Around Waikanae

It's really nice to be imposing in other people's lives (ie their houses) as they are generous enough to let you sleep in whilst they continue with their daily routine. No pressure. You're on holidays. Welcome to NZ. Relax. Enjoy. Even if the whole household is sleeping in different beds.

Our first outing was off to a private olive farm which is accommodating Adrienne and Mike's caravan (too longa story for this blog). Really interesting to see a budding enterprise with cute little lambs running around their mums underneath the olive groves. On the way back we stopped at THE local celeb chefs home based farm/cottage/entrepreneurial enterprise. The place was absolutely choc-a-block with a bus load of Probis members enjoying the beautiful surrounds of the glasshouse tea rooms, magnificent coffee and Ruth's special treats. So this is what the well-off retired get up to whilst the rest of the world is busily trying to keep the economy going... Justifying our presence by being on holidays (!?) and a generation younger (?!) we also soaked up the ambience and then strolled around the herb garden, taking obscure snaps of olde-worlde fences that have that particularly special characteristic of being in the country.

Back home to collect the kids the tribe then headed off to a local conservation park in which dedicated souls are trying to preserve a small slice of the local wetlands flora and fauna. We actually saw a real kiwi which was a highlight, although so dark no clear pictures were possible. Whilst the eels were not pretty to look at they have a fascinating life story of which the local human invasion is totally disrupting.

Afterwards we sped over to the local mall for a spot of shopping and a late lunch before back home again for pre's. A delightful dinner at a nearby tavern with the fam and afterwards swapped stories and music before collapsing into a blissful slumber.