Kiaiwi beach

As I'd mentioned our beach and its black sand, I thought I'd add a couple of photos so you can see.

August 24th - back to Wellington

Back to Wellington today for the All Blacks match against Australia. Glad to say that Wellington appeared to be back to normal after last week' s earthquake with no visible signs of damage. All Wellington hotels were full so we stayed in a small town called Porirua ( still no idea how to pronounce that) about 10 miles north and took the train in. Well, I appeared to be the only person on the train in pink! We were surrounded by people dressed in black, with black temporary tattoos on there faces saying 'All Blacks' plus the silver fern logo. These Kiwis take their rugby seriously! Wellington was heaving and I actually felt sorry for the few Aussie supporters who were vastly outnumbered. But it was a very good humoured affair. The match itself was a bit disappointing, as the Aussies were completely outclassed, but it was a great experience for us.

Sunday was a glorious day and the temperature reached about 21 degrees, so we decided to amble back home via the beach at Titahi, which is beautiful, with views towards the mountains of South Island. The sand there is yellow, unlike the black sand of our local beach at Kiaiwi.

Planning a trip to Hawkes Bay for next weekend.

16th August 2013

Experienced and survived my first major earthquake today! I was in the supermarket, bending over the cheese counter debating which grated cheese to buy for our fish pie this evening, when all of a sudden I thought that I was having a dizzy spell.  I looked up to the exclamation of 'Holy Sh*t' from the man next to me and the whole supermarket aisle was swaying. Eggs and bottles crashed to the floor and signs swayed worryingly. I held on to the cheese shelf and like everyone else just stood and waited. The shaking slowed, but the ground continued to sway for several more seconds - which felt like minutes, before everyone went back to normal and continued with their shopping! I have to say I have never experienced anything like it and I hope it's my first and last earthquake. My legs carried on shaking for nearly an hour afterwards!

Later learned that the quake measured 6.2 ( One TV) or 6.5 according to my earthquake feed app! It was centred in the Marlborough region of South Island but felt as far north as Auckland with Wellington suffering earthquake damage for the second time in a month. Thankfully there are no reports of loss of life so far, just damage to buildings and a lot of scared people.

Winter in Wanganui

It's 20 degrees today and spring doesn't start until next month!  Can you see the lemons on our tree?