When the van battery went flat and our day was rearranged, we set out looking for a place for most of us to spend the afternoon while Gayle got the problem looked into. I wanted a beach with a picnic table and a toilet. We just took off from Takaka on a road going out to the sea, and when we got to the far side of Pohara we found just what we wanted! The beach was on one side of the road, and on the other, beside a tennis court, was a small parking area, a grassy spot with a picnic table, and the cutest toilet block I’ve seen in a long time!
After eating a quick lunch, Gayle and Mr. Handyman headed back to Takaka and the rest of us set off to explore the beach. Mr. Diligence, in the second picture down, had a set of “clam farms”. The boys had found some clams, and that gave him the idea. He found a set of streams of clear water coming out from under the cliffs, bubbling up from the sand, and worked to dam them up and direct the water to his farms. When he tasted the water, he was surprised to find it salty!
Mr. Inventor badly wanted to climb into that hole in the cliff.
Mr. Imagination with a scallop shell.
The boys found a cave, and climbed through a crack in the back of it up to this area. This is Mr. Intellectual.
Little Miss got to touch cold salt water for the first time! She was delighted, and badly wanted to get into it more. It was too cold, though!
The cold didn’t stop the boys from playing in the water! This is Mr. Diligence wading.
I was glad I had a spare set of pants for Mr. Imagination.
One of the boys found this spiny starfish.
Barnacles
Mr. Sweetie
Mr. Sweetie building dams for the clam farms.
Mr. Diligence and Mr. Sweetie
We also spent a little time getting some 6-month pictures of Little Miss. She loved crawling in the grass!
Mr. Inventor collected mussels and oysters to take back to our house to cook that night.
What an artistic toilet block! I love finding beauty in unexpected places…