Our seasons of weather woe continue. An occasional redeeming day causes me to seek frantically for photographic opportunity before it evaporates.
On an otherwise fruitless trip to Pauatahanui, I was returning via Paremata and spotted a line-up of some thirty or more small yachts about to be launched from the beach. I assume that this was some sort of school exercise, but after a seemingly endless procession up the channel into the inlet, they were soon lined up in race-formation.
Last week, I had an appointment as a trainee photographic judge in Whanganui. We combined that with Mary’s ambition to walk the Pouakai Crossing on the NorthWesterly slopes of Taranaki. We found accommodation in Whanganui on Wednesday and prior to the judging session that evening, I went down to the North Mole at the mouth of the River and enjoyed the light on the seas rolling in from the Tasman. Coincidentally, today, Wednesday 15 March is the day of the third reading in parliament of the Te Awa Tupua bill which “makes the Whanganui River and all its tributaries a single entity with the rights of a legal person.” If you want to know more, follow the link for the text of the bill.
On Thursday, we drove to New Plymouth taking the coastal road through Opunake, and diverting briefly to Cape Egmont, and the lighthouse to the West of the mountain. Don’t be fooled by the blue sky. It was intermittent at best, and totally grey again by the time we reached New Plymouth. After checking in, we drove up to the visitor centre at North Egmont where they showed us the Mountain Forecast for the next few days. It predicted heavy rain on Friday and a few light showers on Saturday. The Doc rangers recommended that we ignore Friday and make the crossing on Saturday.
And so it was, that on Saturday, Mary visited her beloved aunt Marie at Fitzroy while her brother and I explored bits of the city. Paul is an artist in his own right, so the Govett Brewster Gallery and the Len Lye Centre were inevitable destinations.
Len Lye is perhaps most famous for his kinetic art and the largest of his featured works at present is called “Flip and Two Twisters”. It consists of large strips of stainless steel sheet. The two outermost strips (twisters) are connected at one end only, to a ceiling-mounted motor that has a vertical axis. The centre piece (flip) is a longer strip, attached at both ends on either side to another motor that operates in a horizontal plane rather like a skipping rope. The motors are computer controlled and put the strips in precisely controlled motion. The surprise for visitors who turn up for one of the scheduled showings is that they are offered serious industrial quality ear defenders. When sheets of steel that big are shook and twisted the noise is calamitously loud.
Saturday came, and contrary to the forecast, was very much wetter than the previous day, on which hardly any rain fell at all. The rangers told us that our intrepid duo could possibly do the walk, but that they would be in danger of being swept away by waterfalls, and that the tracks themselves would be like rivers. Wisely, they chose not to brave the mountain and instead did the coastal walkway from Te Rewarewa bridge at Fitzroy to the port 9 km away.
We set out for home on Sunday. and having enjoyed the emptiness of the coastal road on the way up, took the same route back.
We passed through Patea on the way home and I took the opportunity to look at the solid remains of the old freezing works. And that’s all this time.
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