Coming Up Close

One of the last night shots I managed to get before we left Tauranga - this is the port at night. Sulphur Point is the place of AC/DC's drummer Phil Rudd's restaurant "Phil's Place" - it's actually a nice place to eat out. This marina is where people moor their boats and yachts and in the distance is where the shipping containers are held. That part runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week, we quite often use to hear the beeps and noises faintly from our old apartment. Linking up with Our World Tuesday .

Another place we explored since we moved here less than 2 weeks ago is this place. Named " The Landing " this area has a boat ramp and wharf. A waterfall is at the top near the road and cherry blossoms line the river bank. There were probably 3 small trees with pink blossoms along with bees buzzing around and enjoying the winter sun. There a small amount of dinghys and small boats parked near the wharf. We are actually looking online at the moment at buying one for ourselves as we are both fishing nuts. This is the wharf and boat ramp. It was quite a still calm winter's day. This area seems to be filled with alot of mangroves and I would call it an estuary more than anything. No doubt it's a great place for Snapper and Flounder to congregate.

So, last weekend the other half and I drove around the area to check out the best places to launch our potential fishing boat when we get it and 10 minutes out of town we came across this place. Named Opito Bay it's lovely and quiet and peaceful with only a few houses opposite the beach area. Think this will do well! Linking up with Skywatch Friday .

So we are all moved in. The move to Kerikeri is complete - boxes have been unpacked, we are all settled. I started my new job yesterday but in the last week we have been exploring the area. This is our street - very quiet. Our house - nice and new, only a couple of years old, my car outside the garage. There is a vege garden in the backyard which we got into last weekend - we cleared all the rubbish out of it and planted a mixture of vegetables and herbs. There is a park about 2 minutes walk from our house which people take their dogs to. It's full of Magnolia trees and other NZ natives. One of the Magnolia trees - there are 2 pink varieties and 2 white varieties. It's been so warm here - almost feels like Spring. One of the white Magnolia trees in amongst the other natives - lots of bare branches but also lots of sunny days we are having.

Before we left Tauranga I made sure to visit the Festival of Lights which was happening along the waterfront from the 11th to 16th July. The teens and the other half standing in front of the Matariki Display . This is usually a display of different types of plants - at the moment it looks like there are some Calendula and other shrubs shaped and lit up like a boat. These palms are lit up from the base near the railway tracks. And this playground area for the kids were lit up almost like a space rocket. This was my favourite - two people dressed up as cats - so futuristic! The last one was different trees were wrapped with different likes of lights. I think for us we wanted to see more so it seemed like there wasn't enough. Good to experience though. Linking up with Our World Tuesday .

After a long 6 hour drive up on Monday we are now in Kerikeri and settled in the new house. It really is quiet here - we live down a quiet street in amongst some other equally lovely new houses and yet if we walk up the road 5 minutes we are on the main street into town which takes about 15 minutes on foot. So far we've only had to use the car once but other than that if we need something we walk so it's been good exercise. Do any of you have Netflix? We've had it for about 6 months now and it really is very good. I like learning things about different cultures so I enjoy watching international movies (with sub-titles). Yesterday I watched an Italian movie called " Holy Goalie " about a group of monks who form a soccer team to win a championship and last week I watched a movie based on the artist " Jackson Pollack ". My mum's father was an artist who held exhibitions in Auckland City during the 1960s so myself and various cousins have artistic abi...

The Bay of Plenty has had bits and pieces of rain and bad weather over Winter but last week when my daughter and I drove through the Hauraki District of Paeroa we saw first hand just how much more they have had than us. We stopped and turned off into a side road so I could take this photo. This area, above has the bridge over the water so people can drive to Auckland, usually the river just flows naturally but it looks like it had badly burst - in fact further to the left there was drainage which was bubbling high in the air, I think it was struggling to cope with it all. And when I looked to our right here is the farmland up next door, thankfully the cows are safe in their paddocks and that the rain hadn't reached them. This area of land is quite flat and is quite prone to flooding. Linking up with Skywatch Friday .

There are plenty of old buildings in Paeroa, one of which is the old RSA (returned services association) building which was first established in 1919 after wounded soldiers came home after the 1st world war. Just a short way up are these rows of lemon trees are either side of the pathway leading to the building. And this is the building from the look of it, maybe back in the 1960s? Not sure who took the photo so I can't give credit.

Many years ago when I was little my parents took me and my siblings to different places for holidays. They didn't have much money back then so things were always done on a budget. One place I remember them taking us to was Waihi Beach . At the time this would've been at least a few hours travelling time and when you're a kid things always seem longer than what they really were. On our way up north this morning we detoured out to this spot, about 10 minutes off the main highway just out of Tauranga so I could see how it looked now. And funnily enough from my memories back then it really didn't look any different. The main township has grown somewhat with retired people moving there and building holiday homes etc what the beach was still the same. Winter time is when no one is usually around and it's the best time to visit. This is one place that looks wild and windswept - untouched. The local surf club - looks like it is also a cafe when i...

Over the last day or so we've been visiting a couple of places around Tauranga sort of saying goodbye. In 2 days time we move to Kerikeri so we have been slowly packing things we need and want into boxes. We have a cleaner sorted and someone to steam clean the carpet so hopefully we will be up and gone by at least 7am. This is the view from the Otamataha Pa (Tauranga Mission Cemetery) over the motorway which leads into Sulphur Point, Dive Crescent or back into the motorway to either Maunganui or Auckland. The trees and branches were bare, the air was windy and nippy and by the time we got back in the car after a wander around our noses and ears were feeling a bit frozen.

Overcast Winter skies from the Chapel Street mobile petrol station looking towards Matua Last week  the other half and I drove out to another side of Tauranga to fill up his petrol tank of his car. My work had been giving away promotional vouchers to get 20 cents off a litre of petrol which has proven to be very popular with people. Depending on where you go or live the prices can vary somewhat. For instance up north where I use to live in Mangawhai and Wellsford the cost of 98 or 95 was around $2.35/$2.45 per litre. Here in Tauranga it's roughly $2.37 per litre on average for the same. We filled up his car's tank in preparation for our journey next week. How expensive is gas where you are? Linking up with Skywatch Friday .

On Sunday the other half and I drove out to visit his sister and her husband in Orere Point . On the way we drove along the Kaiaua Coastline (pronounced Kie-awa) - all up it usually takes us about 2 hours to get there. They must've had some serious rain here because all along the coast road it was lined with road slips. In fact most of it was down to one lane with orange road cones to show people how far they could drive. From what we've been told this road has been like this for about a year and contractors have been busy trying to fix it. One part we drove along had bits of stone and dirt falling from the cliff next to our car - scary stuff!

We've had some pretty nippy nights here over the last few weeks, sometimes the temperature has gone down to 0 deg celsius. We don't get snow here but when my car is parked out on the road it does sometimes receive a coating of ice. The morning I took this photo I had to take my 2 teens to the bus stop at 7.30am and it took me a took 5 minutes of pouring cold water on the windscreen to melt the ice. We are continuing to pack here and there's been quite a bit of decluttering going on. The other half was cleaning out a cupboard area under our stairs that's been used as a sort of "can't find a home for whatever is in there" storage place and he advertised a few items on a local facebook page - a couple of people came by and took most of it and an unused bed frame was taken to work by him then picked up by a colleague. This morning I made some chocolate cupcakes to take into work tomorrow as it's my 2nd to last day there, half of them had quite a bit...

One of my favourite spots ever! Matauri Bay holiday park - most likely busy and full over the Summer months but quiet over Autumn and Winter, probably the perfect time to holiday when there's no one around. You can see the early morning fog rising up off the tide to the right of the photo. News from here: my 2 are visiting their friends at the moment, they left early Thursday morning on the travel bus and will be staying with family so the apartment is quiet at the moment. 2 working days till I finish work!

Night skies in Paeroa - (pronounced pie-rower) with petrol station to the right.  Winter 2016 So I'm down with the flu...again! Must be the 4th time in the last few months - the joys of working with the public I guess. And after having my annual checkup at the doctor's last week I was pleased to hear that my blood pressure has gone down since last time I was there, I think it's the fact that I've lost weight that's helped but the doctor did say that going through the dreaded menopause (like I have been for the last 2 years) can slow your metabolism down to almost nothing so it explains probably why I'm so tired alot of the time. I think if it wasn't for the daily vitamins and supplements I take I'd be more worse for the wear. I did get a chance to try some new chocolate bars by Cadbury - they've put out a larger bar of Picnic, a larger bar of Moro and a larger bar of Moro Gold, not sure what I think of them, they seem a bit rich and overl...

Kaikohe Aperahama Church and Cemetery - Autumn 2018 This historic church was built by Neilsen brothers and opened in 1885 but is now owned by the Ngati Tautahi hapu. Kaikohe is in the surrounding areas near Kerikeri and I can't wait to explore the far north of NZ. Last week my daughter and I collected empty boxes from our workplaces. I've started filling them up, so far I've packed my collection of favourite books, towels/sheets etc from the linen cupboard, my vintage glassware that belonged to my nana and 3/4 of the drinking glasses.  The rest of this week outside of work I'll be starting on plates, the bathroom and the bedroom - think that'll keep me going for a while.

Kind of like a Beatles song right? Across the road from our apartment is a group of shops and first in that block is a small cafe called The Octopus's Garden . It looks small and quaint but invitingly cosy when I run past it most mornings. I checked out the menu online and from an article I found in the NZ Herald the pulled pork tacos look ultra yummy. Linking up with Our World Tuesday .