Sugar cane and gargoyles

A quick trip to Wellington to see the whanau before the end of the school holidays.  I became the onion woman, so many layers, just to keep warm. The wind was freezing.
How many layers...
1x pair woollen stockings,
2x pairs of socks,
1x pair woollen trousers,
1x merino singlet
2x merino longsleeve top
1x fleece hoodie
1 x wool coat
1 x scarf
gloves and boots

Despite the weather, we braved the dampness, and got some apples at the Hutt market.  I also found sugar cane, the seller grows it in a hothouse. Not as sweet as what we have enjoyed in Fiji, but delicious just the same.

Dunkirk is at the cinema, so while in Wellington, the Embassy Theatre entertained us in glorious art deco style, even the toilets are fabulous.  The seat in the theatre weren't that comfortable, the movie was great.

On the drive back on Sunday, gargoyles were discovered outside of Levin.  I have wanted one for such a long time.

School holiday exploring

So... with the TV out of action, Tighe decided to pull it apart and see what it was made of... and then the Microwave, and the washing machine.

Sunrise

Watched the sun light ripple across Rotorua this morning. Glorious winter day.

Hear no evil, speak no evil - do lots of evil

Smokey, Total, and Ratbag, living up to their names.

Hamurana Springs

Winter is here, it's damp and cold.  A good time to go for a walk to the deep spring.

Hamurana Springs is only 20 minutes drive from home.  Tighe likes all the duck and geese that live here.

 Tighe wanted to take this duck home, but we convinced him to just watch it instead.

 The colours of the Redwoods were more vivid because of the damp weather.

An enchanted fairytale land was how Sarah from France described the outing. She expected to see Sleeping Beauty in the wonderland. Very poetic.

 The Redwoods sheltered us from the rain, and the urchins played amoung the trunks.

 I liked the vivid greens and blues in the crystal clear spring water.

The Hangarua Spring is 15 metres deep. It produces about 4 million litres of crystal clear water per hour at a chilly 10 degrees Celsius.

 There were trout in the spring, and we watched a coin float in the bubbling water.

A short walk along the stream is the Dancing Sand spring.  The spring pushes up the sand, and it is relaxing watching the flecks of sand bubbling in the water.

The walk is only 800m to the Spring, but we took an hour to wander around the reserve, watch the bubbling waters, and enjoy the wild life.