....... And Four days in Ohope.

  We had a leisurely pack-up and trip over to Ohope and got ourselves parked next to Dave and Sandie, with a bit of interference from another camper who thought he could guide Duncan into the spot better than me. We had to move it when he wandered off.  We went for a couple of swims while we were there - the water was warm, but the breeze was a bit chilly.

We put up the gazebo between the two caravans and I think the guys watched the cricket, or was it rugby (or maybe both) on Daves laptop.

Sunday 7th. Went for a drive up the peninsula towards  "the other side" of the bar from Ohiwa. We walked for a while, but the tall grasses were still quite wet and the tide was in, so we couldn't get to the nearest point to Ohiwa. There is certainly a huge amount of estuary to a very small gap out to sea.

It was Sandies turn to cook that night - I  hunted through my cupboards for the placemats and serviettes.

In front of their caravan

Monday 8th We are noticing the advent of autumn with cooler morning temperatures and later sunrise. Dave and Duncan are playing golf today at Ohope, so Sandie and I go off for for a walk - down Charles street, past Anne Street, Phillip St... But we did not find Elizabeth, Andrew or Edward streets.

It is recycling day, and it appears that Ohope Beach supports the majority of the liquor industry on its own. One person found that if you stack your bottles in an orderly fashion you can get more in your recycling bin. The neighbour, by contrast had a real mish mash of bottles, but proudly on top was a Moet bottle. It was a very interesting walk - probably as well I didn't take my camera, but it really was a photo essay of Bottle recycling bins.

After a cuppa and some of Sandie's excellent ginger cake we enjoyed a swim before lunch. Later in the afternoon we got the call to join the guys for a drink in the club-house.

I spent some of the afternoon sketching

View from the clubhouse.

View towards Ohiwa

We went up to a cafe for dinner, but it was pretty basic, along with the rest of the Vets golfers who had come up from Gisborne.

Tuesday 9th March. The golf for Duncan and Dave is in Opotiki today, so they get an early start, leaving me and Sandie to head into Whakatane to do some shopping. It isn't long before we are in and out of the changing rooms at Patterson's as the "new Seasons" fashions have just arrived, and the summer stuff is reduced impressively. Sadly The French Cafe is closed,  but we have lunch and then go for a short walk along the river.

Tonight is my turn to cook. Sandie does nibbles while I do steak and a selection of vegetables which I have to juzz up with a cheese sauce and herbs, as it is the last night of our holiday and the veges we bought from home are looking a bit tired.

While we are having our nibbles the couple in the tent opposite us take off in their car, and manage to crash into a low bollard and damage two panels of their car as they drive out to get their fish and chips.. Later,we are just finished our meal when the woman comes over in tears. She can't find her husband who has stage 4 cancer and "not in a good space". Darkness is just falling when we begin our search, and fortunately it is not long before we locate him - I think he had been in a quiet area of the Recreation centre.

Although it is quite Bleak driving home next day, we find that Gisborne has had very little rain and we have to water Blocks 3 and 4 again. Still, a lovely break away.