People round here go to some lengths to get their vehicles onto the beach (legally a 'road'). The river loops back on itself just now so there's nowhere for most vehicles to go.
Locals dug a channel between the two streams to send the river straight out to sea.
Didn't work so some chance it…
Another good read: Killing Grounds (A Kate Shugak Investigation Book 8) by Dana Stabenow. The 4th of July hijinks were fun too. 📚
Cal Meany is a cheat, a poacher, an abusive father and an adulterous husband. So nobody is that surprised when Kate Shugak finds his body floating in the bay.
Erratum: that seal photo I posted yesterday — apparently it wasn't a Kekeno | New Zealand fur seal:
It appears it was a Subantarctic Fur Seal, and DOC were quite excited as they do not normally come this far north. Reports are that after a nice day on the beach it has headed out to sea again.
It's the season (August to October) when some of the driftwood on the beach turns out on closer inspection to in fact be a Kekeno | New Zealand fur seal, come ashore to rest.
Update, 14 August 2023: apparently this isn't a Kekeno:
It appears it was a Subantarctic Fur Seal, and DOC were quite excited as they do not normally come this far north. Reports are that after a nice day on the beach it has headed out to sea again.
One of the things I loved about our Traditional Garden View Villa
at Sinalei Resort was the almost or fully outdoor bathroom. Here was the shower. 🇼🇸
On the plane to Samoa one of the bathrooms was painted to resemble shelves full of books. Titles included:
- The Importance of Aiming
- Origami Guide for Toilet Paper
- Race to the Outhouse by Willie Maykit
- The Porcelain Polishers Guide
- Designing for Small Spaces
- Aerial Hitchhiking
🤣
And, 12 hours after leaving the resort in Samoa, at a pleasant 28C, we’re finally home where it’s 0C. 🥶🇼🇸
On the AIRNZ flight it took forever to get a cup of hot water I could put my green teabag in. Eventually it arrived. For a second cup I just had them fill it with cold water. That sort of worked. Kinda.
Samoa’s airport scanners must be on the older side. Had to remove shoes, and even my watch. Meanwhile the plane is delayed 45 minutes, so now we wait. There’s a big array of solar panels right next door too. 🇼🇸
Today we leave Sinalei Resort in Samoa and make our way home. That involves about 5.5 hours in the air, a couple of hours driving, and of course lots of waiting around in airports. 🇼🇸
Sometimes members of staff entertain us with singing at breakfast.
Samoa today: 24–28C; home 3–11C. Brrr.
Just had the best lunch ever at a surprising cafe in Apia called Rivaiv. It was like a Wellington cafe. Utterly delicious Teriyaki bowl with chicken. 🇼🇸
There are worse places to sit and read. 🇼🇸
That earthquake I felt this morning was listed at M 5.9 - Tonga. It was some distance away and moderately deep, so for me, sitting in bed, it was just a gentle shake. Deb was standing up and didn't even feel it. 〰️ 🇼🇸
Pretty happy with this handheld shot on my iPhone of the Milky Way just by the tail of Scorpius. 🇼🇸
Stellarium screenshot.
This 10 minute video will interest many I think: This town banned cars (except tiny electric ones):
Zermatt, in Switzerland, bans all private cars and all gasoline cars. But if you run a business, you might be able to buy one of the special, tiny ones that are built right there.
It seems there's a Fish Reserve by the Piula Theological College in Samoa. There are quite a few rules about ways not to fish. I liked number 2: No fishing with dynamite or poison
. 🇼🇸
Cows, owned by families in villages, roam around the nearby countryside in Samoa. I don't think either this cow, or the Myna Birds would find anything much to eat among the discarded plastic bottles. 🇼🇸
On Monday we went for a drive around the island of Upolo in Samoa. I've been welcomed to websites before now, hotels, houses, conferences… but never a bridge! 🇼🇸
I see Joy Ellis as an author I enjoy but this book just didn't sit right with me. In The River's Edge (Jackman & Evans Book 10) we sometimes see things from the point of view of the baddies who used veiled language to talk about things like The Target
or Phase 2
.
Meanwhile the cops can't find out much but sometimes gasp when they see a photo, but the reader doesn't necessarily know what's going on.
By the end the detectives rely on a mystery source to reveal things to them. The most astute reader would not have been able to solve this series of crimes because the info just wasn't there.
All a bit frustrating really. 📚
So far today major events haven’t included photos. Very small earthquake this morning. I spotted a Humpback whale playing offshore. Then I saw a Frigate Bird high overhead. ✅ 〰️ 🇼🇸
