Time flies on GBI, summer on the wane Our first anniversary of arriving on magical, mystical GBI is in just over a week! I often recall our first days here, when we were in awe at the peacefulness, the grand land- and seascapes, and the prevalence of bush! Now it’s familiar but just as beloved. We haven’t settled on a place of our own, so we’ll be signing a lease for another year at our totally adequate and perfectly located Kaitoke Beach House. I’ve written updates at the end of every month for a long time, but I missed February, with good reason: Paul and Mary were here for 19 days! Mary’s a professional photographer and they had four cameras between them, so aside from this photo that Ro took of dinner on the deck, we left all the picture taking to them. Once Mary uploads them I’ll have plenty (1000 maybe?!) to choose from, but for now, words will have to suffice to describe those days of delight. But other news first! This spring, Ro applied his passion for helping create a better world by writing a 22,000-word novella with an unexpected and uniquely important message. We’d love as many people as possible to read it, send us their feedback and pass it on to others. Download it free at https://entwinedrealities.wordpress.com Here are just a few highlights of Paul and Mary’s sojourn on GBI, which as expected by all, they LOVE LOVE LOVE as much as we do! * Ro’s birthday was during their visit and in addition to a dress-up at-home feast on the evening directed by kitchen whiz and whirlwind Mary and produced by Mary, Paul and me (after a morning kayak trip up Kaitoke Stream into the wetlands with our helpful friend Johnno and a two-swim day), we surprised Ro three days later with dinner for 11 catered by Caity, held across the road at the rental our friend Rose looks after, by permission of the owner! * On another day Johnno took us kayaking downstream on Kaitoke Stream, to its mouth between Palmers Beach and Kaitoke Beach, where we swam in the stream, walked around the point, and had a picnic! * On yet another day Johnno showed us an amazing phenomenon on Kaitoke Beach, the usually unswimmable beach just a few hundred metres from our door. At low tide the waves break onto a sandbar a distance from shore, not on the shore itself. Between the sandbar and the beach are large pools of beautiful, clear water deep enough to swim in! They’re not still, but dynamic with waves coming through and currents pulling down the beach, which just make it more fun, because it’s still safe enough regardless of the crashing waves just a stone’s throw away! I was absolutely gobsmacked and freaking out with joy at the miracle of it. We all felt exhilarated merging energetically with the wonder of the sparkling sea under a bright blue sky. I took this photo when Ro and I returned a few days ago at midday low tide. * We all took a short bush walk to Kauri Falls for a swim in a cool but idyllic pool in lush surroundings. Pending Paul and Mary's photos, this one is from the internet. * Mary and Vicky Kyan of Medlands, whose place they stayed at, offered a Yogic Nature and Shinrin Yoku (forest walk) workshop one Sunday afternoon. The attached poster was part of the publicity, which also included an interview with Mary on Aotea FM and an ad and article in the Barrier Bulletin. The campaign succeeded, the workshop was full, and Paul and I were two of the fully present, relaxed and happy participants. In addition to all that, Paul and Mary rode the Te Ahumata mountain bike track, went to the hot springs four times (at least!), Paul cycled the Forest Road to Port Fitzroy and back (a long way, to put it mildly), and even tried surfing a few times. We all toured north, south and west, and swam at Pah Beach once and Blind Bay and Medlands many times! In the last few days Mary and I buckled down and worked on her unique, brilliant and inspiring book and made heaps of progress. Before all the exuberance, exploration and fun of their long-anticipated visit, I’d made this start to my update…. Weather on GBI can be literally unpredictable! One morning early last month, with no mention of rain in the forecast for the region or Coromandel or Auckland (we use an amalgamation of all three to get an idea of what’s in store), cats, dogs, buckets and hose-downs of rain pummelled Oceanview Road for three hours totalling 190 mm!! Luckily it then eased and stopped, and all the alarming puddles that were becoming more like lakes, soon subsided into the sandy ground, or it could have become a water-world situation! Later we found out that the storm was not only localised to Great Barrier Island, it was localised on Great Barrier Island, with only ten minutes of rain in Medlands, just a few km away, very little north of Claris, just two minutes away, none in the south, and they were basking in sunshine on the west side, oblivious to it all! We’re going to be on TV for the second time in NZ! This also happened just before the Big Day of Paul and Mary’s arrival. The first time was in our early years in Golden Bay, for a show called “Neighbours from Hell”, and you can be sure that term didn’t apply to us! We initiated it because in addition to telling stories of needless conflict among people who didn’t choose to have anything to do with one another, the show sends along a mediator and we were hoping for resolution — no such luck with neighbours from hell! The experience here was a lot more pleasant! Country Calendar was on the island for a week to film a feature on Okiwi Passion, and they filmed Caity delivering our vegie box and recorded all the lovely things being said! More photos... This ever-changing scene at the southern end of Medlands Beach may now be nearly as familiar to you as it is to us! Vicky took this photo, which is the background of the workshop poster. Greens in our garden Hibiscus at the back deck Monarchs on cosmos at the Community Gardens A swan plant that provides food for the monarch larvae
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