Capitaine Bouganville memorial

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Holly was right, it knows how to rain here! During the night, it rained enough to wake Alex, so it must have been heavy. But it cleared gradually during the morning, so your intrepid explorers set forth to gather news from the far corners of the earth. We decided that, as the bush tracks would be slippery, we'd walk along a coastal path from south to north, from one known to another, but undiscovered in the middle. And it was lovely, if a trifle hot. We set off from just north of Matapouri and walked up to the memorial on a headland just south of Whananaki - the place with the long bridge. The monument is not to the man himself, but to a freighter with that name, which caught fire offshore in 1975, and the lifeboat capsized, drowning 16 men.

By the way, the map situation has improved after we visited the land survey shop in town and bought some walking maps. A bit late, but we'll leave them with Robyn and they'll be handy for my next visit!

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Photos

Along
the cliffs. The path kept diving inland to cross over streams, but we could always hear the sea.

more sea
and cliffs - looking south this time.

Why is Alex always in front?
Heading back to sea.

Mantrap
there was a big hole by the gate, which Alex fell down. He refused to do it again for a picture!

close to the sea
what a retreat for a holiday!

Along the headland
to the memorial.

Here it is
overlooking where we stood with Beb and George a month ago.

I see no ships
but there were surfers in the bay.

grasses
As I took this one, I recognised the grasses. Wondered why I'd been sneezing and my eyes itching!

Reggie Perrin
and the pink frogs.

perfect end
to a hot and humid day, a dip at Whale bay.