In New Zealand, Labour Weekend falls at the end of October, and it's a great time for trips to the beach and BBQs. This weekend, we celebrated by driving to a new beach. Living on an island means we are spoiled for choice, and the beaches are so diverse, with rocks and sand, penguins and seals, fish and tide pools, seagulls and oyster catchers. You name it, we have it. Except warm water.
Lack of swimming aside, this weekend we went to Motunau Beach in North Canterbury. In Maori, Motunau means "grassy island" or "our island," and it's a great place for fishing and fossil hunting. Motunau Island is also home to 5000 breeding pairs of little blue penguins. We didn't see penguins, but we did find lots of fossils and see some dolphins playing in the wake of a passing boat.
Personally, I loved the rocks and fossils- a nice mix of the Tertiary sediments that cover the basement rocks in Canterbury, like chalky limestone, greensand, sandstone, and mudstone. Anna loved the driftwood, and after a picnic lunch, we made an awesome driftwood house. Anna got right to work making us line our shoes up at the door, building a bedroom and kitchen, and constructing an outhouse (or as we say in NZ, longdrop). I love her domestic skills, and never cease to wonder where she learned them. She's also a fashion hound, and wanted to use the seagull feather and driftwood as props in her photo shoot of the beach and island. All and all, it was a great day, and we can't wait to visit again- unless we find another beach even more beautiful in the meantime.
Longdrop! That's kind of, um, an ominous word for a place you'd dangle in the breeze to relieve yourself! I guess you really hope you don't fall in. That looks like lots of fun. It is really amazing to watch creative minds at work.
ReplyDeleteMelinda