Water load of fun this Queens weekend...

What a long weekend should be.

I am so happy the forecaster got it wrong this time, we haven't seen a bit of rain over the last 3 days. I took Friday off to avoid the manic traffic of everyone and their dog heading north for the Queens birthday weekend. It's nut, it's chaotic and it's predictable, yet everyone still does it..the northern motorway gets packed and it's always a very slow run all the way through, but not for me. 

We had scheduled Friday as the day we go and see the latest movie at Matakana cinema, however that was only happening because the weather was supposed to be dodgy.. well if beautiful sunshine is the 'new' dodgy, I'll take it any day. 

We decided we would dig out along the front of the deck to plant some lavender and nice smelling flowers.. . we used our magic formula to set the lavender in, yes you've guessed, Duck compost from our lovely neighbours across the way.The flowers will start to show in a few weeks.

BEFORE

                        

AFTER 

 

Saturday Markets and Regional Park:

Up and away by 08.30, our plan was to get to Matakana markets before the mayhem of the Auckland city dwellers descend upon the village..., it was mad, they should call it 'Madacana Markets', people everywhere, but maybe that was the locals getting in before the others arrived?.
We done well, we bought our usual coffee and stood beside Dean Barker of Team NZ sailing as we waited patiently for the barrista to call (howl, shriek) our names when our coffee was up. My god, watch out if your not there when she calls your name, it's like the dreaded alarm clock that just gets louder and louder until you switch it off...poor Justin quickly swooped in and swiped his coffee after 3 calls..everyone knew Justin after that!
We always like to make a few purchases so we got some smoked onions, fresh bread, homemade chutney and a tasty food sample to keep us going.

After our Market fix, we decided to head up to Tawharanui regional park http://tawharanui%20regional%20park/ to check out what our local area had to offer. What a place, it's heaven on earth..the Ocean was stunning, wildlife galore, scenery to match and an all round great place to visit. It's pest proof fenced around the entire perimeter and had massive signs saying NO DOGS, because there are Kiwi and many native birds breeding in the parkland's. We spent a while watching the surfers enjoy the modest waves, but really just enjoyed being there. There was tree planting going on which was a hive of activity with all the volunteers busy digging away like little beavers.

We decided we would return to the park on Sunday and test out our paddle boards. We haven't paddled since we moved up here in Feb.

Sunday morning came and we chose to head to Snells beach first and check out the water before going up to the park...bad idea, the tide was way out, so we checked into the next bay and the next and the next....are you catching onto the story yet? after 1 hour of failed attempts, we thought, hey lets try our our initial intention and 'go to the park' ..well lo and behold, guess what? picture perfect ... we quickly checked out the water, grabbed our boards off the Ute and spend the next 2 hours enjoying being at one with the Ocean...

We didn't take any pics on the water, we couldn't trust ourselves with the camera as it's not a waterproof unit and we hadn't been on the boards for a few months... but here is why we just love Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boarding.

It's quite amazing when you are up above the water and looking down, you see so much marine life and get such great, up close experiences of your surroundings...

Brooke at Laingholm Bay

Laingholm in the Summer 

 Small bay around from Laingholm

After being on the water, you get real hungry and Brooke suggested we head to James and Morris pottery centre james and morris at Matakana for lunch. If your driving past this place I recommend you stop to shop and lunch, the food was awesome and they had their annual sale on which also allowed for a small purchase without breaking the bank...

Came home all refreshed and SKYPED out beautiful niece and sister in Hong Kong. Bliss.

All in all a terrific break with beautiful weather to accompany it.

ps: don't tell anyone, but we're getting 5 more chickens...shhhhh!

Thought for the day:

" Before you make a judgement of another, try seeing the world through their eyes first"