Little Barrier Island

Typical early morning run at Snells Beach, although this morning I went up onto the top of the hill in the Highfield Reserve, which is where I had this view of the mass of Little Barrier Island beyond Tauwharanui Peninsula. A dried seed head of New Zealand Flax provides a counterpoint in the right foreground. Worth seeing large.

Back at the beach house, I discovered that the supreme escaper had once more absconded. Our holiday with the boys ended today, and I had to be back in Auckland for a number of appointments, and S and the boys were off to the airport to collect daughter C. As we are staying in Auckland for at least one night, Buttercup had to come too, and go home with the boys.

I shut and locked the catdoor, and no other doors or windows were open. I was happy to go off on my run knowing he would be there when I returned. As I got to the door, there was the catdoor lying on the deck. It had been partly broken some months back, but I was pretty sure it would still keep in this little fellow. No, it wouldn't.

Leaving the door onto the main deck wide open worked, and he sauntered back in. Mr H collected him and we shut him in the laundry. Comes time to put him in his travelling box, and we carefully opened the laundry door. No sign of him anywhere. Eventually found. He had opened one of the cupboards under the sink, and was sitting quietly right in the back.

We won this time, and he came back to Auckland with us.

Daughter C safely back from Viet Nam; a school trip, so very tired from supervising a bunch of energetic and often excited teenagers. Boys delighted to see her, as were we. All quiet in the apartment now.