RAGLAN (A MID-WEEK GETAWAY)

When I was young I used to love getting lost in the world of Enid Blyton books, particularly the ones where children run away to join the circus.  I would lay in bed at night pretending I was snuggled up in my old wooden caravan while outside the circus folk were cooking sausages over a crackling fire and playing the guitar.  Somehow that dream has never really left me! 

The minute we unlocked the creaky old door to our overnight train I knew at least part of my fantasy was coming true!  I had actually been wanting to stay at Solscape in Raglan for years now because they have these amazing tipi's in the bush.  As fate would have it though they were going to prove much too cold to sleep in at this time of year so I reluctantly checked out their other accommodation option... earth domes, cabooses,  eco baches and *gasp* a 17 metre long original train carriage!!  SOLD!  We spent a cosy evening inside cooking up a feast while outside the wind howled and the rain pelted at the windows, even the lighting and thunder that woke us in the night somehow only added to the magic.

Raglan itself is a pretty stunning place.  It's a small town about two hours out of Auckland that is nestled in between a rugged coastline and a huge harbour.  From all accounts there are two reasons why people move here, to surf and/ or to do yoga!  All the locals know each other and life moves at it's own pace.  It's safe to say that we fell in love with this little place almost instantly.  We'll also definitely be coming back to Solscape over summer to try out the tipi's.
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SALTY SEA DOGS AND DESIGNER HANDBAGS

Sometimes on a Monday morning when the house is a mess and there's promise of sunny weather, you just have head out in search of adventure.  By mid morning we were bouncing along the motorway on the bus to the Auckland port in search of fishy sea air.  In my mind I like to imagine it the way it might have once been, salty sea dogs with peg legs and glinting earrings, the pungent odor of fish guts being fought over by greedy gulls, drunken sailors tripping out of illegal whiskey bars and fish mongers yelling their best price.  Instead you're met by this very odd combination of luxury apartments, gleaming yachts owned by Russian billionaires and huge restaurants that transform into meat markets (basically imagine Jersey Shore), jumbled in with rust bucket fishing boats, plastic containers of freshly caught sea life gasping for breath and the odd real weather worn sailor looking disheveled and a little out of place in this surreal surrounding.  Regardless of this, I love walking down the pier and watching the scenes unravel. Squeals of delight and gasps of 'look mama, a boat', 'look mama, a bird', 'look mama, strange lady' coming from Ayana's mouth in a constant flow as she sprinted along the harbour confirmed that she was a fan too! And so we ambled along the water for a couple of hours battling the wind (so much for sunshine) and taking it all in until the grumble in our bellies got the better of us.  We found a dingy ramen house, slurped our way through a big bowl of delicious noodles while the broth dripped down our chins and before we knew it, it was time to run to our bus and get home for a very late nap.
Now I'm sitting here typing and my house is still a mess, but for the morning we had it's totally worth the fact that I now have to scrub the toilet shortly before dinner.
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WHATIPU (cave exploring)

 

Sometimes during the middle of the week, when the sun is finally shinning, you just have to drop everything and head out looking for adventure.  Before you know it you're out of the city, you've driven your car through a little stream, stopped at a tiny corner store for a snack, and are winding your way down an endless gravel road in search of ancient caves.  

There's hardly a better reminder of how small and seemingly insignificant we are in the greater scheme of things than when you're standing inside a cave that is millions of years your senior.  Your voice echo's off the wet, dripping walls and the air feels heavy with age.  They say that Whatipu is haunted, that the lost souls of 189 men who drowned when their boat sunk on this treacherous shore line still walk the coast.  If you listen carefully you can hear their mournful cries.  Over at the historic Gibbons estate (now a lodge) there have been countless sightings of a translucent pink lady who paces the property and appears to visitors in broad daylight.  And yet despite all these drifting souls with their tragic stories, there is an incredibly invigorating energy out here.  As though if you stood high on the dunes and threw your arms in the air, the salty wind would blow all your troubles away in one powerful gust.

By the time we got home in the late afternoon we were completely sapped of our energy.  We wanted nothing more than to lay down in the sunniest nook of the house and close our eyes.  Exhausted, happy and content.

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THIS MORNING

sSometimes it seems that our ears are constantly filled with so much doom and gloom that we forget to embrace lifes beauty too.  That's how I've been feeling lately anyway.  Weighed down by one tragic worldly event after the next with no real end in sight.  So this morning when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, Ayana and I headed down to the beach.  I purposefully left my phone at home and wanted to only focus on my kid, the sand between my toes and the sun on my back.  It felt so good!  We ran down the beach, chased dogs (or rather were chased by dogs), waded through the stream, explored the old homestead and sat down to eat strawberries and peas from the pod  in a big hole that somebody had dug.  I felt this unfamiliar sensation flooding into me... I think they call it relaxation!  I'm looking forward to ensuring my summer gets a good dose of it.

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