Waitarere - Foxton and Queens Birthday

Bill, John and Annie out for a walk along Waitarere Beach

John & Sarah came thru on Friday night and, as we do, spent a most pleasant evening together, before they returned on Saturday with Sarah having a wedding to attend with other girl friends, in deed with most of the country from all accounts but slipped by us in Waitarere. However both of us  wish the the Royals a happy union.
Sunday saw Shannon come thru from Wellington for the day just to spend some  time with her ageing parents. We had a lovely home cooked brunch followed by a brisk walk thru the quiet streets to return via the cool windy beach. A good blow out.
There after we had a busy week with a very mixed bag of weather, from driving rain blustery winds and on occasion pleasant weather.

Waitarere local library - easy access,
No the little fridgeat the front.

 We had two trips to Levin to sort out Bills teeth, an ongoing saga, and to sort some materials to do some work here at the beach for Sarah and John. The second trip, again for teeth, but as the weather was not promising we went early to catch a recommended movie, finding  a very comfortable theatre boasting two seater couches, cushions, and a lovely cafe to then have some lunch. In fact you were able to take your meals into the theatre, if so desired with the wait staff happy to oblige. Very nice and pleased to report the movie a lovely story entitled the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A tale of wartime Guernsey and the aftermath that the war brought. Interesting too that many of the island scenes were shot in the English town of Clovelly, a quaint fishing village where we had spent several hours wandering in when there less than 18 months ago.

De Molen Wind Mill Foxton

Sunday we went to Foxton just up the road to visit their newly opened cultural centre Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. Visiting the Maori weaving and workshop which was quietly displaying Maori art and some history. Bailey the host was really engaging and it being so quiet, gave us a comprehensive intro into the Taongo on display discussing its significance and the uses of. It was a tale portending much violence usinf the most innocuous of items ,such as hair ornaments having a very a duplicitous use as a weapon of defence, artfully designed to inflict serious harm to would be assailants.

Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom Centre

Keen to move our attentions to less harrowing discussions we moved on to weaving and like many people, were aware of flax's significance to the Maori but little idea on how it was prepared and utilised. This was as enlightening to me as much as any thing I've seen before and found it very rewarding. These encounters are rare and will be  a visit of enduring memories for us both and a Taongo. An hour and a half later we then went into the De Molen Wind Mill built in 2003, a marvellous monument to the Dutch immigrants and their resourcefulness. The wind mill has over many years ground flour for artisan bakers but has now fallen still since 2014 with weather damage, now needing some TLC to get it going again. But this is a big ask of the community as a windmill is a complex machine requiring very skilled repairers, and as the proprietor said most of that skill set has been lost with the passing generation.

One of the many activities on the beach

Another pleasant meal at Waitarere

Lastly but by no means leastly we went into Foxtons new cultural centre. A smart new facility incorporating the library ,a gallery presently featuring Abel Tasman's voyages of discovery indeed this year being 375 years, and a large area dedicated to indigenous Maori and the hard working dutch immigrants. All very positive and enlightening. Like who realised it was a dutch restaurateur, wanting to sell wine with his meals and taking ten years to get a licence (thanks to the brewers who were then all powerful), we have to thank for our wonderful wine & dine experiences today.
We settled in for a futher two weeks at Waitarere as Sarah had found some maintenance issues that Bill could help with and as Shannon said she would be able to get up again at Queens B'Day weekend it seemed ordained we would be here for another fortnight. Such are the burdens of travellers or as John might say "Bloody Squatters".
But we got on, with work for them and more things on the bus,as there is always something more to do, earning our keep and enjoying this tranquil spot.
Queens Birthday came round in a hurry with J&S arriving on the Friday & Shannon& AC turning up on Saturday, a very social weekend but not before Bill & John replaced barge boards, rotten roof iron and gutter brackets. A productive & social gathering, & not forgetting our return to Foxton ,this time with Shannon & AC in tow.  Bill immersing himself again in flax, but the industrialisation of it, and its supply to the world. A really interesting era of early NZ.

Shannon I'm sure I am taller ☺

With the Wellingtonians heading home we set forth to pack up after our unintended months stay in one place, to head to Auckland over the coming week.
But not before our Nelson friend Bob turned up for a drink of water on his way South ferrying his daughters car and possessions as she relocates from Orewa to Cromwell. Good to catch up and get some news of friends at home in the Kayak Club.