(photograph © Kiwidutch)
It’s not usual for me, but this is the point in our New Zealand trip where I get rather geographically confused.
The camera numbers on these photos are later than the Foxton photos, I’m certain we went here after Foxton since we are travelling south, but when I looked at the map I found the name of this beach (Himatangi Beach) on the north side of Foxton! Did we travel backwards unwittingly?
I think not, we certainly didn’t go through Foxton twice (I mean you couldn’t miss the windmill and the murals could you?)
Probably what happened is that I accidently mislabelled some photographs. Oops.. sorry.
It was Himself who swung us out on a detour off the main road on this occasion: it was overcast but hot, the air-co in the van was brilliant but all of a sudden he saw a sign leading to a beach and next minute the indicators were on and we were turning right down a side road with the kids cheering in the back seat.
Who am I to complain? I’m all for an unexpected detour as long as it doesn’t involve steep cliffs and plunges into anything.
After a short rural stretch of road we go past rows and rows of typical Kiwi beach “Batches” (holiday homes), many with boat trailers and signs of summer holiday inhabitation and end up in a small car park at the very end of the road. There’s a take-a-way outfit with an attached small shop but that’s about it.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Kiwi Daughter takes my point-and-shoot camera to the beach and I stay in the van and catch up on writing postcards.
The kids have fun playing in the sand and take photos of their artwork to show me.
Kiwi Daughter’s consists of a life-sized portrait that she lays down next to for scale, Little Mr. just prints out his name several times in a row and then indulges himself in adding to the collection of sticks he wants us to carry around in the van.
Just in case anyone doesn’t recognise Kiwi Daughter from her portrait she helpfully labelled it “this is me” and included an arrow pointing to her sketch.
This is hardly necessary of course, isn’t it obvious that she’s the little Dutch girl? I mean the portrait even comes with wooden shoes!
Meantime back at the van, a car draws into the car park with a funny little box hanging off the back tow-ball.
I wonder what on earth it is for and it’s not until they reverse and turn around later to leave that I see that it’s a dog box and that the other side consists of a mesh grill, behind which the cutest little doggy face is parked. (…at that exact point in time I had a postcard in my hand and not a camera and as you can imagine postcard’s don’t take photographs, so I missed snapping this lovely little canine face)
If you are wondering why the dog wasn’t travelling in the car, it may possibly be because it was a family with three large male teenagers in the back seat. I dare say the dog had twice the leg-room they did.
After a good break and having given the kids some time to run off some energy we are ready to get back to the main road again.
(photograph © Kiwi Daughter)
(photograph © Kiwi Daughter)
(photograph © Kiwi Daughter)
(photograph © Kiwi Daughter)
(photograph © Himself)
(photograph © Kiwi Daughter)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
