Longer days

The passing of the shortest day feels different here, to when I lived in England. Its significance always seemed crowded out by the approach of Christmas, followed by the cold, grey damp misery of the first quarter of the New Year. Here, even though the hardest of the winter weather is yet to come, it feels like turning a corner towards summer.

Coincidentally, the equinox is also linked to a significant day for Nicky and I, our wedding anniversary. I don’t recall us planning it that way, the 22nd just happened to be the most suitable day or us to tie the knot 37 years ago. To celebrate the event on Wednesday we went to Lava Glass for lunch, as they have a very good café (we had been once before) and a sculpture garden which we had not visited. This may not sound like a significant thing to many of you, but Lava Glass is on SH5 on the northern side of Taupō, some 233 kms from Tiramaroa.

We left home at about 9.30a.m. with water and snacks on the back seat, and a clear blue sky above us. We made our usual “going North” stop at Angel Louise in Raetihi for morning tea and coffee. When we turned off SH4 towards Tūrangi we were treated to stunning views of snow covered volcanoes, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu:

An hour or so later we reached Tūrangi in need of toilets (yes, we had been before we left Angle Louise). We wandered into a café attached to a pharmacy in the town centre and Jersey Bob (it turned out) directed us to their loos. While Nicky was purchasing beverages as koha for the toilet facilities, she discovered that Jersey Bob knows Dominic, her cousin Tim Kendall’s son. Bob has bought a guitar or two from Dominic (who is in Guernsey). He told Nicky how invaluable Dominic’s advice and information had been to him. Much discussion of family, Channel Islands and immigration followed.

The road from Tūrangi to Taupō largely runs by the side of Lake Taupo, which is the cone of an old volcano. Numerous vents were steaming alongside the road. With the glorious sunny weather, the views across the lake were wonderful. We arrived at Lava Glass around 1.45pm enchanted and hungry. We promptly made our way to the café and ordered a sharing platter which was delicious. Here is a picture of a man preparing not to waste away to nothing:

Sustained, we had a gentle walk round the sculpture garden and glass gallery, before returning to the café for a pot of tea and a shared portion of blueberry and white chocolate slice.

By the time we were home, after having driven for nearly four hours on roads that prompted the ice warning to illuminate in the car, it was well past dark. The glass, the food and the stunning scenery had made for a wonderful day.

Friday was Matariki, the rising of the star cluster that signifies the beginning of the Maori New Year. For the first time in New Zealand’s history it was a public holiday. We had a quiet day, a chat with Jacqui next door, and a trip to Mitre 10 to buy wire for the espalier trees. There was an event in town, Puanga Rising, in the evening with Maori music, stories, visual art displays, kapa haka and a range of food stalls. We popped along for a while and discovered it was very well attended. 

Other than that it has been quite a routine week with the usual household tasks, and getting into the garden when the weather has dried up. We fitted the espalier wires to the posts yesterday. Nicky had some fruit tree saplings and seedlings ready to plant. I have had a bit of MacOnSite work, and we finished the jigsaw that we started last weekend. We have enjoyed a couple of films which we recorded; Daphne Du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel and The Viceroy’s House about the the Mountbatten’s contribution to partition of India.

The winter quilt has gone on the bed this week. We had had some cold nights. We expect there are more to come.

Take care, Rick and Nicky.