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Published: April 4th 2010
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Thursday, April 1st
This morning we went tramping in the Okura Estuary Reserve. As we crossed the bridge spanning the Okura River Talita spotted a couple Flounder swimming around and feeding on the muddy river bed. It was our first time seeing these guys alive and we were quite impressed by their elegant movement.
Across the river we followed a beautiful track through the forest and got a good look at another Eastern Rosella. They seem to be very shy birds and we've yet to see one up close.
The track wound up and down a few hills and every now and then there were info on one tree or another. We learned how to identify three trees; the Kauri, the Totara and the Rata. Three seemed to be the maximum our brains could handle because although we read the info on other trees it all just turned to mush.
By the time noon came around our stomachs were growling. We found a spot under a big tree where we enjoyed our jam and cheese samies. Although we hadn't gone very far we were feeling drained. We decided to come back and hike the rest of the trail
another day.
On the way home we stopped for some groceries. We were naughty and got some Easter bunnies and Easter eggs. Mmmm... Back at home we had a nap on the couch, then cleaned our sweaty bods in the shower before going to get Chinese take-away for dinner.
Today's highlights:
1. Getting a better view of the Eastern Rosella.
2. Learning how to identify three types of NZ trees.
3. Chinese take-away.
Thought for the day:
We are experiencing a great sense of peace about where we are and what the future holds. Friday, April 2nd
This morning Team Smit packed their family mobile, strapped the kayak to the roof and set off camping with friends for the long weekend at Orere Point. Although we were invited we elected to stay and "hold the fort". We'd already visited the place they were going, but mostly we just wanted to have some time to ourselves. Once they were gone we literally spent the whole day watching movies. We hadn't done that in ages and it was great fun.
Today's highlights:
1. Spending the whole day watching movies.
Thought for the day:
We hope that everyone has a blessed and happy Easter and that none of us forget what we're actually celebrating.
Saturday, April 3rd
After yesterday's laziness we decided to have a productive day. We started by taking Birdsy outside and giving her a good bath. Then we put her up on some crates in the garage and sanded down her interior and gunwales in preparation for the varnishing. Then we made up a small batch of resin and filled the last few imperfections along the deck and gunwales.
We've never been happy with the look of the seats (even though they were very comfy), so when Talita noticed that the front seat was pulling loose we decided to redo the seats. We pulled them out, took off the canvas, then debated on what would be the best way to proceed. Eventually we decided on weaving a string seat and doing away with the back rests. We did a test with the little string that we had and found that it looked good and was quite comfy too.
We needed 44m of string so we walked down to the shops to try and find the right string. After visiting five different
stores we finally found the right string at the Mitre 10 (yes, we know we should've gone there first).
Back home Ferdi worked on the seats while Talita chopped up some cheese and fresh veggies that we had with rice crackers, hummus, and guacamole. Then we wasted our time watching a terrible movie before continuing to work on the seats.
Today's highlights:
1. A productive day working on Birdsy.
2. Great snack dinner.
Thought for the day:
When a movie is crap, turn it off. It won't get better.
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thetravelbugtribe
The travel bug tribe
Hey, if you make it any further north, please call in again, we'd love to catch up and check out birdsy and the boesman. If you're around over a weekend, maybe we can go kayaking or something. We're planning a Travelblog meet 17/18 April too if you're interested.