RAMBLINGS Part 4

Good day all you wonderful specimens. I have finally got the bug back to do a wee bit of writing. It feels like, and has been ages since I put some time into the blog, and I must say just starting to type away feels pretty damn good. I have said it before and it seems to be true, that having a regular 9-5 job just consumes your time and energy. More like 8.30-5.30 and some Saturdays. Not that I’m complaining, not really, well maybe a little. But anyway…

The biggest bit of news for me and my family is that our residency has finally come through. YAAAAY!!!! For those of you who know what that means, you also know the huge feeling of relief that brings. It also means that there is no more forking out of large amounts of money for renewing visas and fees for service providers. And we get to stay in this beautiful country called Aotearoa or in English, New Zealand. Its truly a beautiful place and we are blessed to be here.

Amongst all the covid restrictions, we were fortunate enough to get a little camping trip in over new year, to a local Auckland area called Muriwai. If you recall my past blog on learning to surf, this is where I came to attend a surf school. But we discovered there is an awesome camp ground there too, so we travelled across to the west coast with some mates for a few nights. Good weather, swims and waves and even some fresh mussels were on order for our stay. There really is nothing like doing a bit of “hunter gathering” to confirm your manliness. And there is nothing like fresh sea food at the end of a great day while enjoying a sunset and a few rums.

We were also fortunate enough to head down to the bay of plenty in January and stayed in a wonderful area called Mount Maunganui. Its on the east coast of New Zealand next to Tauranga, about three hours or so from Auckland. We were blessed to have the best weather possible which meant our days consisted of early morning swims and wave riding. Breakfast back at the guest house then out to explore a little. When lunch time came around, it was back to the house to eat and siesta until the day cooled a bit, and then back to the beach for another few hours of swim and surf. It felt like the right combination of things to call it a perfect holiday.

In my past ramblings, I wrote about my broken toes and how long its taking to heal. Well….. the foot is still not at 100%. So my learning to surf journey has taken a back seat for now. But I’m back on a body board. So at least I can get some wave riding in, and our little holiday was perfectly timed for some awesome swell, as cyclone cody was passsing the east coast of New Zealand when we went down to Mount Maunganui.

Besides amazing waves, we were treated to amazing sights at the Mount (local talk for Mount Maunganui. Its an extinct volcano), a must do when visiting the area is to walk either up or around the Mount. We did both but on separate days. It takes around an hour to get to the summit if you choose to go up, and around the same time to go around. Both offer amazing views and experiences.

So what’s next on the cards? Well we have another camping trip with friends over the Easter weekend in April. I’m hoping to still have good summery weather as we start heading toward the autumn. And the next adventure for me is learning to windsurf. I have been flirting with the idea for a while as we often have perfect wind for the sport and being so close to a large open span of water, it may be starting to make sense in the old noggin to give that a go. But I’m going old school. With all the new forms of the sport, being wind foiling or even wing surfing, I’m going to go the traditional route first and see how I go. Watch this space for a story on how it goes.

But until then, I wish you all health and happiness. Be kind in these strange and difficult times. Just remember our farts all stink, even the Russian presidents! Much love.