call again, on a Sunday next time.
This is the cross that is on the back side of the entrace gate to the church grounds.

Waipu Co-op has seen better days.
No wonder the church is locked, eh?

In Ruatoria we stopped for groceries and and breakfast.
I was excited to buy a local pie, but sadly could only give this a 4 out of 10 on the steak and cheese pie scale.
Perhaps I should have tried mince.

Salutations to the Sun

Ata marie!

On the ninth of October I wrote:
"Tux, the camp dog, was sad to be left behind when we left camp at 0545 to be the first to greet the sun today."

5:45 is a dark time of morning.



We didn't greet the sun from the lighthouse, but on the coast outside of Rangitukia.

The east cape has an amazing amount of driftwood.
Where does it all come from?

Looking back toward Mount Hikurangi



It was worth getting up at 0515 to see this sunrise, and to be among the first to greet the day.

Mystery Sticks

These things, which seem to be the marine equivalent of a scare crow, line the gravel road to the lighthouse.



They reminded me a little of the Blair Witch.
Spooky.

We took a lot of pictures of them.
I didn't dare get so close.
Thankfully, she didn't get eaten.

What are they?

The East Cape Lighthouse

We made it!



This is the view from the lighthouse toward Gisborne.

Te Araroa to the Lighthouse

This is leaving Te Araroa heading toward the east cape lighthouse.



Somehow in Te Araroa we missed seeing the largest Pohutukawa tree.
We found out later it is in the school yard.

This pohutukawa tree had several black and white shags (cormorants) nesting in it.
They are big birds and look an awful lot like penguins.

The guidebooks all give instructions for finding the path leading to the lighthouse like this,
"at the end of the road turn around and go back 500 meters. you will find the path behind the derelict huts."
The guidebooks were right.

So we donned our hats and off we went.