Ohiwa, Opotiki and Omaio

 We have been moving around a bit over the last week.

We had  3 nights at a freedom camp at Ohiwa, just out of Whakatane. We went for 1 night and stayed for 3, which is the maximum you can stay. Eddie did a bit of fishing, but no catching. We  paddled our feet on Friday night and thought ooh, that's nice and warm, so the next day we had a swim. It wasn’t so warm on Saturday, but refreshing all the same. I had just done a walk and was feeling quite hot and sticky, so the water made me feel more comfortable.

On my walk one day, I saw these yachts in the harbour. 

From Ohiwa we went to Opotiki and stayed in a caravan club camping area which only costs $10 a night, so it was very economical. We spent two nights there. The photo below is one I took from the river bank walk that goes around Opotiki. We are the caravan on the left, nearest the camera.

The pohutukawa trees are starting to come into bloom, which is always a good sign that summer isn’t far away.

We went for a stroll around the town. We treated ourselves to afternoon tea on our way back. Opotiki is a bit sad really. A lot of the shops are empty and look shabby. I took a photo of an old church. The spire is copper. 

Today we were going to a little camping ground at a place called Opape. It is about half an hour from Opotiki, so not a long journey. When we got there it was closed for maintenance, so we came on to a freedom camp at Omaio. It is a very nice spot, but I haven’t taken any photos of it yet. Next week’s newsletter. We cab stay here for 2 weeks, if we want to, but time will tell on that score.

River Bank stock

 A caravan came in on Monday morning and then moved to another site. His wife came out of the toilets looking towards where he had been. I could see her doing a double take until she looked to her right and saw their van. I had a chuckle.

The above photo was taken on the stop bank of the Rangitaiki River. The two big steers at the back kept the grass down over the winter, but it has got away on them since spring sprung, so now they have the company of some calves. They are a mixture of heifers and bulls. One supposes they will be separated when they are bigger, otherwise the heifers will get no peace.

The weather is very wet today and we have an orange weather warning in place until 11pm tonight. So far it hasn't been too bad; just rain, but not really heavy as I was expecting.

Random thoughts for the week

 6 Wednesdays and it will be Christmas Eve. We’ll be writing 2026 before we know it. 

Josh (Eddie’s boss) asked Eddie to work a bit longer in a new International truck he has just bought and we nearly said ok, but pulled ourselves up in time and said no. He was bribing us with free parking on a block of land he leases with great views out over the ocean. There is shed with water and power. He even said he would get me a washing machine.

On the 21st of November, Eddie is having an xray and scan on the shoulder he hurt when the truck deck crashed. After that we are going to be doing a bit of traveling towards Te Kaha.

I have put a strava app on my phone to measure the distances that I walk or bike. I have now discovered that the speedo on my bike isn't very accurate and when I thought I had biked 20 ks I had only done about 181/2. It's amazing the difference a GPS makes.

I walked past this tree the other day. I did a google search ( as you do) and I think it is a horse chestnut tree. Whatever it is, it is very impressive.

Eddie was talking to a camper on Sunday, who arrived on his bike, with a tent and not a lot else that I could see. He is from America and said he had biked around NZ 30 years ago and always wanted to do it again. The funny thing is he is finding  the hills steeper and the wind stronger this time. I wonder why? He is still enjoying himself though.

Red Devons

 We have a lovely day today. Over the last couple of days there hasn't been a lot of wind, which made a nice change.

I am not sure why I start each message with a weather report.

Eddie has 7 working days (not counting today) left before he finishes. Not that he is counting or anything. His shoulder is still quite sore from when the truck hoist crashed.

I went for a walk along the track above the dunes on Monday morning and the sand was already too hot to walk on with bare feet, at 10 am. I ended up walking on another track a bit further over that is grassy. I had a paddle too. The water wasn’t too bad, although I don't think I am quite ready to have a swim yet.

Yesterday, I tried out the dehydration function of my air fryer oven, which I have never used and I have had it for quite a while now. I dehydrated an apple in it. It turned out quite nice. I had some for my lunch and put the rest in Eddie’s lunch box today. 

Eddie borrowed a carpet cleaner from another camper on the weekend and cleaned the carpet in the bedroom. It came up quite nice. He did it 3 times before the water became clear. It’s probably never been done in its life.

The photo today is of 2 Red Devon cattle that I passed on my walk last Saturday. They were both very nosy as I walked past them, so I took their photo.