Afternoon in Pictures

Catherdral Cove

It's summer time, what better time than to head to the beach and join the traffic!

Last weekend, we drove up to the secluded Coromandel spot of Cathedral Cove. A couple of hundred tourists had arrived before us, so we tracked up to the car park on foot.

Before starting on the walk down to the beach, we encountered a sign saying 'Do you need water?" indicating a rather long walk ahead and the convenient stall of food and drink nearby.

We set off with our own water along the track. It started off well downhill but was not all plain sailing. The constant up and down nature of the track kept our minds on the task at hand. But slowly but surely, my legs started to hurt.

I was glad when we finally reached the final steep stairs to the beach, but we had to wait for a while for tourists on their way back up the narrow stairs.

The beach and Cathedral Cove were stunning and the weather was pretty fantastic.

We clambered on the rocks and then headed into the sea. My brother was keen to jump off the main rock further out to sea several times as I floated like a starfish.

Found the beach toilets hidden in the trees after a little search.

It was rather like a tree house structure but was really a modern long drop. Once ascending to the top, found 2 toilets, each with large windows looking out to the beach. It was a bit of an eye opener privacy wise to say the least after encountering dark changing rooms most of my life.

Another thing that struck me on the white sand was the brazen attitude of tourists over possessions. They were quite happy to leave their large cameras in plain sight, not worrying about theft. I'd love to be so carefree but have become rather security conscious myself and was very thorough in secreting our bags.

Even if NZ is considered a safe place, I find it scary to leave things to chance. Unfortunately this fear can take you over if you let it, so I have to keep it in check!

After a couple of hours, we were back on the dreaded walk home. I had my wet togs on under my pants so it looked like I had had a rather unfortunate accident. Also as expected the walk certainly ripped my legs off and required frequent stops before I could contemplate walking another 3 metres.

Despite this we checked some of the other curiously named bays such as Gemstone Bay- which ended up being pile of rocks.

disposable camera

Remember when 'Staple Magazine' hit the streets in the early 2000s?

As with all new magazines, it had a fresh look and its bill stickers were all over the city when first released, only to fade into the background within a year.

Each month the back page featured the developed film of a disposable camera that had been given to some up-and-comer or famous NZ face.
Over 24 shots, the person took photos of friends or places, even swimming underwater with the camera.

I've never really been a fan of disposable cameras but they serve their purpose, when a digital camera isn't around. There is something final about film, without the handy erase button.

After leaving my camera at home, I bought a disposable before I left Napier for Wellington.
Lack of zoom, its obvious boxy shape and manual winder reinforced its status as a mode of convenience.
The environmental aspect of their disposable status is rather disturbing, but its a novelty I rarely repeat.

Capturing images along the journey, I went photo-crazy in Wellington. I think it helped that the shops were closed and less people were on the streets.

I was glad to be able to snap a golden sunset or an building without over-examining the photo, it seemed more about the moment rather than the camera for once.

I'm looking forward to finishing off the film and getting them developed. I haven't got a clue what to expect.

Mixed tapes

In less than a months time, I'll be making a large road trip east for a three week stay. A five hour drive sounds daunting but isn't too bad with a couple of mix tapes.

Once you pass Taupo, it feels like you are alone in the wilderness for several hours. Last time I made the trip, I only recorded half of the tape properly with edited songs. The rest was taped continuously off the radio with ads, DJs and callers in-between songs.

As my car isn't worth the splurge of a CD stereo system, I'm sticking with my cassette player. Instead of hooking in the ipod, think I'll try and make at least 3 tapes for the journey.

I've always been a fan of older technology such as cassettes. I bought tapes instead of CDs until they became completely obsolete.

My brother used to use a hack tape to record songs and then re-recorded them onto a final tape. I just record direct onto a tape and don't re-record unless it is quite a messy recording.

Its funny to listen to the older tapes I made since about age 12. I had an obsession with 80s music and only recorded a few modern songs.
The quality is not the greatest- grainy, half cut off and parts re-recorded over but they provide some entertainment especially on road trips.

For birthdays, I used to record special mix-tapes so I had a defined soundtrack of tunes for the day.

I'm only half-way through the first tape for the trip and it is taking a while as I only want songs I haven't been able to capture.

I better listen to the radio over the next few weekends, so I can achieve my 3 tape goal.

city + friend

I once lived in the big city but now I live outside in a smaller one.
Suburbia and me aren't the greatest mix so as often as possible I'll liven the weekend with an impromptu trip.

I drink in the atmosphere of bright lights, signs, noise and traffic but continue to be fascinated by dark alleyways, old arcades and empty developments.

So I seek them out, question safety and have a quick look usually with a camera. There is nothing better than being in an unexpected place, where you are not meant to be.

I try and balance the nosey with normal as much as possible.
Last weekend went with my friend to her favourite spots.
I hate to pay for parking so search high, low and far for a free spot and walk/bus/train it everywhere I can before I need to rip my feet off.

We got lost in northern suburbia looking for a trademe vendor and then trying to get back into the city.
After finding a free park close to the CBD, we strolled to outlet furniture shops and encountered a random market day with stalls of cheap junk.
By bus to the next location, she bought some fabric- a roll of linen, bag of fabric and pillows stuffed into a plastic rucksack.
That was a mistake cause then we carried it everywhere, careful not to break things or hit things on our travels.
It got a bit tight at one stage in a small paper shop, you could barely swing a cat let alone linen!

We spent more time on the bus than actual stores but it was a great day with doses of caffeine.

"Next time, we have to hit all your favourite spots" she said.

Must look for some new ones on my next trip just to keep things interesting.