Readers of this blog will know that our favourite New Zealand seaside spot is Raglan, which is on the west coast of the North Island, south-west of the Waikato city of Hamilton. But last weekend we ventured over to the east coast to Mount Maunganui, known locally as the Mount. The two coasts couldn’t be more different. Raglan has waves courtesy of the Tasman Sea breaking off a series of points, black volcanic sand and a steep ridge line descending to the beach. Access to the beaches at the Mount is through gently undulating dunes and you emerge onto a wide white sand shore. There are some surf spots but generally the waves are small and placid as befits the Pacific Ocean. Raglan has kept its small surfer town feel whereas the Mount is all large modern houses, shopping centres and restaurants. Nevertheless we had a good day – Jim got into what surf there was and I took a long walk down the beach towards the mount itself and then followed the track that goes right round it. We got some tasty lunch from the food trucks that line the main beach before heading back across the Kaimai Range, which separates the Bay of Plenty from the Waikato.
Category: Weather
In sight of the sea
August 1st was the 200th birthday of Herman Melville, the author of perhaps one of the least-read classics of English literature, Moby-Dick. I admit to never having read it but it has always been on my horizon because of all the references to it, for example, the white whale that shall remain “unpainted to the last”, Starbuck (first mate of Captain Ahab’s doomed ship the Pequod), “damp, drizzly November”, “the sea we swim in”. You know that when you call someone an Ahab, it is not meant as a compliment. Philip Hoare is convinced that Moby-Dick is the novel for our times – see his article here https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/30/subversive-queer-and-terrifyingly-relevant-six-reasons-why-moby-dick-is-the-novel-for-our-times
Hoare says Virginia Woolf read Moby-Dick three times and her work was inspired by the evocative vision of “a fin rising in a wide blank sea”. But it is Hoare’s assertion that Melville was born “in sight of the sea” that transported me from my desk to the west coast of the North Island, where I took a long ramble weekend before last. It was a calm, overcast and not particularly cold day, a rarity in New Zealand’s winter, and perfect for walking. I started out at the top of the ridge overlooking the Tasman Sea and made my way down the track, with a long pause at my favourite Raglan look-out, all the way to the wide black sand beach. I walked along the beach before heading up towards the ridge again and found the bench where I took the photo above. The bench was dedicated to a baby boy who had lived for only one day and reading the inscription added to the greyness of the day. But it was hard to stay melancholy for long – watching the waves rolling in, hearing the sea birds cry and catching the scent of the harakeke on the breeze. I was reminded of Don McGlashan’s song The Waves Would Roll On, in which he describes the unrelenting ebb and flow of the sea that will continue after he’ll no longer be there to watch. There was something so soothing and timeless about the scene that I understood why the baby’s family had chosen it as the spot for their baby’s memorial.
The view from my window
This was the view from our kitchen window this morning as the sun made its reluctant appearance over the eastern horizon. When I woke, the icy temperature anticipated clear skies but it was still pitch dark. The time was edging towards eight o’clock when the sky turned the splendid deep blue that precedes the glow of sunrise. It is a thrilling sight particularly after rain yesterday.
However, the sun played its part yesterday too, creating this beautiful rainbow. I spend most of my time at home now, recovering from a broken shoulder and unable to drive, so I am fortunate to have these views as compensation.
Full circle
We arrived home a week ago. This week we’ve moved back to the Waikato where we lived before transferring to Malaysia. It is beyond wonderful to be here. But it also feels somewhat strange … to be in such familiar surroundings and yet to be newcomers. Most things are the same but, of course, there have been some changes and the town we’re living in at the moment has certainly developed in the four and a half years we’ve been away. What hasn’t changed is the landscape – the rivers, the mountains (like Kakepuku in the pic above) and the wide, green vistas. I’ve been enjoying walking around the area in bright summer sunshine while poor Jim has been getting to grips with the job!
Sunrise in KL
The sunrise this morning over a hazy KL taken from our hotel room in Bangsar. The temperature was already 25ºC and is forecast to rise to 33º. The highest temperature in Auckland today was 23º and this time next week we’ll be there! We are returning home after four years in Malaysia. Our stay here was the reason for starting this blog as a means of keeping our family and friends up to date with our news. While we are thrilled to be going home, inevitably we’ll miss things about our life in Ipoh, not least the people we’ve met and the friendships we’ve formed. But we will not miss the heat or the haze! I’ll have to rename my website – From Ohaupo to Ipoh to ?? We’re not sure yet where we’ll be living but it will be somewhere in the middle of the North Island. It may even be back in Ohaupo! Watch this space.
Walking in the rain
Since we returned to Ipoh from Auckland after Christmas, we’ve experienced the rainy season. Most days it has been heavily overcast with torrential downpours that never last very long. This means that the temperature is a little lower and lack of sunshine gives the impression that it is a lot cooler. The rain of course makes it even more humid than it is normally, so it’s swings and roundabouts. Most mornings we get up when we hear the first call to prayer. One of the mosques nearby has a particularly devout muezzin, who starts hailing the faithful (and everybody else!) through his powerful loudspeakers at 5 am. He continues till 6 am, takes a short break and then joins the other three mosques within earshot in the actual first call. By that time we are wide awake and ready to go for a walk in the rain. We skirt the golf course and walk up the steep hill on the far side. Our route takes us past the fantastical houses (see my previous post https://janeburnett.com/2016/04/25/cloud-cuckoo-land/) on the jungle side of the golf course. We are usually early enough to walk back along the course itself and as we near the club, we see lines of golfers waiting to tee off as soon as it is light enough. There is always a delicate balance between going out too early so that our whole walk is in the dark or too late so that, if the sun does make an appearance, we are dripping with perspiration by the time we get home. It is much cooler to be dripping as a result of precipitation.
Waka on the Waitemata
This experience is one of the highlights of my year in Auckland – sailing on the Waitemata harbour in a waka, a traditional double-hulled canoe, with an expert crew of Maori sailors. As we went under the harbour bridge, photographer Chris McKeen snapped this amazing photo. Look closely – I am standing to the left of the front sail, wearing a blue cap. It was a gorgeous summer’s day with smooth water and deep blues skies. We meandered around the harbour with its spectacular views of Auckland city and some of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. I will never forget it.
Swimming in Penang
We’ve just had a long weekend in Penang and spent a lot of time in and beside this magnificent pool at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel. It feels decadent staying in this relic of the colonial era, where the sea wall hides the detritus bobbing in the Strait of Malacca from hotel guests lounging around the pool and the hard-working fishing boats are decorative additions to tourist photos. Still we thoroughly enjoyed our break here and made good use of the pool, swimming numerous lengths to justify our next meal. Lying in damp togs in the evening breeze is not possible in Auckland’s fickle spring weather! Balmy evenings are the compensation for the heat of tropical days.
Sunset
On a grey Sunday afternoon in Auckland as we approach the shortest day, it is good to remember this glorious sunset that we experienced in Raglan at the beginning of May. The sea was aglow as the hills disappeared into the gloom. I walked from Whale Bay to Manu Bay and stopped every few seconds to snap another photo, and every time it looked different. When I got back to Manu Bay, the surfers, including my beloved, were sitting in the dark, transfixed by the iridescent water surrounding them. They came out reluctantly, one by one. We stayed till the last light had disappeared and it was still and magical.
Summer’s lingering
It was a perfect summer’s morning when I walked from St Helier’s Bay to Mission Bay early today – still and calm, the water turning pink as the sun rose. When I started out there were very few people about but as I retraced my steps, the cafe tables, where there was a strong aroma of coffee, were filling up, people were walking their dogs and the more energetic were cycling or kayaking. I walked back with the now risen sun warming my face and filling me with a sense of well-being. Summer won’t last forever but today it felt like it may linger a little longer.
Travels from New Zealand 