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You are here: Home / Archives for Anniversary

Anniversary

25 Years! (Part 2)

October 30, 2022 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I shared a few pictures last week of our anniversary getaway. The next morning, we tried to find some rock pools that Gayle had explored with a friend while doing supervision when this friend had his children on a visit, but the tide was too high, so we gave up. We drove towards Westport, and stopped at Tauranga Bay. We walked up the Cape Foulwind walkway, and enjoyed seeing the sights along the first part of it.

This is Wall Island, where several different species of sea birds nest. It is one of the few predator-free places in New Zealand.

Next, we came to the overlook above the seal colony. There were just a few mothers and pups hauled out. One pup was very active, moving around from place to place.

This rock was just offshore from the seal colony. We saw waves breaking over it!

This was a fun place to take a picture!

There is Cape Foulwind in the distance. A rain squall was on its way, so we turned around and walked quickly back to the car. We drove around to the other end of the walkway, but it was raining so we decided not to walk any more.

We went on to Westport, and drove out to the Tip Head, the end of the breakwall on the north side of the Buller River mouth. Then, we went back to the beginning of the breakwall and doubled back, going out to the beach again. We found this beautiful little garden, in memory of someone.

This beautiful picnic area was next to it, and there were wild cherry trees all around.

It was raining, and the Whitebait Festival was happening, so Westport was crawling with people. We decided to head home. I got these next two pictures while we drove through the Buller Gorge.

We ended up buying our lunch at the supermarket in Reefton and having a picnic, then walking around the Powerhouse walk because the sun had come out. It was a wonderful time away–I think we should do it more often!

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Anniversary, Buller Gorge, Tasman Sea, West Coast, Westport

25 Years! (Part 1)

October 23, 2022 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

This week, we celebrated 25 years of marriage. Looking back, it sure doesn’t feel like it seems that a quarter of a century should feel, but the calendar (and our 24-year-old daughter) prove that it has been that long. We decided we should do something to celebrate, and Esther offered to take care of the younger children for us, so we went away for one night. Esther only had two nights at home, and I wanted to spend a little time with her, so we kept this short. It was special, though! It was the first time we went away overnight without a baby along. We went to Charleston, on the coast just south of Westport, and found a motor camp where we rented a cabin for the night. (I can highly recommend the Charleston Motor Camp, by the way. It’s old and basic, but very clean and has everything you need.) After we settled in, we walked down to the beach, and then drove to another beach. As we were walking, we saw this family of ducks.

This was the first thing we saw when we reached the sea. This is Constant Bay, and there were some pretty impressive waves pounding in through that narrow opening! We walked around to the right, after admiring this for a few minutes.

This is Joyce Bay, on the other side of a tongue of land.

Next, we drove north a few kilometers to the Nile River, and out to the mouth. I thought it was fun to visit the Nile!

We ate a picnic here in this spot, beside a cold fire, and watched the sun sinking toward the rocks in the distance.

After we ate, we walked up the beach a little, to where we could see the sun set into the water. It was such a beautiful spot!

These little blue things, about 3 inches long, rather startled us. At first, I thought they were plastic toys, or balloons, or something, but we soon realized they were sea creatures. What really startled us was when we started seeing some of them moving! Watch the video, and the last clip shows one of them moving a little. These turned out to be blue bottle jelly fish, and according to an article I found online after we got home, they are actually four organisms in one. One is the float, one is the tentacles, and two others handle digestion and reproduction. They look fragile, but I stepped on the first one we found to try to see what it was, and it would not pop. It was very tough. They were all over the beach! We were glad, later, that we didn’t touch them, because they sting.

We sat on a log and watched the sun set. Such a special evening!

Next, I’ll share the rest of the pictures we took while we were away.

Filed Under: Away From Home Tagged With: Anniversary, Charleston, Tasman Sea, Video, West Coast

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