New Zealand Day 30

P.S. from the previous blog - here is the group at the Duke of Marlborough for dinner last evening.  It was the last evening of the fine Northland NZ weather.

Cyclone Gabrielle hit with full force today, so not too much to report.  We hunkered down all day listening to the rain pelting the villa and the wind whipping the trees and bushes.  We could only see across the bay off and on.  The wind started last night and blew hard enough to open windows and rattle the ventilation fan louvers.   The electricity started failing this morning and was intermittently unavailable most of the day.  Fortunately, we had enough time to heat water and use the microwave for breakfast preparations.

Varis, Dennis and I drove down to the center of Russell, looking for coffee and found that the only place open was a bakery next door to the grocery store.  The bakery had great baked goods, baked in the early morning starting at 3:00 am, according to the baker's wife.  We ordered coffee but the electricity went out a couple of times so the coffee was only partly brewed and then was filled with hot water and not very good.  The baker's wife, who was behind the counter was frustrated but was appreciative that we stopped in.  She then said, "I think I will close up and go home."

The three of us drove back toward our holiday park but diverted over to Long Beach for a look at the surf.  It was in full fury, with waves and wind coming directly off the water.  However, the coffee cart was open and doing brisk business; the side away from the wind was propped open with a stick.  Varis got another coffee and I got one to take back to Betsy.

Midafternoon Betsy, Leslie, Jan, Ron and I decided to drive down to town again to see if the book publishing museum was open - it was closed due to the weather.  I drove everyone again over to Long Beach where the waves were even bigger than in the morning and the coffee cart was gone.  The wind would hit the crest of the waves and blow the water as spray.  The photographs may not show this clearly.

Betsy and I returned to the villa and read/napped until dinner time.  We decided to have another group dinner instead of trying to find an open restaurant.  We initially thought we might use the communal cooking facilities provided by the holiday park but instead decided to cook and eat in Jan, Ron and Varis' 2-bedroom villa.  The women made the run to the grocery store to get supplies - sausages, salad fixings, bread, and ice cream bars.  It was a successful meal and a good time with little need to go out in the weather.  After dinner, we watched a 30-minute video of Jan and Ron's Antarctic adventure in late October and November - great photos of Patagonia, icebergs, and penguins.

As I write this, the wind is still gusting, the rain is still falling and being blown sideways, and, according to the weather forecasts, both wind and rain will continue for all of tomorrow.  (It appears that the Auckland area is getting a worse dose of this storm.)  The electricity has also failed several times while I write this and the blog keeps flashing "update failed."  The WiFi service goes out and what I have typed is not being saved.  But fortunately, the WiFi comes back, and I have carried on.  It is time to let Betsy edit my words and add some of hers.