Back Pipes in the Bay

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You'd never guess it was the middle of winter in Whakatane.
I took my boys and niece down to the infamous :Pipe" where myself and a few older mischief cousins and their friends would runaway to from all the chores of farm life and boring black and whte television. The pipe runs over an inlet into the main Whakatane river and before I was born my mother and her brothers would have to ride a horse and cart into it to get water for cleaning and laundry.
It seems pretty backwards but it made for some good down home folk and the kids love being in the wide open spaces away and the pressures of city life to dress and speak a certain way.
Back at the homestead you dont even have to wear clothes if you dont want too!!
OK thats a bit of an exaggerartion but the principles remain the same.

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Photos

My niece
Lrrissa lives on the farm but barely ventures anywhere unless it is in a vehicle that is heading to town. She is a product of modern living, but looks georgeous anyway in this setting.

the pipe in background
Me and my 2 youngest boys at the pipe.
This is one of my most favourite places to think and play when I was their age.

boys and their Grandpas dogs
In the open spaces at the back of our farm
the boys are able to run free with the dogs.
And it helps to tire them out!