Coming Up Close

I've been pushing myself out in the mornings again to go walking, I went through a brief period where I got lazy and it became too easy to stay at home.  So early one morning when there wasn't many people out and about I snapped this photo of one of the many rainbow pride coloured benches in town. I like how the colours light up the rest of the gray. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

Last weekend I accompanied B on his work day which started off in Paihia but ended up in Russell where we had a nice lunch on the waterfront. This was the cafe we ate it, very tidy and clean with busy staff - it had a view out over the beach and wharf so that was nice to see as we waited for the food. For drinks I ordered a Mocha Frappe (cos it was a warm Autumn day and I love coffee) and B ordered a cold beer. For lunch, seeing as I am a huge seafood fan I ordered garlic bread and chilli garlic prawns. B ordered his usual chips and burder which really was a big meal in itself - he had trouble finishing it. Here it looks like the vaccing mandates and mask wearing are coming to an end simply because covid is so prevalent just about everywhere. Not that that's a bad thing because I personally think we need to somehow get back to some sort of normality although people are still wearing masks inside businesses etc just to be safe. Today my family and I are coming out of a 7 day isolati

If you drive through New Zealand you will regularly see these on your travels. These are little pop up coffee carts that people set up and they are always popular - this one was located on the edge of Long Beach in Russell. I can't do without a good cup of coffee sometimes but it has to be a strong mixture that I put together.   Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and  The Weekend Roundup .

Earlier this week towards the evening I was down at our local historical  stone store with my daughter teaching her how to drive, this was the view from the wharf where my car was parked. Just as we were about to leave, more cars parked and suddenly about 50 different kinds of ducks came waddlng out from the water very noisily talking to each other.  They must've thought that if they came out of hiding perhaps they'd get fed. This week is being very quiet for my household. We are all under a 7 day isolation as my youngest son has tested positive for Covid after catching it from a work colleague. So far he has what seems to be a classic type of flu but my daughter and I we have tested negative although we seem to have different symptoms to him such as feeling tired, sore throat, headache and aching. B hasn't got any symptoms at all though - go figure, so we are all finding different things to do without getting bored. It seems that Covid is racing through our town but at le

Last week B and I were on a mission to visit Helena Bay which is just before Whangarei. On the way back from the beach we stopped at the Helena Bay Art Gallery and Cafe to have some lunch. After scanning in our vaccine passes and ordering some meals we were surprised to see quite a few other groups of people there. This is very positive as so many kiwis are trying to support local businesses. New Zealand's international borders are soon to be opening up  which will bring in so much more tourism, I think it's time to get back to some kind of normal now that covid is out there. I have a tendency to get car sick and have done since I was little but I find some sort of fizzy drink normally helps to settle my tummy. The road into and out of Helena Bay was extremely winding through alot of tight corners. I didn't get too many photos as we needed to get back home for an appointment so I managed to get a few shots here and there of some of the sculptures that we did see. We are go

More murals from Whangarei this week. These ones were designed and painted by artist Trent Morgan along with his helpers. The Arts Promotion Trust ran a competition to design a mural based around the them of "Life and Community" and Trent's design was chosen as the winner. On one side under the bridge in Rust Avenue is this one painted in shades of green and blue.   On the other side of the bridge is this one painted in shades or orange, yellow and blue. This depict a kind of weaving pattern which symbolises the threads of the community woven together while the first one represents the Whangarei Heads which is an iconic landscape in the area, Linking up with  Mural Monday .

Kewpie Cruises is a little boat that hangs out in Mount Maunganui. It offers scenic cruises, school trips, Christmas parties, corporate events, private parties and hens/stag parties. When we lived there 4 years ago they were pretty busy but no doubt after the pandemic hit they like most businesses probably quietened down. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and  The Weekend Roundup .  

In Taupo is this stone platform with a round sculpture on top. I thought it was a bit weird but it was big enough to stand out so I snapped this photo. Apparently it was made to honour the shopping court in the background in 1969. The plaque says: "Sun Court Shopping Centre. Opened 10th October 1969 by J.E. Storey, mayor of Taupo and dedicated to The Happiness of all Who Enter this Court." Architects were Ewen Christie and Associates, built by E.A. Mahmood. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

In Greymouth is this little vintage Dunollie hotel /pub. When we walked in we had our masks on as it was and still is mandatory to wear a mask when you enter into a business but no one else was wearing theirs and we kind of both got funny looks so we took them off. At the time there were no positive cases on the West Coast, now there is sadly, it's pretty much everywhere.  This photo above is what one side of the hotel looked like with the pool table and bar area.  This was the eating side of the hotel - we sat near the windows looking outside to the entrance. B pretty much always gets fish and chips, a true kiwi staple but I ordered the quintessential shrinp cocktail complete with loads of thousand island dressing. The history of this hotel is that the building we were in is a rebuild. The original Dunollie Hotel was a 2 storied building which was constructed in January 1905 but was destroyed in a fire on March 9th 1928. An attempt was made to relocate the license to a proposed ne

On the side of the Event Cinema building in Whangarei is this cute mural of a cat looking at a native Weta . I'm guessing if you've never seen this insect before you'd think its scary but they are totally harmless and just have a little bite to them. This mural was painted by Swift Mantis as part of the Street Arts Manaia Festival. Linking up with  Mural Monday .

Sometimes I'll pull out my camera while we are waiting at the traffic lights so I can take impromptu photos of the surroundings. This one was taken at an intersection of Symonds Street and Wellesley Street East in Auckland City 2 years ago. A few old buildings in amongst the modern new apartments. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and  The Weekend Roundup .

We are in the early days of Autumn here and come April it will be time once again to remember ANZAC Day.  Back when we lived in Tauranga I was stuck in a traffic jam one afternoon and took this photo of the war memorial with the pink Rhododendron tree in the background. I think it looks like a pretty scene. The plaque on the brick wall says: "They whom this scroll commemorates passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those that come after see to it that their names be not forgotten". - HM King George V Linking up with  Skywatch Friday , All Seasons   and  Tom's Signs .

One from Taupo this week. Reid's carving is located on the corner of Tongariro Street and Ferry Road. It was installed in 1961 and carved by Tene Waitere - over the years it has been refurbished every now and again but in 2014 it was repaired to a great standard thanks to the wear and tear along with weather elements that had battered it. As you can see B is standing underneath it posing - I like to put him next to sculptures sometimes just to see him roll his eyes each time I ask. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  Travel Tuesday ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .

This week I am sharing a little mural. On our last road trip through Kohukohu I spotted this Maori painted mural on the side of the local Pataka Kai (food pantry). In alot of the smaller towns people donate food and products into these square wooden boxes with shelves inside for other people who can come along and take what they need. It's all about caring for each other. Linking up with  Mural Monday .

 One from Mount Maunganui. About the only thing I miss from this town is the beach which is approx 700 m in length so quite a distance. The island in the background is Motuotau Island. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and  The Weekend Roundup .

 If you haven't seen this before it's a well known icon to us Kiwis. In the small town of Paeroa is this statue of a bottle of the fizzy drink "Lemon and Paeroa" which has a very unique taste. It was created in 1907 by combining lemon juice with carbonated water from this town and is now owned by Coca-Cola. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

Rapahoe Beach, Greymouth So right now I'm wishing that the concept of moving house was easy. We are due to be living on the West Coast by the middle of April and so far we have been sort of in negotiations with 2 banks. One was my bank who I spoke to last year about a mortgage, I contacted the same loan advisor since the lending rules have recently changed and after him promising twice in one week to contact me about it he failed to follow through both times which I think is rude. The second bank we don't belong to but they are a bit more relaxed about their home loan rules so hopefully this week we will have some positive updates about being able to buy a property down there we can move into straight away. At the moment we are feeling like pieces of driftwood, like the ones on the beach in my photo, being buffered by the winds and pushed around by the tide. But on a positive note I have secured a job I can go into once we've moved and B is still waiting for his job contrac