Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A townie no longer

The best thing about going off-island for a month is returning!! Living on my island haven for 16 months has given me the taste for a simple life and living in a town no longer holds appeal. Whilst it was great to see family and friends, I longed for bush and birdsong, sparse traffic and the sense of identity that our island community has.

The Weather Gods blessed me with amazing Autumn weather - it's not often that there's 3 weeks of mostly fine weather in Taranaki but I certainly appreciated it as my main mode of transport was either walking or biking. No time for tramping this time round but I did get to visit the high country of North Taranaki for a few days - stunning in the rain and low cloud that swirled up from the valley below.

Enough talking! Here's some photos...

Mt Taranaki from the Stratford side

Mt Taranaki from Egmont Village side

North Taranaki high country

Swirling clouds rising from the valley below

New Plymouth's Wind Wand taken from the bus
The bus trip to Wellington was interesting as it's been a while since I've had the luxury of looking at the scenery instead of where I'm driving. Amazing to see the damage done by high winds/tornados in the Patea to Waverley area - huge branches smashed and roofs blown away. The Intercity bus was very comfortable and smooth and I thought the price of the bus ticket was exceptional at only $23.

Wellington was fun - not only did I discover more great bush walks just a stone's throw from dense housing, I was also shouted tickets to the Hurricanes vs Brumbies match at Westpac Stadium. Not a good result but the atmosphere was good and we had great seats to watch the action - and the Hurricane supporters and their drums sitting just a few seats away. Fun to try out the new units to and from Johnsonville as well.

Fab views from a bush walk between Brooklyn and Aro Street
Go the Hurricanes!