10 seconds isn't long at all!!

I don’t DO crowds and I don’t DO queues ... unless I REALLY REALLY have to.

The ferry that we caught from Auckland to Devonport

Devonport Yacht Club

I’ve never liked having throngs of people around me as I don’t like not being able to see where I’m going or what’s around me ... it makes me claustrophobic. That’s why I DON’T participate in marathons or races or do last-minute shopping at Christmas. Crowds and I just do not gel.

Where I'm heading .... North Head

Some of the gorgeous houses along King Edward Parade

 The thought of heading over to North Shore to see the houses that’ve been renovated in “The Block” was enticing. We’ve been avidly watching the transformation of the various houses over the last few weeks and they’re now open to the public before being put up for auction. Having seen on TV the crowds that flocked to the opening of the Melbourne Block last year though put me off. 

I do enjoy a ride on the ferry though so joined Gav and Callum on their jaunt across to North Shore but left them to face  the crowds. The hound and I enjoyed a ramble to North Head to take in the views.         

                             

They had to catch a bus from the Ferry Terminal to Takapuna ... a 25 minute bus ride ... and then walk to Anzac Road where The Block is. It probably took them all of an hour to reach The Block and then they found the crowds

...  AND the Q !!

Message from Gav at 12.49: 
“We are here. 4 lines of q! Callum says ugh.
Message from Gav at 13.10 
“Down the first line. It’s quite a carnival here.”
Message from Gav at 13.32 
“Down second line.”

I was SO glad I hadn’t joined them.

They finally finished and caught the bus back to the Wharf at 14.44. In the meantime the hound and I had thoroughly enjoyed our ramble along to North Head and up the cone. The climb up the cone’s quite strenuous but the hound and I are tough .... we take it in our stride ... quite literally!

The cone has sweeping views across to the city and harbour and of Hauraki Gulf. It’s no wonder it was used as a lookout and defense site in the late 1800's. 

It’s an awesome spot and we plopped ourselves down on the grass at the top for a well-deserved rest and some mad-cap photo taking. 

Taking pics of the hound and myself together isn’t always easy ... she wants to be in on the action. I’ll settle her down and race to set the camera ..... and she’ll race WITH ME!! Settle her down again, race back again and then launch myself into position with her BEFORE the time elapses. 10secs isn’t long at all!!

She thinks when I throw myself down next to her it’s a game so the first few shots are generally of her delightedly giving my face a wash and me desperately trying to ward her off ... NOT a good look.  This time though I had the beep sounding on the timer so as to distract her ... the faster the beep got, the more quizzically she looked at the camera. 

Finally I got the pic I wanted! It’s full of fun, full of the view I love and full of my hound .... to me, it’s just perfect!

.... as was my day .... picture perfect perfection despite the chilly breeze. 

EVERY beach has a stick and she ALWAYS finds it!

We have a visitor from Wales in our part of the world ... Jessica, my cousin Bethan's daughter!

Thank goodness Sebatian's never taken to drinking coffee

Last night's sunset

I give my attention to the world when I ramble .... I focus on the little things around me ... the beauty I see even on the darkest of mornings, the humour I find in every situation - people around here wear the oddest of pajamas - or don’t wear pajamas at all ..... and the early morning sounds that shatter the silence as the world begins to stir.

I woke with the beginning of a migraine this morning .... up my neck and across my left eye .. I know what’s coming and I hate it - with a passion. Sometimes my rambles help ... I can focus on the space immediately around me and zone out extraneous information ... especially when I walk early and on the more secluded beaches.

Our rabbit on Cliff Road was out again bright and early ... I’m sure he’s someone’s escaped pet as he’s not at all phased by me moving closer to him.  He doesn’t like the hound ..... understandably .... she would give chase at the slightest opportunity. He’s obviously made his home in the vegetation above the cliff and I’m quite enjoying my run-ins with my new furry friend.

The tide’s still high at the moment as we head down to Ladies Bay ... it’s great for the hound for swimming but it means we can’t get further along the coast than the rocks that separate the two bays.  There was a flurry of activity on the rocks as I climbed up .... a flock of seagulls swirling and circling above the waves and the rocks. It was too dark to see what all the commotion was about but something was definitely disturbing them. I’d have taken a photo of them but the battery in the big camera was flat and I didn’t have the spare with me ... typical!

The rocks are a special place ... so isolated and protected by the cliff on one side and pounded by the waves on the other. It’s the first spot the sun hits as it pokes its head over the horizon, turning the rocks into great gold and glittering boulders. It’s my favourite spot to sit and watch the early morning

water traffic ... the kayakers as they head out to paddle or fish .... the fishing boats returning with their early morning catch .... the car ferry as it travels between Auckland and Half-Moon Bay. The daily commuter ferries are like busses ..... they scuttle across the waves between Auckland and several destinations with a regularity that I could set my watch by ... if I wore one!  I’m not sure what time the first ferry departs Auckland but there’s always a ferry going past when I hit Ladies Bay at 6.45.

The overcast skies and cooler mornings mean there are fewer humans in the waves when I head down to the village. There’s an elderly Asian lady who swims EVERY morning, regardless of the weather or the temperature of the waves. She does her warm up stretches on the sand and slides elegantly into

the waves and out to sea. I’m intrigued by her .... she says good morning but doesn’t enter into conversation. There’s a calmness and contentment about her that is almost zen-like.


Carol’s fast learning that the hound likes coffee ... she’s not content with JUST having my dregs

when I’m finished ..... she wants Carol’s too. After finishing mine she moves across and sits in front of Carol, eyes firmly fixed on the prize, willing Carol to drink faster! Carol’s a quick learner though ... it hasn’t taken her long to get the hound’s message ... drink faster she does, much to the hound’s delight. Thank goodness Sebastian’s never taken to drinking coffee ... the hound would lose out if he had!

We met the twins on the boardwalk again today ... they are such delightful little girls and love holding Sebastian’s lead. One of them asked me if she could hold Chocolat’s lead but Chocolat’s not Sebastian ... she doesn’t do the lie down and stay still bit very well ... so it wasn’t long before the

lead was handed back to me.  The twins have 3 older siblings and they’ve all been asking for a hound ... I think Mom has enough on her hands with 5 children all under the age of 12, she doesn’t need to add a hound to the mix! Just a thought ... maybe she’d like a Callum .... 


Sadly, the ramble didn’t do for my head what I’d hoped ... I succumbed to the pain, took my medication and collapsed. I hate taking meds at the best of times ... and especially these ones,  they leave me feeling zonked and totally washed out, but they do alleviate the pain.

Tomorrow is a new day .... and I CHOOSE for it to be a good one!