Just another day in Paradise...

After the Christmas overindulgence Paul and I thought we better get some exercise, so this morning we decided to walk the 5 km route from Somerville School to Cockle Bay and back home.



Our walk took us along a neat little walkway, nothing too strenuous, winding up the side of the cow-dotted hill and past the silvery estuary. The boarded walkway leads you up over the hill, under shady trees, down to the sleepy little boatyard, and then, if you catch the tide out, around the point to Cockle Bay, and further to Howick beach, if you wish. We wandered past the musky mangrove swamps, where hoards of little miniature crabs scuttle away the moment they hear your footsteps on the boardwalk. We stood for a few moments watching them tentatively creep out of their holes with little popping sounds. The moment we moved, off they scuttled again, much to our amusement.

After yesterday's clear, sunny skies, today was a much milder day, almost misty and the sunlight gentle. On days like today the colours are bright, and the air smells like honey. The breeze was cool, and ideal for a 5 km tramp.

Just before the boatyard, a few baches (holiday homes) are carved into the side of the hill, and we spied the owners lying peacefully in their hammocks in the shade. Everyone seems to have a boat, or yacht, and a couple of fishermen were fishing lazily from the beach. Here and there people taking their dogs for a walk greeted us in a friendly manner.

Once we got back to Cockle Bay, we sat for a while, just enjoying the children playing on the beach, and the older people sitting in the shade. We really are so fortunate to have the beach so close, and we do live in such a beautiful, peaceful area.

Here are some photos I took this morning, thinking that they may be nice to paint. Enjoy them with me!

I thought this little boat was too pretty to miss, with it's bright orange underside.

These fishermen were sitting contentedly on
up-turned buckets, waiting for the tide to come in.

People walking by are so friendly, and relaxed.

Dogs walk free, no leashes.
We've never seen a stray since we've lived here!

Blue skies on Boxing Day

We had a super, lazy day today. The weather was fantastic - sunny with blue skies, and a very slight cooling breeze.

Boxing day sales are very popular in New Zealand, but we chose to stay as far away from the shops as possible. Dan had to work (at Muffin Break - he says it was soooo busy!) Joe chose to sleep, eat, sleep, eat all day.

The twins went their separate sociable ways. It's so easy for teenagers to get around here - they just hop on a bus for about $1.65 and can get to various malls and shopping centers that way. It only gets dark at 9pm at the moment, so they're allowed to roam around until 8pm, as long as they clock in with me around 6pm and let me know where they are. Thank goodness for mobile phones!

Seeing as we had the day to ourselves, Paul and I took our fancy little portable, foldable beach chairs ($9 at Bunnings Warehouse) and had a picnic down at Cockle Bay, which is a 5 minutes stroll from our house. We had a book each, a couple of sandwiches and a drink. We found a quiet, shady spot, and settled in for a few hours of sun, surf and snooze.

The pebbly beaches are clean, peaceful and shady, with huge pohutukawa trees and grassy verges. Quite a few Islanders joined us, but they are so softspoken and jolly, and no alcohol is allowed on the beaches, so the peace was not marred at all.

Later we returned home for a nap - hardly necessary, but the sun had made us lazy. Dan stopped work at 7:15pm, so we picked him up and went home for a late supper of Christmas leftovers.

In the evening Paul and the boys watched a Jacky Chan movie, while Rae made a few urgent phone calls, and I updated my blog, and had a quick Skype chat to check in on my folks. It's just so great that we can chat on an almost daily basis for no charge!

A lovely, lazy, laid-back day in Paradise is over, leaving us feeling contented, relaxed and happy.