A peninsular Tiki Tour

A beautiful sunny morning and the sea glistened in the sunlight!

Leigh and I decided to take a Tiki Tour of the area today and explore some of the narrow windy roads to little bays around the peninsula. I am in constant awe of the different blues of water and sky, a blend of cerulean, azure and aquamarine, sometimes pale and sometimes deep in colour – I can never quite capture it on camera but will try and experiment with paints later.






This was just the right time of the year to be in New Zealand to see the new growth everywhere. The new coppery red growth of the Photinea and the fresh lime green leaves of the oaks and the new pink structural leaf growth of the Toons. I love the unfurling on the tops of the tree ferns. Blossom is becoming more and more prolific as the days go by. The bottlebrush, Arum Lilies, Cinanaria, Toitoi, Rhododendron and Paulownia which keep the honey bees busy in many areas. I’m sure there are many I’ve missed here but all in all the diversity of colour is awesome.





We found a cafe hidden away in a sort of retreat. It appeared to be run by hippies and was certainly alternative. I chose a drink which was obviously a detox called “Liver Lover”. This was a smoothie made up from the juices of carrot, beetroot, celery and lemon. Hmm interesting taste but I kept reminding myself how good it was for my insides. Leigh stuck to a regular coffee and I wished I’d done the same. We also ate our way through a plateful of bagels with advocados, cream cheese and pine nut dips. All good.

The surrounding gardens were quietly secluded, and felt so relaxing after our morning’s drive. As we sat up on the decking surveying the scene a Tui was busily extracting nectar from nearby Kowhoi blossom. There were unusual works of art dotted about the garden among fruit trees such as banana and grapefruit.







We arrived back in time for me to experiment with the late afternoon light over the bay in watercolour, so with glass of Pinot Gris in one hand and paintbrush in the other, here is the unfinished result….

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