Stormy Spring

 

This photo taken about 3 years ago in Whakatane with Whale Island in the background seems to be the epitome of life at the moment. Stormy days, windy nights - typical Spring weather and yesterday the Northland region had 60mm rain. 

My parents had planned to come up here this week and stay with us in their camper for 3 days but they ended up postponing their trip. We are due for more rain for the next week so I'm guessing Spring is here.

Stay safe, kia kaha. Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Back to Whakatane

Well it looks like we may be moving to Whakatane. The other half grew up there, his parents and sister are buried there so when he applied for a job there just before Christmas we kind of thought if it happens it happens if it doesn't it doesn't.  I quite like the town, it's about an hour out of Tauranga and which I hated living there but Whakatane is pretty and a bit of a nicer place.

Last time the population was counted there was about 19,000 people living there and is the 3rd largest urban area behind Tauranga and Rotorua - other local towns are Opotiki and Kawerau. It's been a toss up between here and Greymouth but on going through the costs involved it's become obvious we would need more money to move there at this point.

For us, this year has already been eventful with family things going on. My oldest son who is nearly 25 years old has moved out in what was quite a stressful situation. Things have been brewing for a few months in regards to his attitude towards the rest of us, there is a thing called respect and while he has mild aspergers there is a limit to how much you can take from people - he certainly wasn't raised to be disrespectful but I think with stresses going on at his work he hasn't handled it very well. I'm hoping once he cools down he will be in contact again as I don't like having animosity and anxiety hanging around - it festers and creates hate.  I miss him but at his age I think he's at the point where living at home with the olds was cramping his lifestyle and he needs to get out there and spread his wings.

We will see what happens....linking up with Skywatch Friday.

The eruption of White Island

I don't know how many of you heard the news from last week that Whakatane's White Island or Whakaari as it's known in Maori erupted - apparently it was the result of a blocked vent which exploded with no warning. People who were visiting with tour operators, many of them tourists were burned or killed and there was a rescue mission afterwards to pick up the bodies that were left on there.

My other half grew up in Whakatane's Ohope Beach so he knows the area well and when we lived in Tauranga for 3 years we visited this area a few times - his parents and sister are buried at the local cemetery. It's such a lovely spot with good fishing.

For us it seems like our plan to move to the west coast has fallen through. The company that the other half wanted to work for have been mucking him around so we have switched our focus to either Whakatane or Nelson - either one would work for us so we are waiting to hear what happens.

btw the island in the background of this photo is Whale Island not White Island which is 30 km off the coast.

Linking up with Our World Tuesday.

Ruaihona Marae, Te Teko

One thing I have a fascination with are Maori Maraes. When we are out driving and I see a signpost I try to stop outside there and take photos - I think it's the architecture and artistic carvings that interest me. Ruaihona Marae is on the edge of the Rangitaiki River in Te Teko. There are 2 other Maraes in the area; Tuteao and Uiraroa.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Braemar Water Springs

First time I've ever been to this spot, thanks to the other half introducing me - known as Te Waiu o Pukemaire or Braemar Water Springs. What a unique place! Unfortunately I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I'm not racist towards anyone else at all, I like people from all walks of life and ethnicity but during the brief time we were there I felt nothing but animosity and judgment.

Sadly it seemed like we were the only European looking people there and when we were walking towards the area people were looking at us and talking about the white people. I'm not sure if any of you know but about a year ago I took a DNA test through ancestry.com - my results came back as extremely mixed from British, Scottish, Irish, Spanish/Portuguese, Scandavian, Filipino, Iraqi, Syrian, Russian, Armenian, Greek/Italian, Pacific Island and Polish - I am anything but plain old white European and it saddens me that people judge others based on how they look.

Needless to say we quickly left after a few minutes...

Ohiwa Harbour Oysters

What a treat we had in the weekend! Our road trip also included a stop off at this place - Ohiwa Oyster Farm just out of Whakatane.

I am a major seafood nut so we stopped and bought a dozen for the awesome price of $12 which we thought was pretty reasonable.

It was such a rainy stormy overcast windy day so once we got home it was so delish to be able to enjoy the oysters.

Linking up with Wednesday around the world :-)

Sun, sea and reading at Whakatane Beach

What a view! This scene at Whakatane beach warmed my heart - it was a perfect sunny Spring day, a slight breeze in the air - no wonder this couple was sitting int he sun on their chairs reading books. The island in the distance is named Whale Island apparently :-)

Linking up with Skywatch Fridays :-)

Yellow gazanias and driftwood sculptures at Ohope beach

Over the weekend we did a bit of a tiki tour around Whakatane, one of the spots we visited was lovely Ohope beach. Beautiful hot sunny Spring day and awesome scenery - yellow gazanias growing in the sand on the hillside and a driftwood sculpture on the sand - just perfect!

Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Paddle-boarding and surfing at Whakatane Beach

Two of my favourite images from our recently trip to Whakatane, the top one of two surfers walking across the semi-low tide at the beach and the one below of a paddle boarder heading to shore remind me of what warm weather is all about - golden sand, cool water, stunning scenery make it all worthwhile being a New Zealander - love it!

For more Skywatch Fridays click here :-)

Summer skies at Ohope Beach

It's only November here and already it feels like Summer has struck. Last weekend while driving through the Whakatane coast we kept driving for an extra 5-10 minutes and came through the small settlement of Ohope (oh-hope-ee). This tiny town is well known for it's seaside holiday spot and many people come here to camp over the holidays. This place reminds me of up where I've come from - Mangawhai Heads up north.

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View of White Island from Kohi Point

Another one from our travels to Whakatane in the weekend, this shot was taken from the top of Kohi Point with White Island in the distance. White Island fyi is still an active Volcano and Kohi Point is a lookout which has some walking tracks ranging from 30 minutes long to 2 hours long.

For more Our World Tuesdays click here :-)