The End of Oratia

Leaving Oratia today to head up north to Warkworth. It's been an enjoyable time here, but I'm eager for the change. The last week or so has been pretty mellow. Mostly reading books from the many shelves (Love in the Time of Cholera, Sleepers, and Girl with a Pearl Earring were the ones I managed to conquer). There's only a few places within walking distance of the house though. Reading on a grassy knoll in at a nearby field/Maori gradeschool/park was a semi-daily occurrence. The walk got us out of the house and in the sunshine. On the way there is a splendid little produce market that sells very cheap fruit and veggies - this became our favorite place to hunt for nutritious munchies and we walked the kilometer or so to get there quite often.

One morning, Monique's daughter Mischa drove us to Piha to explore while she surfed a few waves. She directed us toward a bush trek that leads you up to a waterfall.

Oratia has a lot of orchards, one which has been left mostly unattended that we began harvesting apples from. Made an apple dessert every night, and also started slipping it into breakfast foods whenever possible.

If I had previously thought that avocados were plentiful back home, I had no idea how numerous they could be! We have been feasting on avocados here. Considering that their creamy deliciousness was a huge treat back home, having a couple a day has me quite spoiled :]

Saturday was a festival in Auckland called Pasifika. It was a huge event - apparently more than 20,000 - at Western Springs Park, a beautiful oasis in a crowded city. 

This is a group of young men who played panpipes phenomenally. For many of them, coming to Pasifika was their first time leaving home.