Wednesday, March 25: Sunny and warm, one big dark cloud in the afternoon, but no rain

Tramping: Shakespeare Cliff Walkway/Ferry Landing, 5.7 km

On the Beach

Everything was very laid back and late this morning. I extended for another two days and asked about the kayaking, but the waves were too high today, so I grabbed a body board instead. The waves were indeed high and crashing very close to the beach, although there didn’t seem to be an outgoing current. One or two places much further down the beach seemed to have better breaking properties, and I was only trying out the waters for a bit. Came back, showered the sand off, went for a stroll around town, withdrew some cash and bought a couple of tomatoes for the cheese sandwiches I was having for lunch. Managed to get them toasted (or rather, fried) and that was fine.

Decided that today would be a day for walking and caught the ferry over to the other side of the river. Walked up to the top of the Whitianga Rock, then over the hill and around the reserve at Shakespeare Cliff, and back along the road. Saw a couple of fantails but they were quickly out of reach of the camera. Had a blackcurrant ice cream at a café for $5 (miss the hokey pokey) and was soon back on the other side. Quite a current as the tide goes out and the ferry was bouncing around quite a bit.

I had left the washing out to dry overnight and by lunchtime it was well and truly dry. The rei detergent I had with me (mainly for tramping tours) seems to do a good enough job in a washing machine. I had to dilute it in water to begin with and I’m not sure about the dosage. Two tubes may well be a good investment – perhaps one whole tube could be diluted into a lemonade bottle and used in 150-200 mL aliquots per washing machine load.

Evening was spent sorting out some time lapse series from Raglan.