Mack at French Bay

Today is a lovely sunny spring day, well that what it looks like from inside but once outside the chilly air reminds us that winter is not quite over. The snow falls in the lower North Island and South Island are just hopefully a last winter fling. The house renovations here at Andrew and Gemma’s are progressing but the house is not completely wind and cold proof yet but the big new doors let the sun stream in. The timber taken out of old walls makes for lovely warm fires at night.
Alan has been busy building although some days more demolition than building has occurred. I have enjoyed taking Mack the dog for walks around the bush lined streets and beaches at Titirangi. The native bush is full of singing Tui and fat Kereru (wood pigeon). The Kereru are often hard to spot, the loud whirr of their wings through the trees often the only sign of their presence. The Tui are easier to spot as they dine on the nectar of the yellow Kowhai flowers.
As I walk up the hill I enjoy the glimpses of the Manukau harbor and its many moods. Today the wind is whipping up a flotilla of white caps, the tide is in. When the tide recedes a narrow channel winds its way through wide grey mud flats. I have yet to see a fishing boat or any boat in the channel and yet when we drive past Onehunga there is always one or two tied up against the wharf. The Manukau was once a busy port for sailing ships finding their way across the bar to navigate the shifting sands up to Onehunga. Many boats foundering on the often dangerous West coast bar. Today the harbour is used more by recreational boaties with motor boats and small sailing boats.
With about four weeks to go before we leave to return to Tuatara in Trinidad our thoughts are turning to all the things we still haven’t done and the items we need to buy to take back with us. There isn’t anything major on the list just lots of little bits and pieces, although the Auckland Boat show is coming up so there may be things there we haven’t thought of yet.
Another thing I have been doing is making our photos into photo books, a good way to preserve the photos. Looking through the photos and recalling our journey so far has been great. We have come a long way, met many people and seen some interesting places. I often wonder about the people we have met, often very briefly, like a smiling group of young Syrian men who asked me to take a photo of them enjoying coffee in the Citadel at Alleppo. Fighting age young men, I wonder where they are? Are they even alive? The young courting couples we came across in the quiet corners of the Citadel, what is happening to them? We are so lucky here in New Zealand. We can enjoy family time in peace and safety.