I was having breakfast this morning when I heard, out on the water by Baugher's Bay, what sounded like a, well something like, well a bloody horse, if you must know. So I popped my head out the hatch and there it was, or they were, a few horses being swum by their trainers (racehorses?) in the harbor as the ferries dodged past. Their laboured breathing was the giveaway.

I've been listening to

the fine New Zealand radio station Tahu FM which can be heard HERE which during the daylight hours plays mostly contemporary Maori language music--reggae/soul/Polynesian choral--and in the late hours moves to a hiphop whatnot. Time there is UTC +12 (winter) or +13 (summer)(Sept-April)

The local ladies

in Hawke's Bay are often very talented basket makers and weavers. In an area which looks pretty rundown and forlorn, wrecked cars in the yard, that sort of thing......here were artworks of a very high order created as part of the daily routine. Now, the women who make these baskets and other items seem very well aware that they are making beautiful and culturally significant items, and charge accordingly.

so where was I?

Months have gone by since my last post....I have been incredibly busy sailing around the azure-turquoise hellhole that is Lotarot. Forced to swim, sail and dive on a daily basis....and then eat scrumptuous food. But then this life isn't for everyone. I did take a trip to New Zealand in September where I saw this amazing sculpture on a beach house (bach) in Hawke's Bay.