Saturday 14 December 2019

Pataua

When the pohutukawa blooms there's no denying Christmas is getting closer.  It's not called the Kiwi Christmas Tree for no reason.  I think Antipodean Holly is appropriate too.  The pohutukawa around here are not in flower just yet but they are almost in full bloom along the coast.

My daughter and I parked under one last weekend when we took a drive to Pataua South for a picnic lunch.







Pataua South is a small coastal settlement of about 100 houses (mostly holiday homes) that still maintains that untouched feel.  It's on the banks of the Pataua River and is connected to Pataua North by a footbridge.  It's a pleasant half hour drive from Whangarei, so just over an hour from here.  Leone and I went for a walk across the bridge, then she carried on through Pataua North to the surf beach, where the strong wind did not invite her to linger.
Same bridge, different seasons, high tide and low tide


The bridge is just wide enough for people to pass.  It's a popular spot for youngsters to leap into the water at high tide.  



















I'm totally frustrated with Blogger.  I know I'm no tech whizz but I'm like that all the time.  Why can't Blogger be the same all the time?  Instead of having days like today where there's a huge white space at the bottom of my post?  It's very annoying.  Never mind, I'm off to take photos at a wedding this afternoon, that should lift my spirits.




11 comments:

  1. That tree is very festive for this time of the year. Really beautiful. Blogger is weird for me too sometimes. Wish I had some advice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You just need to hit the delete key after you rlast period. For some reason the html is seeing lots of return key hits Love the way your side of hte world gets such a lovely Christmas season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. html scares me, Tabor. I'm sure I would only makes things worse if I ventured there.

      Delete
  3. Lovely shots. Cheered me up in my dank dark world. It's been a good few days with your pictures and the decimation of the Marxist scum here.
    If you have problems then go into HTML mode and delete the multiple paragraph signs, I can do a HOWTO if you like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Adrian, I accept your How To offer. html scares me. I've forgotten all I ever knew about it which wasn't much in the first place.

      Delete
  4. I remember going there with you. I seem to recall a campsite that said NO VISITORS in very forceful language and even you were daunted. Or was that somewhere else?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, Graham, you remember correctly. I told Leone about our visit to the camping grounds but it is an entirely different place in summer, crawling with happy young people. I've looked for my photo of that sign but can't find it. It did give us a laugh, didn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. To err is human, but to really foul things up requires technology.

    That's a beautiful picnicing spot!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful photos Pauline. It looks a lovely area and the Pohutukawa tree is gorgeous. I've never heard or seen it before so thank you for sharing it. I've had my own blogger issues and I hope yours doesn't continue to be so frustrating. Have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Denise, I tell myself if I go messing around with stuff I don't fully understand, there are bound to be problems. Cheers.

      Delete

I love to know who's visiting. Leave me a sign!