I've played a bit more bridge - though the scores show that 'once a week' is really not enough if you want to be more than a novice. It was Sharon's birthday and we spent the evening with her and Aaron at a restaurant in town - as Aaron said - we have missed out on so many birthdays and it was a extra special day since she turned 25. Mike left for his stag do in Las Vegas (with 24 or so others) - and as a Mum I am not entirely sure I want to hear anything about it until he is safely back. And this a photo of our first home grown scallopini (might be the last as the rest don't seem to be maturing before falling off their stalk).
Then it was a long weekend in New Plymouth. We met up with Nylan's parents - Jenny and Roland and had a nice evening eating a lovely meal and talking with them and a friend of theirs Viv. And as per usual we did our sight seeing bit. We walked along the waterfront and along Back Beach, up the hill that overlooked the port, around the harbour (the busiest little harbour we have seen) and around the rhododendron garden Pukeiti (where Harry and I had our usual competition on who can take the best photo - this time for the best rain drop photo - its close!!). The gardens were donated to the locals a few years ago, and although they are now free to walk around, gone is the great gift shop I remember and the cafe was closed cos it wasn't peak season. Not sure if the changes were for the best but the garden was pleasant to walk through.
We also did a few excursions on the way there and back. We stopped at Dawsons Falls on the south side of Mount Taranaki and walked down to the falls with a number of other tourists. I'd been there as a little child but somehow can't remember the falls, only the car park which was up the road. So, it was good to revisit, enjoy the native bush and the rather large steps we encountered!! We were lucky, on the way down we managed to see a bit of the mountain and further to the west Mounts Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. A poem at the visitors centre which sort of supported the local saying - if you can't see Mount Taranaki it is raining, and if you can it will rain soon.
Rain
It rained and it rained and rained and rained.
The average fall was well maintained.
And when the tracks were simply bogs,
it started raining cats and dogs.
After a drought of half an hour,
We had the most refreshing shower,
And then the most curious thing of all,
a gentle rain began to fall.
Next day was almost fairly dry,
Save for the deluge from the sky,
Which wetted the party to the skin,
And after that the rain set it.
We also picnicked at Virginia Lake in Wanganui a well known spot for weary travellers to take a stop. There is an art deco building there - the winter gardens and we were treated to an array of begonias and colour and also to a sculpture exhibition (see Caramello sitting on the Wall of China). Wonder why blogs have a mind of their own and won't centre photos sometimes.
We also stopped for lunch at Ohawe Beach - we'd never been there before - but any one who knows me well, will know that is a perfect place for a lunch - a bit of sea breeze, watching the sea roar from a high cliff top. The little fishing village was quaint, and on the way back we compared our little fishing villages with those we visited in the UK.
We also stopped at the Tawhiti Museum in Hawera - worth a visit if you haven't been before. Lots of exhibits and models (the creator Nigel Ogle is now spending his spare time with Weta), particularly relating to farming and the Maori land wars.
"I hope my enthusiasm for local history comes through the displays. I'm particularly aware of drawing children into the displays - they mustn't feel museums are old buildings, full of old dusty junk. Historical display should be exciting and I'm always looking for more innovative ways of making it just that."
We learnt a bit about two local characters. Kimball Bent and Chew Chong.
- Kimball Bent was around in the late 1800's and early 1900's and although originally hailing from Maine he came the NZ via Liverpool. He had a bit of dubious character from what I gather which included a visit to prison in Wellington, a few lashing from his military commanders. In 1865 he deserted the military life and went and lived with the Ngati Ruanui iwi in South Taranaki. It sounds as though he was a bit of slave at first, forced to marry someone he 'didn't like the look of' but eventually was reluctantly accepted. He's been written about twice - James Cowan wrote "The adventures of Kimble Bent: a story of wild life in the New Zealand bush" and Maurice Shadbolt based his novel Monday's Warriors on Kimbles antics.
- then there was Chew Chong who was born in the 1820's in Canton. A well educated man, he worked in Singapore, Aussie and then NZ. He seemed to have a lot of respect in Taranaki and the museum included his butcher shop, pictures of equipment, fungi (gourmet food and medicine), acupuncture - you name it he seemed to dabble in it. He built quite a business with a few stores selling the usual stuff and the not so usual like chinese silk, paintings, cocksfoot seed (don't ask me), and he then made butter and introduced one of our first share milking systems. A popular guy...
"Although Chew Chong had broken away from the Chinese community in New Zealand, he retained a strong sense of Chinese identity. When he returned to China with a son in 1905, well-wishers presented him with a bag of sovereigns. Earlier, he was hailed as a pioneer of the butter industry, and in 1910 85 prominent citizens presented him with another purse of sovereigns and an illuminated address. This stated that he had saved 'many a family from want and penury' through his export trade in fungus, and had 'led the way' in butter manufacture in Taranaki".
