Castlepoint

I've heard people make rude comments about Masterton - I can now make up my own mind about it having spent part of the morning looking around.  It actually seems like a very pleasant wee town.  It has an array of good quality shops, it has space, it has beautiful parks, the people seem very friendly and the town seems clean.  The only thing I can really say against it is that it doesn't have a beach!  Being a bit of a water-lover I was already missing the sound of the sea so drove out to Castlepoint, about 70kms away.  A big, wide safe-feeling beach and a lighthouse perched not quite on the top of a promontory.  I of course had to walk up to it and by this stage the temperatures were pretty warm.  Fortunately it was neither a long nor a difficult walk.  Quite the opposite in fact.  Very short, very easy and very accessible for most people.  I almost went for a swim after I came back down just to cool off but, having decided not to stay where there are showers tonight, thought the tacky, salty-skin feel wasn't a good one to end the day on.

Sitting in van now perched right on the water's edge, happy with the sound of the sea in my ears once again :)