Foxton and Levin.

Now parked in Koputuroa Road, Levin

Snow capped Ruahine ranges.

After a couple of relaxing days at Takapau we decided to head South to Foxton. Due to the Manawatu Gorge still being closed by a massive slip we took the Pahiatua Track road bypassing Palmerston North back to SH1. This took us cross country via Linton on SH 57 and Opiki on SH56. Travelling cross country was interesting seeing places not normally seen travelling the main highways.

House moving Kiwi style on SH2 near Dannevirke.

At Foxton we caught up with old friends,Dave and Angela who used to be our neighbours in Stokes Valley. After a pleasant afternoon together we headed on down to the beach at the BP Surf Lifesaving. Here there is a large car park right on the beach front.  Dot’s son Brent arrived from Wellington on a flying visit with mail which he considered needed dealing with. We eventually settled in for the night along with some surfers living rough in a station wagon and a van. The sound of the sea was enough to send me off to sleep but during the night the wind got up keeping Dot awake.

Foxton Beach with a storm brewing.

This morning the car park was a hive of activity with early morning joggers and the local racing stables bringing horses down to the beach for exercise. The beach is part of a local reserve where motor vehicles and horses are allowed on the beach but there is a 30kmh speed limit. The first horse was a trotter which was exercised in harness with a sulky but the next four were loosely tethered to a frame across the back of a utility which was driven along the beach at a modest speed exercising them simultaneously. About an hour later these 5 horses were loaded back on the horse float and taken away only to be replaced by another 5 horses a short time later. We even got a visit from the local constabulary who gave us a friendly wave and left.

Foxton Beach.

We were kept amused by the surfers who cooked up breakfast on a little camping stove and then set about dish washing in the toilet block underneath the surf club building. One of them decided it was shower time so he stripped to his swimming togs and lathered up under one of the cold showers on the side of the building which are supplied for swimmers to wash off the salt after a swim. It must have been freezing as the outside temperature was only about 13degC with a strong on shore wind blowing in off the Tasman Sea.

Exercise over it's back to the stables for these 5.

We eventually got ourselves organised and drove into Foxton to post some mail and then carried on to Levin. We had phoned some old friends of ours, Don and Sandra Webb in Levin, but there was no reply. Not to be deterred we drove to their address just in case they had changed their phone number since we last saw them. We had only been there a few minutes when Don returned home after mowing a neighbours lawn. He invited us in to await Sandra’s return from a shopping spree in Palmerston North with her 2 granddaughters, Ashley and Kelsey alias Brat. 

How to exercise 4 horses simultaneously.

When Sandra arrived home Dot and I hid because we knew that Sandra wouldn’t recognise the motorhome or our car. We heard her come into the house saying “who’s here?”. She got a big surprise when we emerged. Being typical Kiwi country folk they invited us for dinner and to stay for a day or two which we graciously accepted. Needless to say there has and will be a lot of catching up  to do (7 years worth).