One of those days...

I'm one of those people that finds being near water or getting out for a walk quite refreshing especially when I have things on my mind.

On my beach walk this morning a piece of old mussel shell caught my attention with the way the colours reflected the sun's rays.

This leaf lying on the sand was being buried by the sand being swept across the beach by the wind, I think it's probably the last of the Autumn leaves.

Someone had tried to make a hut on the edge of the sand near the grasses but I'm not sure how warm it would've been.

A thought for the week is that I'm not sure how many of you know but I work in customer service. I get to meet some really lovely people but sometimes I also meet some very thoughtless rude folk. I like my job and what I do but sometimes it really can get me down, after all I'm only human. Next time you are in a shop say hi or smile at the person serving you, it could make their day :-)

Stormy Spring mornings at the beach...

The thing about Spring here in NZ is that it's almost like 4 seasons in 1 day. Yesterday we had lovely sun and warm temperatures, today it's very nippy with a cold wind in the air.

On my beach walk there wasn't much action, these old pieces of wood had washed up some time ago and remained on the sand.

A piece of pumice on one of the old logs drew my attention along with bits and pieces of seaweed and shells.

I think I saw 2 other people walking their dogs but that was about it - I think everyone else had decided indoors was a warmer place to be.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Flowers from afar...

After 4 days of visiting my parents have gone back home up north but on the first day the were here I came home to find these lovely flowers in a vase on my kitchen bench.

These are Asiatic Lilies which flower from a bulb and come in many colours, from white, orange, yellow, pink, purple and crimson.

Not sure how long they will last for but I hope at least a couple of weeks :-)

Time for some winter beach therapy...

We've had so much rain lately so when some Winter sun came yesterday I jumped at the chance to get out for a walk along the beach. Surprisingly it was very quiet, only 1 other person walking their dog that I could see but the air was crisp and the sun out so I felt alot more cheerful when I got home.

This week I finally have a Friday off and my parents are here for the week so we've been spending some time with them.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

The Karangahake Gorge Railway Tunnel

Lovely Summer's day - the old Karangahake Gorge conservation site, and this part of it which is the railway tunnel loop runs for about 45 minutes. Very cold inside, walls running with dripping water here and there but at over 100 years old what more can be expected?

But it all wasn't well back in the day it was being used by miners according to the 1904 issue of the Evening Post. In fact accidents were still happening 4 years later. There is talk today though of mining starting up again in this area, I hope it doesn't happen as it's such a lovely place to explore.

The railway tracks were apparently removed in 1981, much easier to walk through without them and the whole length of the tunnel is well lit up. A very popular place to explore not just for hikers but also for cyclists.

Cirque Grande is in Tauranga!

My other half isn't very well at the moment so instead of going for one of our major road trips this morning we instead drove around locally, ending up in Fraser Cove shopping centre where I saw a rather large tent up. Turns out the Cirque Grande is in town...acrobats, hoop diving, human pyramids are what this group apparently gets into - could be alot of fun :-)

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Winter skies and sculptures in Taupo

Taupo, such a lovely place especially with it's snowy mountains and expansive lake. This particular morning we stopped by it was .5 degrees celsius - very nippy indeed. This sculpture is named Upane by Steuart Welch who is a farmer and owns a nursery at Marton. Apparently he started making farm gates from objects he found here and there. Now after many years he has progressed to making sculptures like the one above and exhibits in the central North Island of NZ.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)