it has been a while

Things I have done recently that might be of interest:

Went to an incredible food show at Victoria Park. We had free tickets and wandered around stuffing our faces with cured meats and cheeses and ciders and breads and chocolates and NO VEGETABLES. There was an unattended table with a giant plate of shredded roast duck on it and I ate heaps of it. It made me spin around slowly with my arms stretched out in the fashion of Bill Murray in Ghostbusters after he meets up with Sigorney Weaver after her orchestra rehearsal. If you know what I mean. Oh and fried HALOUMI, too. We stayed there, just eating, for four hours. Four of the best hours of my life. 

Then I went to Tawaharanui with some pals and we basked in the sun and New Zealand's ridiculous beauty and built a boat out of sand. Seriously, that beach is one of the most beautiful in the world. New Zealand's beaches tend to be surrounded by rolling hills covered in little sheep, which is pretty idyllic. The water was clear and warm. It was a nice way to end a really sad week. I know two people who lost loved ones last week and along with the horribly sad Pike River Mine...well, I think we were all in dire need a good surf battering. 

i want to go there

Cape Cod artists' retreat, photos by Andreas Feininger. From Life.

but I'm not the only one

We drove right past Dargaville this weekend, with a stop at Mangawhai Heads and a visit to Tane Mahuta. The drive was long and idyllic and we sang along to the radio as we travelled along gravel roads and through Kauri forests to our friend's new home. It was built in the 1960s and is perched in a clearing at the end of a 16k road in the middle of the bush. It has no electricity but has an outdoor bath, a huge wood burning stove, a fresh water river nearby and the most incredible views. He lives alone, but has plenty of visitors. While there we realised how brave he is to live this way, and how much we would love to do something similar, someday...

Kauri image by Josiah Martin cira 19th Century, photo of Managahwai Heads from here.

karekare

These are pictures I took of the beach from my really shitty cell phone.

Today we went to Savemart and I got a T Shirt with a crude picture of Mel Gibson as Braveheart on it, with the entire "THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM" speech on the back; some tiny old man pants with front pleats that end at my ankles; and a peachy beige shirt because I love neutral tones.

Then we went to Karekare beach which is near Piha for those of you not in the know. It has black sand and is surrounded by amazing hilly forests and huge rock things. The surf was fun and there trenches in the sand so it would go really deep then mega shallow which was fun/dangerous. Now I'm off to drink cider in a park.

everyone should go to puhoi

the puhoi pub

the wee church

the littlest library

wenderholm beach

Yesterday was my work party and we had such a ball! We went on a road trip to Puhoi, where we leisurely kayaked down the river, had a quick swim at the beach and then dined and drank el fresco for the rest of the afternoon, opening secret santa presents.

Puhoi is about an hour's drive out of Auckland and is a veritable treasure chest of fun things.
Firstly: there is a cheese factory there - the Puhoi Valley Cheese factory, in fact.
Secondly: you can go to Wenderholm beach, which is lovely, and Thirdly: there are barbeques on the beach for public use
Fourthly: the Puhoi Pub is incredible and full of amazing things to look at and a semi-surly bartender.
Fiftly: there is the most amazing little wooden church there, and a library the size of an office cubicle, dating from the late 19th century. I think if I get married I would like to get married in the Puhoi church.

Photos from: here, here, and here

The sun came out today after a weekend of huge rain. To celebrate I'm taking the next couple of days off work and doing a mini road trip to a friend's beach house.

This is great because I've not been out of Melbourne (except on a plane) since I moved here. I have no idea where it is we're even going. I'm listening to Beach House in honor of the spontanious trip and considering buying paperbacks and sandals on my lunch break.