Travelling to Pohara

Today was moving day. A bit of vacuum cleaning and a spot of shopping and off to the Information Centre to make the shoplifter honest.  After paying my debt we headed off towards Pohara, only to be slowed down by taking the ‘local detour’, well it works for locals!! Somehow we missed the street and “no exit” signs.   At the base of the Takaka Hill we were stopped by Police telling us the road was closed for 20 minutes while a car was pulled up the cliff.  So, we had morning tea on the roadside reading the paper and laughing about the beetroot (wrapped in a red ribbon) that was fetching $41 on Trade Me – an unwanted Christmas present resold to an appreciative new owner. (Over the holidays we read more about the adventures of the beetroot - it is currently holidaying in Queenstown and has sold for around $150).  Harry wondered if the beetroot had forgotten to put sunscreen on which is why it is so red!!

There was a huge turn-out for the visit to the Ngarua Caves (probably due to the traffic jam earlier on), but we didn’t mind.  Spectacular limestone stalagmites and stalactites greeted us as we walked through the dimly lit caves, with an occasional illumination revealing their age in thousands of years (they grow approximately 2.5 cms per year).  Excavations of moa and kiwi bones were shown to be around 24,000 years old.  Falling from the top into the caves meant slow starvation – no food down here and no way to get out. 

We moved on, over the Takaka Hill, and to Pohara.  Our cabin is little – just beds for four and a deck, with some kitchen utensils and plates.  So, we are living out of the car for the next few days.  From the deck we can see the sea but can’t tell if it is low or high tide as there is a slight rise in the embankment.  It is a pity we aren’t down the other end of the camp as it is more sheltered from the afternoon wind that turns a lovely sunny day into a jeans and warm jersey day. Don and Judy arrived soon after we had rugged up and after hamburgers we had a long walk along the beach – by that time the wind had blown itself away.