OPOTIKI

As promised Kate and Lyn came to collect me on the Sunday morning from the Youth hostel. We went to see some of their friends, then we drove for about nine hours to their lovely home in Opotiki. Along the way we stopped off for coffee in a place that was used in the Lord of the Rings films.
They have a lovely house out in the countryside.

It is surrounded by orchards growing Green and golden Kiwi fruits and advocados.
It was great to just go out and pick fruit from the trees. They tasted so delicious. It makes one realise just how tasteless a lot of the fruit is that we get in England.
The next day Kate and Lyn let me have the use of their spare car to explore the beautiful coastline.
I went for a long walk along the beach near Tirohanga and it was deserted. The photographs do not do justice to just how breathtaking the view of the mountains were in the distance over the beautiful blue sea. I loved it and I felt so happy and free just wandering along with my own thoughts. It made me reflect on the times I have felt so unhappy over the last few years and what I need to do to make sure that I never allow myself to feel that low again! Life really is for living. There is no time to allow people and situations to detract from the beauty of life.(No I have not been drinking, I just feel so strongly about life nowadays that I am not afraid to express what I feel and think)
I then drove for miles from Opotiki along past Te Kaha and as far as Waihau Bay.
I have never seen such fabulous coastline and there were hardly any people around. This really was what I had been searching for for so long. I felt so happy and contented just driving along and watching the sky change colour.
I loved seeing the deserted beaches covered in driftwood.



It was nearly dark when I eventually got back to the house. I was quite scared on the mountain roads at times because the massive logging trucks coming haring round the tight corners really fast.My heart was in my mouth a couple of times. So I was even more pleased to get back to the house, where I got a warm welcome from Kate and Lyn.
The log burner was on and Lyn cooked a lovely meal. I loved going to bed in my room because there were no curtains and I was able to gaze up at the stars and the black silhouettes of the trees through the window for ages before going to sleep.