Driving North

After having breakfast with Ursala, we said goodbye and headed north. As we drove through the Rotarua area, we saw little geothermal outbreaks all over. People seem nonchalant, because they build their houses right next to where little wisps of steam seep out of the ground. 

I guess the advantage of having heat near a home in this cold, damp climate outweighs their fear of any cataclysmic activity. I’m not sure I’d be as at ease.

The town of Tirau has, as Betsy said, embraced corrugated steel, with buildings and decorations made of it. I particularly liked the flowers on the Poppy Cafe and the birds on other shoppes, but the big eye catchers are the sheep, goat, and dog buildings in the center of town. 

There were blocks of cafes and bakeries. Evidently, a convenient stop when people drive between Auckland and Wellington, especially on the old roads.

We had debated whether to stop at the Hamilton Botanical Gardens, but decided not to because it was raining. Continuing with our good weather karma, just as we arrived at Hamiltonian, the skies cleared. An omen that we should stop.

The gardens are having a facelift with new visitor center, and when that is done, an entry fee. People were standing in line to buy an annual pass at a discount, but for now, the gardens remain free.

They are a series of enclosed areas, each a different theme: Tudor, Indian Charbagh, Kitchen, California Modern (with a 6’ headshot of Marilyn Monroe), Sustainable Backyard, Te Parapara (traditional Māori with a raised storage hut and lumerà mounds below), etc. We wandered from one to another until we were hungry.

Lunch at the gardens cafe overlooking the pond. The spicy pumpkin soup was indeed spicy. House sparrows would have landed on our plates if we had let them. Rain poured as we ate, then let up as we were leaving. I had a bit of a sidetrack, as I helped a young woman find a ring she dropped in the bathroom. How can something disappear in a 15’x15’ space? She insisted it had fallen off her finger right there. We looked and looked, then I spotted it lying in the middle of the floor where we both swore we’d already looked. All good. Betsy had lost an earring at the Warehouse and found it, so maybe we are on a roll.

We drove on the new motorway to Auckland to meet up with Angela and David who used to live in Fort Lauderdale years ago. He’s an avid sailer, she does commercials. We would see her occasionally in ads on tv, especially ones drug related. Her latest is for a candy bar, but that will be shown in the UK and Canada. As a healthy 71 year old, she’s having a little trouble in auditions, because casting directors think all old people should be decrepit. They will learn when they get that age. 

Too late to go to where we’d planned to meet, we had a bite at a Joes Garage. I had a free coffee from my downloaded app, which Grant had with our shared sticky date pudding (yum). Now I have a $5 off coupon if we get to another one. I am reinforced.

North in the rain and then, dark, home to Kerikeri. We had sandwiches for dinner. Off to bed.

Steps today: 5,534