A Slow Day at the Seaside

Friday 11 April

A much milder day at the coast - after a damp & misty night, yet still clear enough to see the stars, we awoke to a glorious sunny day. Sadly Louis was stuck in Banjo all morning working with a client on a music project, but I got to amuse myself with a walk along the beach and a trip to “town” - 18km to the nearest proper shops. Met an old fella walking back from the beach with his two Jack Russell/Foxy siblings who sooo reminded me of Mia. Not ball chasers like her, but apparently they were serious ratters. All around at this time of year you could see plumes of smoke rising in the air as stubble was burnt off in the fields. Once this had happened the ducks and seagulls descended on the newly burnt soil and it looked like the farmers had planted crops of sea birds!

Back at the campground, after lunch, a siesta, a cycle ride for Louis and a bit of smooching with Bailey the collie puppy we took a wander through a really cool area the local community are developing between the Rakaia River and its inlet & river mouth.

We were rewarded with a wonderful group of piwakawaka or fantails fishing in the stream - including a rare black fantail which was enchanting 🖤

Steak for dinner back at Banjo before we made the fateful decision to see whether all the fuss about The Traitors was justified… one episode in and we were hooked 🙄