Another gorgeous day in Paradise

Well today has been another lovely day.

I left the campground around 8:30 this morning and headed back to Matakawau to take Kemp Road towards the lighthouse at Manukau Heads.

It was an interesting road, narrow, steep and windy amid some awesome countryside.

		Manukau Heads Road views VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Awhitu Peninsular is an ancient sand dune which gives it the amazing valleys and ridges that we see today.

The lighthouse at the end of the road is only a replica and doesn’t actually have a light inside, but still has the lens and prisms.

The views from the lookout are amazing and you can see the other side of the harbour, the Waitakere Ranges, the famous Destruction Gully, Whatipu and Paratutae Rock, which is the sight of the first Signal Station before it was transferred to the south side after the sinking of the HMS Orpheus which sank in 1863 with the loss of 189 lives. It is still New Zealand’s worst maritime disaster.

		Views from Manukau Heads VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The signal station is still in use today, guiding ships over the Manukau Bar, into and out of the Manukau Harbour.

The Fredrock Cafe in the carpark below the lighthouse.

From there I backtracked a bit and turned down Boiler Gully Road and headed off towards Wattle Bay, which is a lovely little bay on the northern end of the peninsular.

		Wattle Bay VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After a wander down the black sand of Wattle Bay, I headed across to Orua Bay where I am for the night.

I wandered along the beach before a late lunch and found a wonderful sight…

		The Jandal Tree VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

In the distance I saw some strange things amongst the branches of the tree but thought they might be fish drying or something similar and was very surprised to see the number of jandals (flip flops or thongs) hanging on the tree. this is at the end of a long beach and will ask about it tonight.

Had a long chat to a gentleman today who I first saw down on the beach fishing unsuccessfully. He and his wife are going to be picking up their new motorhome from Trailite in Pukekohe on Friday, so he was asking all sorts of technical questions and raised an interesting point about open alcohol containers in the vehicle. He asked a final question which the answer I gave him got him thinking. “What are you going to do with the rest of the day?” I must admit that I did laugh. “I have 1700 books to read, I will do some house work, write my blog, have a nap, watch some TV, walk the beach, go for a bike ride, go fishing, go for a paddle in the kayak…..not sure yet, but will do one, some or all of the aforementioned things”  The look on his face was priceless.

So tomorrow… who knows, the weather forecast is for rain, but the locals say ignore that and look out the window in the morning.

Another day of glorious sunshine here the wind is up a little keeping the temperatures down a little.

A scorcher of a day!

Well today was one of the hottest I have experienced since being on the road. I forgot to look at the thermometer earlier but it is 7:15 and it is still 28^o C outside.

Still it was a beauty day, went fishing and caught around 8 snapper but they all had to go back as they were all babies. Must have ended up anchored above a snapper Sunday School for juniors. Still a lovely couple of hours on the Manukau Harbour in the lovely weather.

Had a young powerboat skipper pull up to let me go across in front of him while I was paddling out. I waved him ahead as it would have taken me far longer to get across his path. Good to see that the power gives way to paddle gets used.

Had a lovely evening last night when I was invited to drinks at the campsite next door.

They were a fascinating mix of NZ’ers, ex pat Brits, and at least on from the Caribbean. We had a great time talking about New Zealand and where it sits in the scheme of things and how we get “normalised” to things if we are exposed to them for long enough.

It was generally agreed that even though New Zealand is behind the times in some things, ahead of the world in others and is lacking population to help get the economy going, the advantages of the space, small population and exquisite scenery and location (though it was decided that we should move it around 500-1000km northward). far outweigh any disadvantages. It was a lovely evening with some lovely people.

Earlier in the day I had met up with another couple in a motorhome who were looking for the Maori carvings that were mentioned in the brochure but not actually marked on the map. We had a chat on the beach and met up again back at the campsite where they were showing a young couple through their motorhome. We all got to talking and ended up at my bus having a look through. The couple in the motorhome were intrigued with my door fly screens and when I offered them my spare pair if they fitted, it was mentioned that I was only offering them to increase my karma for the Lotto draw that night! I told them that it was the third time I had tried to give them away. I did say that if they didn't fit they were welcome to give them back. They fitted and so my spare fly screens have a great new home. They were MZMCA number 46 if I remember rightly but didn’t renew their membership for a few years and now have a higher number when they rejoined.

The young couple that we showed through our vehicles are thinking about a motorhome, but have a small farm and so are a bit ties with animals at this point in time, but they have offered me free park over anytime I drop by. They live just out of Waiuku so I may well drop in on the way out.

On my walk yesterday I came across some lovely bits and pieces. There is a lovely wetland area just behind the beach and it has been a paddock for the cows and reverted to wetland again. It is a lovely example of good NZ wetland ecosystem.

Also there is one of the interesting picture frames that the ARC is so good at.

The artwork/carving on the surrounds are wonderful.

 

 

 

 

So after my fishing trip I washed down the kayak and then did my washing and about an hour later everything was dry!

So tomorrow it’s off to explore the rest of the peninsular. I will go visit the lighthouse and the various bays across the top, Wattle Bay, Orua Bay, Big Bay and Grahams Beach.  I also have Hamilton’s Gap and Karioitahi Beach on the itinerary on the way out.

Where in New Zealand is Pollock?

So I am currently sitting at the Awhitu Regional Park, in a beautifully quiet spot with one tent and one campervan and me.

Awhitu Regional Park, Peninsular Campground

The weather has cleared up from a wet day yesterday and this morning.
So yesterday I spent heading from Huntly to the back of Onewhero. It was a nice trip and I saw some lovely countryside and then I came across this …

Oops

I stopped as this seemed to be a recent accident. I cautiously approached the car, smelling a bit of petrol but more scared of what I might find. I carefully peered inside and breathed a huge sigh of relief finding the car empty. I had a quick look around the scene to make sure that no-one had been flung from the car and then headed back to the bus and then another car pulled up and two locals got out. I told them that I had checked the car but we went back and did another check and search. I then phoned the accident into the police and they identified the car as a rental, so the police dispatcher went away to see if they could track down who ws in the car. We then tried to work out what had happened by examining the marks. It was strange as there were no skid marks, and it really looked like the car had parked on the verge and tipped over, but it was the wrong side of the road. About three minutes later a car pulled up with a man and two passenger in the back and told us that it was his parents rental car and here they were. They were thankfully unhurt and explained what had happened.
They had been heading south and come over the in slightly drizzly weather and when they came over the brow of the hill the windscreen had gone opaque with a change in temperature and the driver was essentially blind. He had slowed considerably and was almost at a stop when he had left the edge of the road. Unfortunately at that particular point on the side of the road there was a drop off of about a metre and the car just rolled over onto it’s roof. Luckily they were able to crawl out and flag a car down which took them through to Glen Murray. he called their son who had come and picked them up and here they were. They were shaken but not hurt. I then called the police back to say that I was leaving the scene and headed off. About 5 minutes later I passed the police car heading to the scene.
I then headed off to visit my friends Denise and Stu who a are on a sheep farm on Waimarama-Onewhero Road in the back of beyond. Stu was away but Denise and I had dinner and chatted away the evening. I drove the quad bike back to the bus which was parked over by the woolshed about 500m from the house.  Had a lovely quiet night and didn’t even hear the rain that fell.
Had breakfast then took the quad bike back to the house and had a coffee with Denise and gave her a lesson on Windows 8. Denise has been one of my friends that I have tried to teach them how to use their computers effectively. Luckily she had had little computer experience when she bought a laptop with Windows 8 on and so she has picked it up really well.
So after spending the morning gossiping and teaching and drinking coffee, we raided the garden for rhubarb, eggs and tomatoes and we wandered back to the bus. I packed up and said goodbye and was told that if I didn’t drop in every time I passed she would be disappointed! One does not disappoint Denise!
From there I wandered down through Onewhero towards the Waikato River and paused at the Tuakau Bridge.

		Tuakau Bridge VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I had a bit of fun with some juvenile seagulls.
From there I stopped for fuel in Pukekohe and then headed out towards Waiuku and points north. I stopped at the  Pollock Co-op shop and had a great chat with an awesome artist there who does some amazing mixed media work with kauri, stainless steel and other stuff. Most of it has some Maori influence from his time as a teacher at Tuakau College. A shame that I don’t have much wall space in the Fredrock Cafe or I might have been tempted by at least one piece.
So here I am at Awhitu Regional Park for the next few days while I explore the area. There is so much to see out here with everything from the Manukau Heads and lighthouse, all the little beaches and bays, on the west coast and the inner Manukau Harbour. Both sides being completely different.

View from Peninsular Campground looking north

View from Peninsular Campground, looking east

The view from behind the bus and since starting this blog post another 2 vans have arrived making three vans, 1 bus and a tent!

I need to learn to duck....

As you can see by the map, I am back in Huntly today to assist my previous employer due to staff being away on holidays.
I am just here for the day to deliver a seminar on budgeting or as I put it "Spending Plans".
This is what I have been doing for the past 5 years before retiring again. It is that time of year again where Christmas bills start coming in, school fees, stationary and uniforms are due and on and on...so for budget services it is one of the busiest times of the year.
From here I am going to take a couple of days and head over to the Awhitu Peninsular which is the south side of the Manukau Harbour. 
Safe travels.

A Guest Blog.....

A quick post to let you know that I was asked to write a guest blog for a US website on retirement and lifestyle,
Retirement and Good Living
They accepted my words and pictures and it is now published here at my guest blog.

Also I managed to pass my first CoF (certificate of Fitness). Rear brake lining are getting lowish and need to be replaced soon and I had my wheel trims on (no-one told me I should have removed them...) but all good.

Yeha, sort of success...

Well this morning I cracked the kiln after turning it off at 4:30 as I could not seem to find my temperature cones. I wasn't sure whether it was due to my eyesight and the colouration within the kiln or I had overfired due to the double firing. Orton cones are not just a temperature indicator but also the amount of heat absorbed.
My sister took a picture while I was on kiln watch.

On kiln watch

So here is what it looked like when I cracked it open.

First glaze firing

and this is what I found

You can see in the bottom left of the pictures that the cones are all well bent over and melted so officially overfired!
I have found that the white matt glaze has worked awesomely, the two browns, need to be dipped or sprayed rather than brushed but they both have possibilities. This was really a test run for these glazes and I only made up small amounts.
The underglaze colours (purchased) look good, the green is a bit muddy but may turn out better with a clear overglaze.
I am really happy with the little boxes and lids that I have made, they are great and will be the base for my work from here on in.
The weird looking things that have a round base and the upright thing is actually a spoon holder for when you are cooking. The base collects the bits that drip off the spoon after stirring etc.
The kiwi shapes and the vege shapes are for garden markers/identifiers but not sure that they are going to work. More experimentation needed here. BUT the simple pointed markers look great.
It looks like my niece will get her purple platter when I do a clear glaze over it. The underglaze worked well.
All these are done with Abbots White earthenware clay.
So off to Matamata today to get my Certificate of Fitness! (CoF)

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (Thanks to Jack Johnson)

Well it seems like weeks since I last posted and it really was, as the last posting was Jan 24 and it is now Feb 9th! Bad boy Frederick!
Ok so what's been happening?
I have been trying to sort out all my business, doctors, lawyers, accountants, banks, Land Transport (COF and RUC) and optician while I have been back in civilisation.
There has been a lot going on to start the year and it has been good to pause, get things a bit more organised and then head off again.
The plan is to head towards Taranaki via the Waikato River Trails, Kawhia and Marokopa.
But while I've been “sitting, waiting, wishing” for people to return my emails, phone calls and texts, I have been doing some repair work and some pottery.
For those of you who haven’t heard Jack Johnson, he’s well worth a listen.
I noticed a bit of rust in the side locker and when I started to clean it up…..

So that is what the locker looks like at the moment while I de-rust it. I had to remove a whole section from the base of the locker wall. It appears that whoever did the initial repair didn’t clean much out, just patched over. So I will clean it out and replace with a new section.
Also it has taken me a couple of days to clean out the dust from various areas. It seems that the inside of the bus is not sealed. I discovered this while travelling the lovely metal roads of the Far North. So after a day of dismantling the bed, cleaning up all the dust and filling the holes, I had to vacate the bus for a couple of days while the smell dissipated!
Also there was some lawn moving and hedge trimming for my lovely hosts, in return for their very generous hospitality.
On to the pottery:

I have had a load of bisque fired boxes, spoon holders, platters and herb markers that needed glazing so I decided to get organised an get the first glaze firing done in my kiln. I carefully waxed and glazed and headed off to fire at 1pm yesterday. I thought that I had reached temperature at 9:30pm as I thought that the indicator cones had bent, but this morning when I cracked the kiln, nope there were my three cones still standing upright! So back on again. Its quite amazing how quickly a hot kiln comes up through the temperature ranges. What took about 4 hours yesterday took 1 1/2 hours today. So am hopeful that today I can get the kiln up to temperature and the firing completed.
I am off to get the first Certificate of Fitness for The Fredrock Cafe tomorrow. Roger and I did a grease and oil change on Tuesday. Didn’t make too much of a mess and managed to find all the grease nipples again. Rogers new air compressor grease gun worked well this time. Much easier than the hand grease gun!
It is also fruit season here in Walton, so the plums, peaches, blackberries are being picked, frozen, bottled or jammed. We have also been making sweet chilli sauce, plum sauce, more lemon cordial and as well all the tomatoes and courgettes have to be coped with every second day. So its been busy as at the moment.
I have also been approached to write a guest blog for the website www.retirementandgoodliving.com. I have sent in a post and pictures and will see what happens. Will let you know if and when it is posted.
I will post some pictures of the completed firing as soon as they are available. I think i should start wearing a GoPro cam on my head then I don’t forget to take pictures of the things I am doing!
I will also post a ‘Frederick revised’ pic.

Not sure how long this look will last but I’m enjoying it!
I’ll get this posted and go check the kiln.