Monthly Archives: May 2023

The Day Before Winter

Mark came and mowed round the cottage, did more pruning of the cottage bay tree hedge, and some work on the shallow trench round the perimeter of the chook run to-be.

Late morning Karola, Bangle, and I went for walk in the bright, sunny, cold day. We ended up going to the Ngaruroro river bank, the stop bank at Carrick Road, and had a long walk upstream and back. Spent the rest of the day pottering.

Ben sent photo of Paradise Ducks taken this week in Wellington’s Zelandia predator-free enclosure, artistically posed on reservoir gear.

Carrick Road Access To Ngaruroro River, Going Upstream

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Zealandia Paradise Ducks Have Chosen Interesting Perches (courtesy Ben Bell)

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Oak Avenue Weather:4.0℃—18.4℃ no rain [78.2] TdT eggs=0 Mark=4

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Weekly Shopping

Usual weekly shopping beginning with two meals of fresh white fish from Seawater Seafoods Ltd. If cyclone Gabrielle caused huge amounts of silt to run down the rivers and enter the bay, what was the effect on the fish and shellfish etc I wonder. Perhaps the fish is all coming from the South Island for now.

Slipped into Stortford Lodge to get our prescriptions from yesterday filled and pick up a couple of coffees from BP’s Wild Bean Café. Also got a replacement right rear trailer light lens, as requested by the vehicle testing station when they issued a WOF for trailer A613F – the big tandem trailer. Tried to “walk-in” for an ultrasound test but, unlike blood tests, these are by appointment only so I booked the next available one. It’s in June at the Sports Park and costs a whopping $370. I expect the symptoms will disappear and I’ll cancel it.

Mark did more mowing – the grass is still growing apace but as winter kicks in the soil temperature will drop and grass growth slow.

Oak Avenue Weather:8.3℃—20.5℃ 0.2mm rain [78.3] TdP eggs=0 Mark=4

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Regular Medical Checkups

Pavla, the Czech cleaner, was to have come for a morning cleaning some of the homestead but her daughter is unwell so she’s postponed until Friday.

Mark did a bit more on the chook run then spent most of the afternoon mowing under the big oak and the cottage lawn.

Karola and I had appointments with our GP, Richard, and the practice nurse, Janine so that took up most of our morning. Whilst in town we went to Harvey Norman and exchanged the little radio I bought for Karola online with one much more suitable. It remains to be seen whether it really meets her needs but it is a no-frills, simple little radio.

Oak Avenue Weather:10.0℃—18.5℃ 0.2mm rain [78.3] TdO eggs=0 Mark=4

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Busy Dog Park On Sunny, Cool Sunday

Walk with Bangle then lunch at Bay Espresso hoping to avoid a big dinner. Partially successful as we just had soup and toast for supper. A lot of people and even more dogs at the park today.

A little more on the chook run.

Eating healthily, Bridget Style

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Anna & Dave’s Pilates Teacher, Katia, Takes Class Outside In Summer Sun

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Oak Avenue Weather:3.7℃—18.7℃ no rain 78.9] TdP eggs=0

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Buying Online Is Usually Unsatisfactory

Quiet day; Postie brought us the little Philips radio I ordered online from Harvey Norman a few days ago for Karola. Unfortunately, like so many items I’ve bought online, it was a bit of a let-down. The buttons for turning it on and selecting presets etc are small, black (on a black radio background) with tiny and faint legends on the buttons and on the surrounding plastic cover. No way that Karola is going to read what the buttons say. Also, even worse, instead of being a simple one-push with a function per button, most functions require multiple button presses or long presses of several seconds. And the National Programme quality is irregular with whistles and crackles every now and then. So it must go back.

Early afternoon walk with Bangle then I gave her her worming and flea/tick protection tablets.

I did a little on the chook run and then darkness fell.

Bridget’s New Sofa – Is This Sofa Season Or What?

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Oak Avenue Weather:3.1℃—19.5℃ no rain [78.0] TdP eggs=0

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Chook Chickless (Sob)

Rachelle (Red Band) without chick this morning. Later mark found a pathetic scattering of small feathers by the homestead front steps.

Mark spent late morning mowing and began trimming the cottage Bay tree hedge. After lunch he helped me with fine tuning the chook run. It looks like we can make the netting fence level all the way round but it’ll need deepening some of the bottom wire trench. We chopped through roots with the borrowed Stihl Shop chainsaw but I’ve decided not to touch the larger surface roots of the Cercidiphyllum (common name Katsura) – the largest tree in the rainwater tank triangle. Instead we’ll go under the root and staple the netting to the root.

We had an early walk in the Pakowhai Country Park then went into town to:

  • Get coffee and pick up my meds – and a card saying our meds are free for the rest of the year
  • Pick up 10kg of grass seed from Farmlands
  • Pick up my chainsaw (fixed) and return the Stihl Shop’s loaner saw
  • Pick $600 from the BNZ money tree (aka ATM)
  • Get dinner from Captain Salty’s fish & chip shop

Dave & Anna (photographer) Morning Coffee At “Pulp” In Ealing

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Oak Avenue Weather:1.3℃—17.6℃ 0.2mm rain [78.5] TdP eggs=0 Mark=4

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Landrover Breaks Down

Today I was to drive the Landrover and big trailer to Tamatea Automotive for them to get WOFs which are months overdue. But the Landrover refused to start. I tried “flooring it” which has sometimes worked in the past but surely floods the engine. I tried squirting ether u[ the air intake, that used to work. I left it for a couple of hours and tried again, when we got back from shopping. Battery getting low so I tried jump-starting. Nothing worked.

Off to town to pick up Karola’s next month of blister pack meds. Also the MYLK meals for tonight. And another bag of Nutrients dog food for Bangle.

Vince from Farmlands has ordered a 10kg bag of grass seed “floor sweepings” for me, to apply to the bonfire bare patches once we’ve had the fires.

Peter Wiffin came to continue cutting firewood for his family. He tried to entice me to read a little booklet he’s got that explains how the Labour government has gone too far in its integration and co-governance treatment of Māori. I declined the offer. A lot of people in Hawkes Bay are probably of a similar mind, that all this co-governance talk is a bridge too far.

I see that Hastings has just started a programme of making road place signs in Māori and English. That I don’t mind at all although separate health services for Māori and Pākehā and separate education systems seems extreme and undesirable. And the apparent alignment of Māori culture/wisdom with scientific knowledge and practice as if they were somehow equal and alternative world views does ruffle my feathers. I mean, however rich the Māori knowledge of NZ plants in healing the sick and keeping healthy, it might in part complement the field of medicine as we know it but seems utterly inappropriate as an “either – or”.

I called Heath at Tamatea Automotive and explained that we would not be bringing in the Landrover and trailer for WOFs today. Then called the AA. Jason from the AA checked; yes the battery is fine; yes there’s fuel; but no, there’s no spark. The electronic ignition is stuffed. Back to Heath, booked in for next Thursday and I can ring nearer the time to get a free AA tow to the garage.

Mark spent his time mowing the homestead lawn.

Leonie came and cleaned the cottage in the afternoon. It may be that Leonie can come as a companion once or twice a week so that I can get away and Karola can have someone intelligent and helpful around if, for example, I go on a bike ride by myself.

Oak Avenue Weather:3.6℃—17.1℃ 0.2mm rain [78.4] TdP eggs=0 Mark=4

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Trip To Ahuriri In Napier

Karola and I popped over to Napier to have our hair cut by Kim. Kim appears to be succeeding, she’s got an assistant now to help with pre-wash and sweeping up etc.

On way home we stopped in at Farmers in Napier for stuff for Karola.

Mark continued mowing. The Kioti tractor was still overheating yesterday so he used the air compressor (gently) to clean the radiator grill front and back. No noticeable improvement as yet.

The Old Man

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Cocky Young Son – Heir Apparent Unless I Chop Off His Head

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Oak Avenue Weather:4.1℃—17.6℃ 0.2mm rain [78.9] TdP eggs=0 Mark=4

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The Tuesday Routine

Sent Anna’s video of me and Dave trying to pound in a post for the new chook house to Geoff of Ampfield. He cautioned that government “Health & Safety” might take a dim view, and he’s right but if I had been wielding a chainsaw they’d have more reason for concern. That reminded me of the time Geoff & Edwina visited us in 2006 and Geoff helped pound in some fence posts with the aptly named “widow-maker” contraption attached to the old Fergie tractor. He responded with photo from our Tasmania trip in 2016 where we visited an Australian animal park full of marsupials, birds, and reptiles, if my memory serves. See below. No “Ian”s were hurt in the making of this photo. Karola was, and is, not amused.

It being Tuesday, and our old routines kicking back in now the UK contingent have fled home, we went shopping for the week. A week’s worth of shopping, not a seven-day spree.

Mark came at 11:00am, an hour later than usual, and statrted mowing the lawns beginning with along the ha-ha where grass had got too long. Kioti tractor overheated again so even Dave’s fitting of a new expansion chamber, replacing the leaking one, did not fully resolve the overheating issue. Guess I’ll have to get Power Farming, our agent, to take a look.

Anna called from ealing and chatted to Karola this evening; she also sent couple of photos she’d taken in Walpole Park moments earlier.

Ian With Live Snake – Melbourne 2016 Trip With The Robinsons

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Spring Morning, Walpole Park, Ealing, UK – Not All Bad

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Oak Avenue Weather:6.9℃—18.2℃ no rain [?] TdO eggs=0 Mark=4

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Ram Taken Home

Mark came and:

  • planted the two Puka trees either side and in front of the Puriri at the 133 entrance – they were not flourishing as indoor plants. The puriri is flourishing growing straight and tall as hoped.
  • Moved the old heavy metal bath, originally upstairs in the homestead, to the chook run. It may become their own private pond but muh easier to get inside the chook run perimeter before the netting goes up.
  • Cleaned the cobwebs and much of the guano from inside the chook house
  • helped me yard the sheep and draft out the ram into the stock crate we’d just remounted on the big trailer. Mark, Karola, and I drove over to Te Mata Mangateretere road and popped him in a paddock with some bullocks as requested

Karola and I took another car-load of cardboard to the recycling; packaging from the new cottage sofa and chair mainly.

Anna sent me this short video from when Dave and I were erecting the posts for the new chook run. Actually Bridget and Dave did most of the work with Mark doing the bottom wire ditch around the perimeter and most of the stay posts on the corners. Not Dave’s priceless invocation “When I nod my head, hit it” in the video.

Hometime For The Big Beast

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The Beast And His Apple-Bearing Friend, Mark

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Home At Last

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Oak Avenue Weather:7.2℃—21.2℃ no rain [?] TdP eggs=0 Mark=5

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Back In The UUUKKK (White Album)

The England contingent safely and uneventfully back in Ealing on a lovely spring day in London. We will not forget this visit in a hurry.

So Bangle took us to Pakowhai Country Park and from there we went back into Hastings and picked up a tub of Karola’s favourite ice-cream, passionfruit from Rush Munro’s.

Did a car-load of recycling but there’s another car-load to do. Gagan’s the roadside green-grocers is close by the recycling depot so we nipped in there and got a few fresh vegetables to have with Ben’s chilli con-carne tonight. Gill and Ben have loaded up our freezer with many delicious frozen meals, unashamedly to my taste but Karola will complement her serving with salads I’m sure.

Ian On A Diet – Chilli Con-Carne By Ben Bell – Hot & Delicious

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Anna, Dave, and Felix Back In Ealing – First Coffee, Spring Sunshine

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Oak Avenue Weather:10.4℃—18.6℃ 2.0mm rain [?] TdP eggs=0

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English Contingent Are On Their Way

Went off in Landrover with the big trailer to see if there was any pea hay or decent grass hay left – to store in case the winter is a hard one for the sheep. We got there in time but the cupboard was bare – there were just a few sheds of rather dusty bedraggled looking bales of “meadow hay” which looked more like unpalatable straw than hay. So we returned home. The unusual summer has meant that we have much more grass than expected so maybe we won’t need any supplements this season.

At Karola’s suggestion we, including Bangle, popped over to Bay Espresso and had half eggs Benedicts plus a coffee each. Afterwards we drove over to the end of Ferry Road in Clive, (not Old Ferry Road), and Bangle and I walked south at about 4½ kph covering 1.7km there and back.

Spoke on FaceTime to Felix and Anna and Dave in the airport in Auckland, all checked in and through immigration and security. Anna has left the homestead spick and span; I checked the homestead last night and remembered to turn off the two hot water cylinders and the heated towel rails, confirmed that all heaters were disconnected and the fridges and freezer had no surprises. “All Good” as we say.

All Aboard For Singapore, Heathrow, And King Charlie

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After a bit of a nap we did a recycling run with the bottles, plastic, cardboard and paper accumulated over the “month of Anna” – well not quite a month and we do hope she comes back with Dave soon. How else will I get the chook run finished. Thank goodness we’ll be seeing plenty of Bridget and Tux in the meantime although it’s a long drive from Wellington.

Tonight I cooked a light smoked salmon meal with fried potato rings, setting off the fire alarms as I neglected to turn off the frying pan – again. At least I’m learning the code to silence the alarm which is piercing and disliked by poor Bangle.

Ben’s Observed Bird Species List – Karamu – Karola’s birthday, 14 May 2023

15 Species observed comprising 70 individuals

Asterisk means that species is introduced

  • 3 Greylag Goose (Domestic type) *
  • 11 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) *
  • 6 African Collared-Dove (Barbary Dove) *
  • 1 Australasian Harrier
  • Sacred Kingfisher
  • New Zealand Fantail
  • 2 Welcome Swallow
  • 6 Silvereye
  • 6 European Starling *
  • 9 Common Myna *
  • 5 Song Thrush *
  • 9 Eurasian Blackbird *
  • 1 Dunnock *
  • 7 House Sparrow *
  • 1 Chaffinch *

Ben said it was a modest tally for a late autumn day.

And Ben’s rather good photos of the gathering on that day:

Before lunch out on the new sun-porch / west verandah

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… and inside at the Kauri table in the dining room

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Oak Avenue Weather:11.2℃—19.5℃ 7.4mm rain [?] TdC eggs=0

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UK Family Return Home, Sob

Up quite early and Karola and I, but not Bangle, squeezed Anna, Dave, and Felix and their baggage into the Subaru and beetled off to Napier airport just after 8:00am.

The expressway was pretty free-flowing despite it being rush-hour and we got to the airport in well under half an hour. They got checked in then we had a light breakfast in the airport; their flight was a little delayed but we squeaked in with our two-hour parking slot having seen their small plane rise gracefully into the air.

Karola and I trundled home where I slept till lunchtime and Karola meditated on the cottage kitchen verandah in occasional glimpses of sunshine.

Ivan (electrician) dropped in in the hope of eggs. Nonesuch.

Mark took a rain-check and Ram man wants us to take the hired ram back on Monday so that suits everyone.

Later we took Bangle for leisurely walk round Pakowhai Country Park; not so many people today but all quite friendly.

Anna et al clocked in from Auckland, uneventful flight apart from the usual aborted first landing attempt. Then they visited the museum and other Auckland sights – they’re staying in central Auckland tonight and take off for Singapore after lunch tomorrow.

Meanwhile back In Wellington, Tux Has A Taste For Plastic

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Anna’s Pack Hit Auckland – Coops Corner Pub For Liquid Refreshments

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And Shortly Afterwards A Hearty Lunch At Dr Rudi’s Rooftop Bar

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Oak Avenue Weather:9.5℃—17.7℃ 2.8mm rain [?] TdP eggs=0 Mark=0

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Te Mata Peak

It’s Mark’s birthday today so, unsurprisingly, Caz, his wife, suggests he have a rest day today. Peter Wiffin has been busy converting the old fallen Ginkgo into firewood.

Anna’s pack went off with me for a walk at Te Mata Peak leaving Karola and Bangle to relax at home. It was an enjoyable walk, only about three kilometres but definitely up and down.

We returned and picked up Karola and Bangle and went to the The Potting Shed cafe which is in The Garden Depot on Pakowhai road. Very friendly and enthusiastic staff person.

After trudging round the orchard with Bangle we all, except Bangle, went to Namaskar in Joll Road in Havelock North, a favourite haunt of Peter and Charlotte, for a last Indian meal, or as the British say, “a curry”. Delicious lamb cutlets starter.

Replete, we went home, chatted for a while, and then had an early night in anticipation of the travelling tomorrow.

The Old Ginkgo Becoming Firewood

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Te Mata “Purple Trail” – The Giant Redwoods Planted 1920

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The Only Redwood Fallen In The Cyclone – Felix Beside Bivouac Over The Root Crater

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Anna In Tree Hugging Mode

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Ian Negotiating Path Not quite Free Of Cyclone Debris

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Anna, Out Of The Bush High On Te Mata Peak

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Steps Leading Steeply To Lowest Point Of The Purple Trail

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Oak Avenue Weather:3.5℃—13.9℃ 0.2mm rain [?] TdO eggs=0 Mark=0

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More Electric Biking

Went to Napier, to Fish Bikes this time. Woman minding the shop was probably a little under the influence, very merry and my guess is a little weed. Anyway she hired us out the bikes and off we went.

First unusual place was the Waitangi Domain where we saw the magnificent Atea a Rangi Star Compass depicting the compass information used by the Pacific Islanders to navigate between islands and migrate to New Zealand.

We pedalled off to Haumoana – the distance there and back was about 50km whereas the first electric bike ride was probably about 30km. At Hamoana we had lunch at a quiet, pleasant little cafe, Hamoana Coffee.

On the return trip, as I attempted to come up from below the Clive bridge and onto the cycle bridge extension, I almost bumped into a fast cyclist coming straight up onto the bridge from the Clive village. I swerved, banged into a pole, and fell off again into wood chips and vegetation. No harm to the bike this time.

We got the bikes back in time and drove to the Gintrap restaurant again for afternoon tea. As we sat on the Gintrap verandah we were surprised to hear and see thousands of sparrows returning to their night roost in a tree on the quayside opposite.

Anna had purchased a venison stew from MYLK earlier and gave us another substantial delicious dinner.

Atea a Rangi Star Compass

In 2017, Ātea a Rangi was constructed as one of several elements in the Waitangi Estuary enhancement at Waitangi Regional Park. Ātea a Rangi was the idea of Te Matau-a-Māui Voyaging Trust who subsequently partnered with HBRC to deliver the project.

Ātea a Rangi Educational Trust was then established to administer and maintain Ātea a Rangi under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Regional Council, who maintains the space on an ongoing basis for the community to enjoy.

It is a training tool used by celestial navigators who sailed traditionally throughout the Pacific. The rising and setting points of the celestial bodies are memorised by using the carved Pou (Posts) and the Horizon.

It shows a resource used by the ancestors of the Māori to navigate sailing waka (large double hulled canoe) throughout the Pacific Islands. This area is also rich in local Maori and European history, and marks the first place in Hawke’s Bay where Europeans and Māori lived together as a community. For many years this land was neglected and used as an illegal rubbish dumping site.

The Star Compass

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Biking Through The Wetlands Along The Coast

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Hamoana Coffee

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Oak Avenue Weather:1.6℃—12.3℃ no rain [?] TdO eggs=0 Mark=0

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Bridget Drives Home To Wellington With Tux

Rachelle (Red Band) hen’s chick is still alive.

All the chook run posts are in and the stay posts on the corners are well under way. Mark continues with the trench along the perimeter.

Oven cleaning by Pavla Kamenska postponed until tomorrow.

Received quotes for cleaning the windows, outside and inside&outside – absurdly high. Anna will find better one.

Bangle is getting very strict with Tux; not sure what happened here but Bangle appears to have become cross at Tux’s bouncy incursions into her home territory.

Peter Wiffin continued converting the old fallen ginkgo to firewood.

We followed Bridget driving home on the iPhone; she buzzes along at a great rate of knots though she says she’s only doing the regulation 100 kph.

Our adventure today was to revisit Waipatiki Beach. Well we intended to visit the falls at Tangoio but the tracks were very much close so we popped over the hills to the beach instead.

Back after dark, but it gets dark around 5:00am so still quite early. We went for dinner to FIKO in Havelock North. Waiter was entertainingly talkative and bolshie and my food was absolutely delicious, very good.

No Walkways Open Yet – Still A Serious Mess

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From Tangoio Hills Looking Out Across Hawke Bay

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Waipatiki Beach

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Bangle Taking Only Photos , Leaving …

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SOmetime Today Felix Fronts Up To Captain Salty’s For New Zealand Nosh

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Oak Avenue Weather:4.4℃—15.3℃ 0.2mm rain [?] TdO eggs=0 Mark=4

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Major Progress On Chook Run

Bridget, Dave, and I – but mostly Bridget and Dave – made good progress on the posts for the new chook run. Mark continued digging the shallow trough for the bottom wire.

We had lunch at Bay Espresso – Lappuccino’s was very busy but Bay Espresso hardly at all.

Anna and Felix went north, now that the road to Wairoa is finally open after cyclone Gabrielle, to Waipatiki beach, near Tangoio.

Later Dave, Anna, Felix, and Bridget went to the Hastings “Escape Room” and played the game.

Keith Macaulay and Peter Wiffin decided to tackle the old fallen Ginkgo next.

Meal of left-overs from Karola’s delicious birthday lunch.

Twentythree Posts Mark The Perimeter Of The New Chook Run

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Civil Engineers Dave & Bridget

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Waipatiki Beach – Remote, Isolated, Empty

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Felix Alone On The Beach

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The Old Ginkgo Which Fell Over A Week After The Cyclone Bashed It’s Way Through

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Oak Avenue Weather:3.9℃—16.4℃ 0.4mm rain [?] eggs=0 Mark=4

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Karola’s Birthday

Oak Avenue Beautiful In Morning Mist

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Breakfast – Felix With Tux

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Karamu In Morning Sun

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Dining Room Awaits

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Chef Bridget And Canine Supporters

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Pre-Lunch In The Sun Porch

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The Feast

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Oak Avenue Weather:_2.7℃—17.8℃ no rain [?] TdO eggs=0

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Non-Electric Bike Ride

Today’s adventure began at Hamoana at Classical Wine Cycles where we hired cruiser bikes that have larger saddles and are intended for a very upright posture, the better to view the scenery and stay on-board after several wine tastings.

We wound through coastal flats on empty roads and wide cycle tracks up to Te Awanga winery where the light lunch was good, the vista and lawns delightful. Bridget, Tux, and Karola joined us there for lunch. I spied some ragwort on the side of the path and uprooted it, took it back to the cycle hire place.

Later Anna and Felix walked for several kilometres along the Te Awanga beach at one point having to wade through a waist-high creek which they hadn’t bargained for. Felix is tall and so avoided much dampness.

Off On Our Californian Cruiser Bikes

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Stop Bank Lime Cycle Path – There’s Ragwort In My Bucket, Dear Liza, Dear Liza.

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Dave Parks His Bike At Te Awanga Winery

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Te Awanga Winery Lunch – Anna Taking Photo

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Afternoon Tea At Hugge (Was Called Clifton Café)

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Evening Te Awanga Beach Walk

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Oak Avenue Weather:4.9℃—17.5℃ no rain [?] TdO eggs=0

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Celebration Lunch At Clearview

Brisk walk with the dogs along the Ngaruroro river stop bank from Carrick Road upstream for twenty minutes. Sunny and cold but delightful coating of new snow on the Ruahines to the south-west.

Mark came and continued digging the channels for the bottom of the fence round the new chook run.

Then piled into two cars, leaving the dogs behind, going over to Te Awanga to ClearView Estate Winery & Restaurant for our family lunch. Karola and I were joined by Anna, her partner Dave and eldest son Felix, Bridget, my sister Gill and husband Ben, and Gill’s friend and ex-husband Peter. Anna’s party out from England, Bridget up from Wellington, Gill & Ben also up from Wellington, and Peter from nearby Havelock North.

Late afternoon we returned to Karamu; Gill & Ben returning to Havelock North where they’re staying with Peter. Felix immediately continued his mowing in the One Acre, picking up the cut thistles. Dave glued and clamped the cottage dining room chair that had come dangerously unglued. He also reset the backup generator’s date as I was requested by Campbell Watt in Christchurch. Campbell sold us the generator and is still waiting to finish the installation and commissioning after the untimely incident of cyclone Gabrielle.

In the evening we gathered round the cottage table and played an ancient version of Trivial Pursuit before creeping off to bed, exhausted and very full.

Ruahines From The Ngaruroro Stop Bank

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ClearView Estate Winery & Restaurant

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Trivial Pursuit At The Cottage Dining Room Table

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Oak Avenue Weather:3.2℃—15.5℃ no rain [?] TdT eggs=0 Mark=4

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Rachelle (Red Band) Chook Surprises With A Chick

To my delight the “missing presumed dead” chook, Rachelle with the red leg band, turned up this morning with a lively little chick.

Mark came and focussed on the difficult digging of a 100mm deep trench round the perimeter of the new chook run so we can bury the netting a few inches and avoid tunnelling in or out.

Anna’s gang went out for an afternoon and evening of townie fun. They enjoyed ten-pin bowling, air hockey, and pool. They had a good meal at Pipi’s restaurant – the same place we had at least one meal back in 2013. management has changed but it sounds as if the menu is still excellent.

Bridget and Tux drove up from Wellington this evening; quitea feat after a long day at work.

Rachelle’s Chick

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Anna & Dave – One Supposes This Is Air Hockey?

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“No-one Snookers Me” – Dave In Fighting Pose

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Oak Avenue Weather:5.8℃—16.7℃ 0.6mm rain [?] TdO eggs=0 Mark=4

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Dog Walk, Bluff Lookout, Mini-Golf

Good walk in Pakowhai Country Park. Across the disused road bridge, down along the pines, up to the western end and back through the native trees.

Then off to the Napier bluff which has a pleasant look-out, a small garden and lawn on the edge of the bluff overlooking the port and with a view of the broad expanse of Hawke Bay.

We drove up there and then took in Napier’s Mini-Golf putting greens, two rounds where Felix won one and Dave the other.

Pakowhai Country Park – Starting Across The Old Concrete Bridge

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Anna and Karola

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Ian, Bangle, And Felix

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Bluff Lookout Noticeboard

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Napier Port – Eastern Docks, Mostly Raw Timber Exports

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Napier Port – Container Docks

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Bluff Look-Out Garden

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Vagabond With Corgi

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Mini-Golf, Felix Tee’s Off

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Golfing Buddies

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Flashback To Barney In 2013

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Oak Avenue Weather:8.0℃—22.4℃ 6.2mm rain [?] TdP eggs=0 Mark=2

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Bangle Groomed

Got a phone call at 8:00am and now Karola has an appointment with TopToToe on Thursday, just in time for her birthday. Glad to be woken early as we needed to get Bangle over to Emma by 9:30am.

As usual we took Bangle to Emma’s Grooming Salon then did the weekly shopping. We collected Bangle and afterwards Anna took us all out to Birdwoods Café for brunch – delicious food, not crowded, we sat in the marquee.

Mark came and began chiseling out the narrow trench for the bottom wire of the new chook run, he then mowed the cottage lawn and curtilage before finishing with some pulling fo branches to the bon-fire site.

Anna’s party went for a walk at Ocean Beach in the morning.

Dave exchanged the Kioti tractor radiator fluid with fresh water and coolant, and added the “bars leaks” as well. Dave, Mark, and Felix did some riding around and did not experience the boiling that Felix did while owing thistles yesterday. Perhaps we’ve solved it.

Ocean Beach – Anna & Felix

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… Anna – Forging Her Own Path

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Brunch At Birdwoods Café

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Groomed Bangle Loves Getting Ears Scratched

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Oak Avenue Weather:14.7℃—20.2℃ 3.2mm rain [?] TdP eggs=0 Mark=4

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Electric Bike Ride

Anna and Dave took back the auger to Hirepool in good time. Mark took a rain cheque.

So Anna, Dave, Felix, and me left mid morning for a bike ride round some of the coastline near Napier. We hired electric bikes for four hours and set off north past the port, through Ahuriri, almost to Bay View then striking inland across the wetlands in a loop bringing us back to the airport and via an underpass to Ahurir again. We had a good lunch at the Gintrap restaurant in Ahuriri then pedalled swiftly back to Marine Parade in Napier to return the bikes.

Highlights included me getting tangled in some anglers gear he’d propped up against a park bench and across the path. Luckily the hooks and sinker did no harm. Anna shouted a warning about the rod but I then concentrated on another of his rods on the ground, jutting out into the path, and entirely missed the more dangerous baited line dangling from the other rod.

And I also skidded on gravel leading up to a sharp turn and fell off my bike, breaking the front right brake handle and giving myself quite a jolt. Dave and Anna heaved me up off the bike rather like a stranded dolphin leaving me shaken but not stirred.

Anna cooked us a steak and potato meal followed by apple crumble. The steak was not a good cut so rather chewy but the apple crumble was sublime.

Beyond West Shore With Port In Background

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About To Swing Inland Around The Wetlands

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Ian’s Bike’s Brake Handle Mangling

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Oak Avenue Weather:10.3℃—21.1℃ no rain [?] TdO eggs=0 Mark=0

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Bridget Returns Home

Brunch at Karamu Road’s Bay Expresso. Bridget and Dave and I worked quite hard to get all 23 post holes dug before dinner time.

Bridget took off for home late afternoon; she’s been a tower of strength in post hole digging.

Felix overheated the Kioti tactor a couple of times while mowing thistles in the One Acre paddock so Dave and I tried to find out what was causing that. It wasn’t blockage of the radiator nor the tractor engine grills, which is the usual cause. Dave suspects leakage.We get some coolant concentrate and some “bars leaks” from Mitre-10 but by then it was too dark for more exploratory work.

Brunch Stop – Allows Dogs Out The Back In Garden

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Very Heavy & Temperamental But Still Beats Digging By Hand

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Much Faster With Ancient Mechanisation

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Dave As Dog Photographer – Tux Looking Alert & Alive

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Dave As Dog Photographer – Bangle Looking Cuddlable

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Oak Avenue Weather:12.3℃—20.2℃ no rain [?] TdP eggs=0

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Hole By Hole

Dave and I popped into Hastings and bought a clam-shell earth scooper from Bunnings. Dave had found it on Bunnings website last night. It enables digging out the loose soil left behind by the fence post auger, earth which can be hard to get out of the hole with a conventional spade or shovel. We also got some staples and, for the Kioti tractor, some “bars leaks” and radiator anti-freeze. The tractor keeps overheating and we’re hoping that if it’s a small leak the “bars leaks” will cure it.

Bridget, Dave, and i continued with the post holes for the chook run. Bridget and Dave badgered me into connecting the old post-hole auger to the old Fergie tractor and while it took an age to do that, to overcome years of neglect and rust build-up, it was certainly a great improvement in digging holes – although the tractor couldn’t get to some of the places we needed holes so the two-man motorised auger will still be needed.

Bridget did us a roast lamb meal tonight followed by apple crumble – absolutely delicious. Afterwards we watched the coronation until nearly midnight.

Two Rolls Of 1.8 Metre High Chook Netting Arrives

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Unorthodox Pounding Of Post Just A Few Centimetres Lower

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Holes Using Tractor Auger – Much Quicker

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Coronation Meal Courtesy Bridget (Anna Took Photo)

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Oak Avenue Weather:13.1℃—_20.9℃ no rain [79.0] eggs=0

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We Begin The Chook Run

Anna woke early and went into Hastings where she found Ya Bon french bread bakery and coffee shop very much alive at 7:00am.

Bridget worked remotely from here today, again. We all had brunch at Bay Espresso in Karamu Road. After chatting about the plan for a new chook run we measured the proposed perimeter carefully then, after lunch, Bridget drove Dave and me to Hirepool and we selected a motorised manual auger for drilling the 23 post holes needed for the chook run. It being Friday we got it for the entire weekend as long as it’s back before 9:00am Monday for just one day’s hire charge.

Then Bridget took us up to GoldPine where we were fortunate that the chap on duty pointed out that some 2.7m long shaped pine posts were on special so we bought 23 of them at about half price. Bridget brought them home in her car which saved a lot of mucking about with trailers etc.

Dave, Bridget, Anna, and I worked on the chook run putting in two posts. The roots were numerous but we got the two chook run gateposts in before dark.

I called Henare and he brought over his special fencing spade which will be a great help in dealing with roots in the holes. We gave Henare coffee and some of our cheese and biscuits and chocolate while her regaled us with family news.

Anna Finds Her Hastings “Munsens” At Ya Bon in Heretaunga Street

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Morning Sun On Karamu Verandahs – Without The Ginkgo

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Dave Rocks

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Ian & Felix Next To Felix’s Backup Kauri Tree; Tux In Foreground

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Ian & Grandson Felix Alongside Felix Celebratory Kauri Tree

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Oak Avenue Weather:16.4℃—22.6℃ no rain [78.8] TdO eggs=0 Mark=0

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Lake Taupo, Māori Carvings, Huka Falls, Wairakei Hot Baths

Set off around 9:00am for Taupo; Anna driving, Dave, Felix, and me as passengers. Anna remarked that petrol was a bit low but we all ignored it as Anna is usually quite cautious about such things.

We buzzed past Napier and the airport, on past Westshore and Bay View, turning north up the Esk Valley – the center of much devastation from cyclone Gabrielle. The flood damage in the Esk Valley was very depressing.

About hour up the Napier-Taupo road Anna again advised us we should be looking for a petrol station. Not to worry because the Tarawera cafe had a petrol pump, the only one on the long winding Napier-Taupo SH5. Unfortunately that cafe and petrol stop is no more so we turned round and gingerly crawled back to Bay View with the gauge on empty. At the BP station in Bay View we refilled and grabbed coffee and snacks before heading back to Taupo.

Rest of the drive to Taupo was pleasantly uneventful and we arrived in good time for our boat ride to see Māori carvings visible only from the lake.

THe boat ride was in a large tourist boat and took about an hour with the viewing of the carvings taking maybe 15 minutes. We had toastie sandwiches and coffee before we embarked and delicious warm blueberry muffins en route.

Next stop was the spectacular Huka Falls then on to the Wairakei Terrace hot pools. The pools were not too crowded and had a selection of temperatures; we tried them all.

As dusk fell we went back into Taupo and had a delicious meal at the Plateau Bar and Eatery. Dave drove us calmly and quietly back home while Anna and Felix dozed in the back.

Bridget worked remotely from Karamu today and Karola kept her company. Cleaning lady Leonie came in the afternoon. Karola and Bridget went to Lappuccino’s for lunch.

About the Ngatoroirangi Mine Bay Maori Rock Carvings

When traditional marae-taught carver Matahi Brightwell paddled past a rock alcove on Lake Taupo in 1976, he had a vision of a tattooed face.

His grandmother, Te Huatahi Susie Gilbert of Ngati Rauhoto, Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngati Maiotaki and Ngati Whakaue, had asked the young carver to create a likeness of her ancestor Ngatoroirangi on a totara tree to create a permanent connection for her family to the land. When Matahi arrived in Taupo there was no totara tree to carve so he journeyed onto the lake for inspiration.

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The rock alcove at Mine Bay became the canvas for one of the most extraordinary contemporary artworks New Zealand has ever seen. Sculpted over the course of four years and completed in 1980, Matahi led a team of four artists, Jono Randell, Te Miringa Hohaia, Dave Hegglun and Steve Myhre, to create a spectacular carving of Ngatoroirangi on the rock face.

Wearing nothing but safety goggles and a pair of speedos, the carvers marked out the artwork using chalk, string lines and spray paint, then sculpted it by hand.

Surrounding Ngatoroirangi are smaller sculptures. These carvings depict tupuna (ancestors) and kaitiaki (guardians) that are pivotal to the history of the local Maori tribe.

Māori Rock Carvings

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The Magnificent Huka Falls

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Wairakei Terraces Hot Pools

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Oak Avenue Weather:16.9℃—19.7℃ 1.0mm rain [78.6] TdP eggs=0 Mark=0

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Waimarama Beach And Te Mata Peak

Anna, Dave, and Felix spent the day visiting Waimarama beach, walking on the slopes of Te Mata peak, and visiting the Maraetotara Falls.

Bridget had another day of remote working.

Descent From Hastings Into Waimarama Beach

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Acres Of Golden Sand

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Typical Waimarma Beach View

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Te Mata Peak Walk

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Maraetotara Falls

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Oak Avenue Weather:16.5℃—21.5℃ 0.8mm rain [78.4] TdP eggs=0 Mark=0

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Bridget Comes Up

Another shopping day. We bought fish at the Seawater Seafood shop, dropped in at MYLK where Anna chose some precooked dishes, and went on to Havelock North to the walk alongside the Tainui Reserve. Dropped in for a big food shop at New World on the way back.

Felix mowed the large patches of Californian thistles in the Middle paddock

Bridget arrived around 8:00pm with Tux, still quite bouncy, and they established themselves in the big bedroom upstairs in the homestead.

Oak Avenue Weather:16.8℃—21.6℃ 1.6mm rain [78.8] TdT eggs=0 Mark=4

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Anna Et Al Get Their Sea Legs

Having had their first night with us in New Zealand this trip the company rose in leisurely fashion and pottered round the estate recapturing old memories from their last visit.

Anna and I did a preliminary food shop, principally for tonight, Monday’s meal, and to get some running supplies for the homestead.

We walked with the dogs along the Clive estuary riverbank and wetlands then had brunch at Karamu road Bay Espresso.

Dave And Felix in The Homestead Kitchen

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On The Beach Where We End Our Clive Wetlands Walk

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Bay Espresso Brunch

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Oak Avenue Weather:16.6℃—20.9℃ 1.4mm rain [78.2] TdP eggs=0 Mark=1

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