Christmas Day 2017

It was going to be a busy day – just had to be so we didn’t miss our family too much.  The highlight was a skype call to everyone in Kelowna as we sat down to a much earned cup of tea and shortbread after a very long walk the length of the Motueka sandspit.  I didn’t know they had a mini Farewell Spit but it was one of those leaflets from the Information Centre that sent us in that direction.  Packed with nesting oyster catchers, gulls and godwits and a cute little bird which we think was a Red Knot.  We had walked the length of the spit (through sinking mud, waves and golden sand), wind behind us, umbrellas in hand shading us from a very warm mid 20^o’s day (it was -21^o in Kelowna!).  We crossed the dune, turned around, and the wind strengthened stinging our bare legs, forcing us to put our umbrellas down and double over as we braced ourselves for the return journey. 

The umbrellas served a dual purpose that day, protection from an on-slaught of gulls as we walked closely to their nests.  We disturbed flocks of baby godwits and oyster catchers on more than one occasion.  Back to the little red knot – he must have been about 5-6 centimetres tall.  His parents hadn’t taught him that when they screech at strange creatures it is a diversion and for him to hide.  He decided it was a game.   Buffeted by the wind the little one who hadn’t got his flying wings ran a road runner style zig zag to his parents.  They were both pretty worried about their little prodigy and eventually decided to split – one to divert us and the other to take little boy home.  Needless to say we just stopped, amused by how fast those little legs could go.  The parents guided him back to safety, gave us a dirty look and scampered back into the under growth.

Going back to the beginning of the day.  We got up a tad late, ate a leisurely breakfast and headed off to Split Apple Rock.  A long drive, and a 15 minute walk down through some pretty bush we found a lovely golden sandy bay lined on one side by a gentle ocean and by the other some steep cliffs and caves asking to be explored.  I found a giant sized weta (I mean Lord of the Ring size) in one cave – though after the initial shock I realised it was an old ponga log and the legs were old fern fronds.  Harry agreed it was a good imitation of the real thing.  Took some photos of Split Apple Rock and pondered over the minute white bits in the sea which we thought could be plastic.  We weren’t impressed by the pollution (plastic lasts up to 500 years we have been told) and were relieved when we worked out they were petals off the Manuka flowers (or were they Kanuka flowers).  We wandered back up the hill to a chorus of Merry Christmas’s and then drove off to find a picnic spot for our Christmas lunch. It was another car park where we sat under a ‘total fire ban’ sign enjoying the tranquillity and our Christmas treats.

In the late afternoon we found ourselves in Nelson where we sat in a sheltered spot to relax, snooze, read books and have some fish from the fish and chip shop that had opened for all those tourists with nowhere to go on Christmas day.  Then we got dressed in the local loos - I felt like a spy – going in wearing dirty shorts and walking shoes, coming out transformed in a dress and sandals ready for our Christmas day dinner. Christmas dinner was nice, but nothing to write home about.  Our table was set for three, so we pulled three crackers and they all had the same joke ‘What animal needs oiling? Mice of course as they squeak”.