Farewells and fond memories

This has been a bittersweet weekend, as our farewell to Patrick--who returns to Minneapolis after 10 weeks in NZ-- reminds us how lucky we are to have this place and these people as part of our lives. We are winding down work here ourselves and preparing for an 8 day sail along the fjords and a week of other adventures in the South Island. We had a skype chat with our future colleagues at Regions on Saturday, and are eager to begin work there (we're coming, Tracy!).

On Saturday night we visited Rosie and Rob's farm in the hills above Plimmerton. After a memorable evening last night (well, I don't remember the last part, but that's another story), we hiked along the coastal mountain pastures with the whole family this morning. Their children are very sweet, and shared their horses with us to ease the uphill climb. As we reached the ridge, a strong Norwester whipped the waves into whitecaps below and nearly blew us over a couple of times, but we made it alright. We're back home at Mahina Bay awaiting the sunset and feeling very, very blessed, indeed. Kia ora!

Mahina Bay

As summer winds down, we've decided to shift from the city to the other side of the harbour, and are now staying in a little cottage at Mahina Bay. We now take the ferry into town, which is (for a while at least), a fun and scenic 25 minute commute. Here's the view from our window this morning:

Actually, the weather has been pretty dismally rainy the last week, so today was also the first day we had the opportunity to explore the reserve that is literally in our back yard. The forest is remarkably intact, with many old podocarps, beech, matai, tree ferns and fruit-bearing karaka, in addition to the ubiquitous manuka and kanuka. There is also an abundance of bird life, and we awake each morning to a chorus of tui, bellbirds and morepork. We think we've even heard the call of the rare saddleback. Here's a view from the trail, again looking back over the harbour. That's Soames island at right, and the city (white area) at left. If you open up the picture, you can see a sailing regatta at left in front of the city, and at bottom-center, the little dock where we catch to 7:15 ferry to the city.

Abel Tasman-Separation Point to Awaroa Bay

Bush, beach and no roads between. The Abel Tasman lies along the west coast of Tasman Bay. To the East lie the Marlborough Sounds (see the Queen Charlotte track post from early December), and to the West, Golden Bay, Farewell Spit and the sea. Very few people live here, but many Kiwis (and others) visit here to imagine Aotearoa's paradise regained. 

Dolphins and rays follow the tides into the coves, while the eels and wading birds ply the tidal marshes. At night, glow worms light up the little grottos created by winding streams and the Southern Cross rises above the hills as the din of cicadas fades.

We chartered a single engine cessna to make the jump from Wellington to a little grass airstrip at Awaroa Bay. Below is aerial footage taken just prior to landing, followed by a 360 degree view of the tidal flat (at low tide) adjacent to the bay. That's a bellbird singing in the background.