Sunday, September 19, 2004

This is why...


...we have our little place in Opononi. This is the view from the lounge. The montage is not quite all of the 180* from Heads to the Maungamuka Ranges. . Posted by Hello

Friday, September 17, 2004

Opo - 11 and 12 September.

This trip did not get off to an auspicious start at all. For a start, the ol' gout has been playing merry he!! with the left wrist for the past couple of weeks. Spent the Wednesday through Friday dosing up on the aspirins. Think of it this way. It is rather like having your wrist jammed in the wrong end of a very hot vice, while someone casually hammers a long nail up from the heel of your palm into the bones of your forearm.

On top of that both of us had a very bad night on Friday night so that when the alarm went off at five on Saturday morning we were both pretty primed.

Despite all that, and with the help of the judicious, perhaps excessive, use of doses of painkillers we set out with a bright sunny morning and light traffic.

Breakfast in Dargaville at 9.30 and a good fast drive through the forest to Opo, arriving at just on Midday. Not bad at all.

Straight out to mow the lawn. I had no idea how the wrist would handle it. So it got well strapped (as for a sprain) and it lasted quite well.

Then it was "laxout max" for the rest of the day. I spent a couple of hours snoozing in front of the view. Warm in the sun...most calming for the spirit.

Then dinner at the pub. They know us well down there now - we are almost at "Just the usual?" stage. Not a lot of conversation this time which was a bit of a shame. Watched most of Auckland getting done by Wellington in the NPC then home to bed.

Sunday was the same - small jobs to be done. Took a look at the shower mixer. This is a nutty little problem. It has been set up so that the hot water flow is at a minimum. At head height for me there is barely a trickle comes out. At waist level (it is a hand held rose :D ) it has quite a good flow. But that sure as heck is only one half of the problem. I have to find out how to get inside the guts of this thing and adjust it.

By the time we left it was midday. I strapped the wrist this time to support it over the five hour trip. Good time. There was one idiot we met up with...driving down thrrough the windy bits north of Orewa in an 80kph limit with a long stream of traffic travelling at 80kph and he had to go overtaking...oh...whoops...that was ME!!! Don't feel proud at all.