Ohope from Kohi Point Road

Up early once again to some beautiful sunshine and a sparkling Pacific Ocean.  Coffee and a few final chores then it was off down the road.  Not 10kms down the road I passed a cyclist and as I was passing her I recognised K from the trip out to Cape Kidnappers (we were the only 2 from Nelson on the trip).  We'd stayed at the same campground and shared an evening cuppa, each telling a few stories about our respective trips.  I pulled over a little further on, waited for her to round the corner then stuck my thumb out to hitch a ride!  It's a New Zealand thing I think - such a small country.  Anyhow, we decided it was time for a cuppa, found a lagoon-side location and spent a pleasant hour or so catching up on each other's adventures.  

On then to Whakatane (via a short side-trip up Kohi Point where this view of Ohope caught my eye), and still further on through Tauranga.  I hadn't been looking forward to this part of the trip at all - too many main roads, too many people, too much urbanisation - but I was a mildly surprised at how well I managed it......maybe because it was Sunday afternoon!  Thanks Google :)  Stopped in an unknown random location just so I could watch the Prada Cup racing - very disappointing result for Ineos UK who are now 4 down in the best of 13 competition.  Let's hope they can pull a rabbit out of the bag on Wednesday.  Drove about half an hour further on to a pleasant but not spectacular wee spot just beyond Katikati.  

One thing I enjoy whether I'm on holiday or not is settling down to watch the 6 o'clock news.  Tonight's news brought some shocking news.....3 confirmed community cases and so Auckland is being put into Level 3 lockdown and the rest of the country, Level 2.  I rarely listen to the news during the day and whilst we'd heard of the community cases last night, I never imagined it would escalate to more restrictions.  I think that's a sign of how blasé I for one have become - a short, sharp 3-day wake-up call has to be a good thing in more ways than one.  

The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't so great - rain and some high winds forecast for this neck of the country, developing in strength through tomorrow.  Hoping I'll be able to get to J's before the worst of it, though J did text me to make sure I knew about it and to point me to a local facebook page that will keep me updated with the state of the roads.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.