Last week at the beach

Last week we went to Matarangi.  Weather was supposed to be bad but for some reason the weather was great enough for us to get some walks in along the usual tracks. The drive there was good.  We were concerned about the state of the hilly sections where sheer faces tend to slide down in the weather weve had recently, but the road guys had it all under control (though we did encounter a bit of a delay on the way home). It rained a bit while we were there but we seemed to catch the good stuff while we were out.  Here are some pictures as we kept off the road as much as possible and walked along the beaches to the ice cream shop at Kuaotunu:-

We started off

Went over the bluff, road only here.

Struggled along some of the beaches, rockhopping 

and just walking on the gritty ones

Enjoyed our ices at Kuaotunu store on the beachfront

Then back we went

past the boat landing where the shags/cormorants see what's for lunch

back over some really nice spots 

Then back over the bluff with the ochre cliffs   See Pen striding out!   to home.

Later in the week we took a few pictures at the reserve at the end of the sandspit, where the weather last year changed the landscape a bit.

Still windbown sand but no nests for the godwits and oystercatchers yet

but a new natural sculpture where a new lagoon has formed.

The rest of the time was taken up by me painting , both of us doing a fair amount of reading, the usual scrabble and Quiddler competition (which Penny seems to be getting an edge here, have to improve my game I can see)

 Lastly would you believe we found a couple of plants for the rock garden on one of our jaunts to Coromandel. Now happily planted at the front and and since we've returned, being naturally watered I hope.

   Note that I haven't mentioned swimming.  that's because we did none!  weather far too cold to entice us in with flimsy spring suits, although as you can see from the pics the sea was lovely and quite swimmable, a near miss this time.

  Roger would have gone in. (even though there were 3 hammerheads and two bronze whalersI think  with the big flappy pectoral fins, washed up on the shore this week. Never seen a hammerhead up close and was surprised how wide apart the eyes were.)  OK Rog, they were only small ones!!  Not as big as the ones I shared the water with last year!

The weather packed up as we left on Saturday and now it's time to get some new plants into the garden at home.  filling some gaps where we've had casualties.  Even had time between the showers to fix the spa pump.  Desperation required I fix it. The shop said a new one was only $500!   It's now happily heating again.  Hooray!

Keep as well as we are, everyone!

R and P

Latest art thing

Thought you might like to see my latest paintings, 

First, treescape,

Second mountains, 

Red white and blue with a grey blue mountain mixture.

Lastly beach scene with wave, still in process, Islands in distance and foreground to do, not the best photo of it but first time I've got a decent wave!!