Well I’m back – I hope the sudden absence of ww posts was not too much of an issue. I’ll make it up in the next few days., I have a couple of monty tales to share with you. I was enjoying a non boating holiday at a place called Akitio, a coastal settlement on the lower east cape (Nth Island). Other than some tarsal on a few of the roads it has remained almost untouched in the last 100+ years. The photo above, taken by our host David Plummer, shows how wild & otherworldly at can be. A special place that delivered on my holiday wish list – dog friendly, beach walks, open fire, driftwood to collect, great food & nice company.

Went to an amazing country hotel , the Pongaroa Hotel, we missed the local ‘Hunt’ by a day, but I have included below a photo of a previous year. They get 800+ hunters entered & the main street is just lined with the kill. Not a good event for the vegetarians out there 🙂

The 9 1/2 hr drive was draining but it does keep the day trippers away 🙂

ps For Baden Pascoe, I include a photo of a Lister engine that was center stage at the pub.