Saturday Walk (July 28)

As my friends in the midwest (US) were drying up, I strolled along admiring the very wet view.

This little beauty in the distance is called Moturiki Island.

 

You can walk across the beach and walk up the island on paths:

I went up the island on Sunday which was quite a gusty and rainy day.  It would have been better to go up on Saturday, but, well, hindsight is 20/20 isn't it.

I did not go up Moturiki Saturday because I was more interested in what was coming up the beach, namely, this big guy:

Yes, the people in the distance are playing beach volleyball ... in winter!  If you look closely, they are in shorts and are barefoot.  Imagine doing that in Wisconsin in winter!  (I bet you could get some Packer fans to do that.)

The "big guy" is called "the mount", officially, Mount Maunganui.  It has walking tracks around and up it.  I have not yet ventured around or up, but I will.

Rounding the tip of the peninsula, one leaves the Pacific side and enters the bay side, specifically, Pilot Bay.
Things are more calm (serenity; tranquillity; peace) on the bay:

Do you think these seagulls understand it is winter by the looks of this?

I didn't think so.

However if I uploaded a picture of myself, you would have seen me in purple coat & black hat, looking like a tourist - with a nod to my mom, keeping my head warm.

I lollygagged around the rest of Saturday afternoon.  Rain showers came & went.  Near the end of my walk I was again on the Pacific side.  This next shot is not the clearest but I thought a fantastic way to end my walk and my first Saturday in New Zealand.

If you look closely, you can see a rainbow over the ocean and also a cargo ship.  How very appropriate since I now work at a company that manages cargo and is located on the waterfront.  The rainbow & cargo ship was a wonderfully good sign.