Our Whangārei friends have a very pleasant and comfortable place but their Internet is really poor. So sick of photos taking forever to load. Deb's done a few Zoom calls — with difficulty. I need to stay offline while she does that.
I'm looking forward to our fast Internet back at Waikawa Beach.
Nice: we've ordered pizza to be picked up from Pizza Fusion nearby, and a live update on the web keeps us informed about where things are up to.
We're dog sitting for Whangārei friends while they're on holiday. Their house is large, very comfortable and pleasant to stay in.
I'm missing my own bed though, and my own stuff around me.
I'd also forgotten just how much energy goes into even very well trained and well behaved dogs …
Yesterday our friend Amanda drove up from near Auckland to visit. We had dinner at Pimarn Thai Restaurant where I ate Pad Him Ma Pan — stir-fried fresh vegetables, sweet chilli paste, cashew nuts, capsicum and mushroom with roast duck.
It was good but disappointingly, not sizzling hot.
At 3.30 am I had to let the dogs out for a pee. The bonuses were that I'd already been awake for ages and could now make a cuppa, that I spotted the full moon setting and caught sight of a shooting star.
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
Kiwis have chance to glimpse 'once in a lifetime' comet not seen in last 80,000 years:
Stardome [astronomer] Josh Aoraki told the Herald that the best place to see [Comet C/2023 A3] would be anywhere that has a clear unobstructed view of the western horizon.
"You're going to see a really bright star which is Venus, and if you look below that to the right, you might see this little fuzzy patch in the sky. That's the comet."
The Stardome astronomer said the comet was likely to have a tail extending from the back. … [and] the prime time to view the comet would be during a 45-minute to hour window just after sunset.
"It's a fairly bright comet. We don't often get bright naked-eye visibility comets.
A highlight for today: panfried fresh Gurnard with handcut fries at Jolt Cafe in Maunu. Truly delicious!
For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society two videos. The first from Waipu Cove about 40 Km south of Whangārei. The second, an hour later, from north Ruakākā Beach just a few Km north of Waipu. 🌊
At Ruakākā North Beach. Look at that white sand!
An excellent reason for banning dogs from Whangārei Quarry Gardens: there are kiwi in the hills.
Deb and I visited Quail Cafe in Whangārei Quarry Gardens. The food, beverages, ambience and service were excellent. I look forward to visiting again and enjoying a long walk round the gardens themselves.
I rather like this blend of hearsay and heresy. Nicely combines the idea of incorrectness and dissidence.
We're in charge of Boo and Rush for a few days as their family members have a holiday. The dogs enjoyed their walk at the park this morning. 🐶
Off to a good start on our travels today with Air NZ letting us know before we'd left home for the hour's drive to the airport that our flights were moved around. 🛩️
All packed up and ready to go, we now have an extra 2 hours at home. And our 1 hour at Auckland Airport converts to a 4.5 hour wait.
Sand mining proposal for Bream Bay endangers birds
Perhaps the most controversial project on the [Government's Fast Track consenting] list - given opposition to similar operations further down the coast - is a proposal to mine sand off Waipū Cove in Bream Bay.
Natalie Jessup, general manager of Tāngaro Tuia te Ora-Endangered Species Foundation, said the potential fast-tracking of sand mining was deeply disappointing.
"This is a heart-breaking blow for Aotearoa's coastline. Bream Bay, like Mangawhai and Pākiri, is home to some of our most vulnerable species, including the critically endangered tara iti [New Zealand fairy tern]. Approving sand mining here is not only environmentally destructive but a betrayal of the communities who have fought to protect these areas for decades."
Via: Northland's fast-track approvals show heavy focus on infrastructure
A pair of Paradise Ducks announced their arrival in the paddock next door. Meanwhile a blackbird serenades me from the railing of our deck. (Volume up; apologies for the shaky cam.) 🐦
An excellent quote from Moira on Schitt's Creek S05E06, Rock On! 🤣 :
Oh, Jocelyn, you'll soon learn that we aging mortals are blessed with weakening eyes and memories so we don't have to really see ourselves.
We learned of a new cafe in Levin, opened just a month ago, so we visited today for lunch: Old Courthouse Eatery.
Deb's coffee was apparently good; my hot chocolate was good. We both had bagels — in my case with halloumi, pesto and mushrooms. All very enjoyable.
We'll definitely be back.
Having just finished Book 7 in the series by Melissa Good, I moved on to Storm Surge: Part 1: Book 8 in the Dar & Kerry Series (Dar and Kerry Series 10) where I kept thinking I must have missed something …
It's right there in the link: even though it's named Book 8 it's actually Book 10.
A large part of the book deals with Dar and Kerry's part in assisting after the events of September 11, 2001. Frenetic! But also interesting.
Yesterday there were visitors at the place across the lane — it's a bit higher than our house. Around 10.15 pm their headlights as they left lit up my bedroom wall, with shadows from the cabbage trees outside dancing in the breeze.
