Mixing it up

Slacker that I am, lounging around with a bad back, if I think about it, it started to go awry a few weeks ago. Surprise Saturday moved to the Sunday, then Friday night movie night moved to Sunday morning.
Surprise time then and it was my turn and I choose another museum, this time to see the National Geographic Exhibition at the Auckland Museum. I loved reading the specs on the photos, I loved the stories and while the overall winner wasn't my favourite it was very poignant. The journalism story board of the ivory trade made me sick to the stomach and I wonder what we are up to as a human race.

Movie morning then brought back all sorts of childhood memories of morning cinema trips with my brother. It was coffee, not wine as we got the tickets at The Capitol and settled in to watch this movie. Not without making an entrance though, Adam dived up the stairs, laying flat down and not spilling a drop of coffee. Class.

Surprise Saturday

Our challenge through the winter months and to prevent Auckland fever that can sometimes hit, we have devised Surprise Saturday. The Saturday after each pay day - (now UK folks that is fortnightly for me, six years on I cannot imagine how I coped with monthly pay) we take it in turns to arrange a day trip

Adam was first up and was feeling the pressure, when we stepped out into a glorious day he doubted his choice but stuck with his plan. I had my suspicions as to where we were heading, but no, we are driving past the Domain and and into the city. 

We haven't been to the Maritime Museum for years and I have long said it is a favorite of mine. True, it's the immigration stories rather than the boat 'stuff' that mean the most to me.....I wonder why.

The question of 'why' is as pertinent now as it was then. The people and the stories are real. My own story is easy when you look at the bunks the people slept in for weeks at a time, the time the journey took is incredible when we now just hop on a plane and wish we were closer than 24hours to our family and friends. 

This trip I was also engrossed in the navigation details (all my Antarctic reading perhaps) and the new exhibition on Sir Peter Blake, an iconic kiwi who until Saturday I knew very little about. 

The highlight of the surprise, as the sun glistened on the water was a journey out onto the waters on the Ted Asbhy.  

Ted Ashby is a ketch-rigged deck scow, typical of the fleet of scows that once operated in northern New Zealand waters.

Thank you Maritime Museum but I have no idea what those words mean. To me it was a boat with lots of sails, that looked very flash in the sun. 

Time in or on the water is restorative and when you add in a lively crew, the opportunity to help hoist the sails (seven of them) you are onto a winner. The logistics and the ropes fascinated me, mesmerised I almost missed the bungee jumpers as we sailed under the harbor bridge.

We ended our Saturday with this movie to keep to our maritime theme and in a fortnights time it's my turn to find the surprise.

Walk 19 - Raglan

On a determined mission to complete the 41 walks challenge here. Procrastination and last minuteness play a big part in my personality for sure. This was Saturday Surprise. Adam chose 'out of Auckland' and I drove. He guessed around the time we hit Huntly that we were heading to Raglan. We haven't been there for a while and 2 hours of southerly driving had us pulling over by the wharf. Lunch first of course, then some shopping, a lot more shops than I remember from the last time. Lots of kiwi made and arty stuff so all rather cool, particularly in the torrential rain that was pouring. It had been a sunny drive down but now felt rather damp and a little chilly. Having eaten and shopped we headed to the beach. I recall feeling surprised (though not sure why) at the hills around Raglan, this time they delighted me, everywhere was so green and lush (lots and lots of rain remember). I also recall the sand on the beach being so so hot I could hardly walk on it, I figured that would not be the case this time. The tide was well in, why did this surprise me I do not know, memories I guess of the huge beach we lazed on in the summer of our last visit here. We walked, we walked past the lone surfer, past the surf school, we joined a lot of other walkers and their friendly dogs. It is a long expanse of west coast beach but where Muriwai stretches on and on into the forever this beach has land curving around, deceptive and inviting I guess. We turned to walk back and while acknowledging that the rain was heading this way again we couldn't help but delay in taking photos of the sea/cloud/sky combination that was unfurling before us. We got wet, we were dressed appropriately and enjoyed the downpour and the rainbow it produced. Sitting back in the car tucking into lemon cake and watching the light over the sea from an elevated viewpoint Saturday Surprise was heading to a close. Adam took the wheel and we drove back through the green hills heading to the highway to Auckland.

Near the wharf

To the beach