so more things of New Zealand, then. yes, i do indeed have a few more images and stories to share, look you see. not quite sure, as in i don't rightly know, who would have an interest in such, but, well, so as to say this again (or once more), here we are.
as part of the planning of my odyssey it was so that my sister booked all of us in for a week at a place called Mangawhai. well, when i say all, like, you know, family. it would undoubtedly have been lovely to take everyone (not already there) in New Zealand with us, but that would have been likely frightfully expensive to do so. one cannot throw their arms around the entire world.
the most interesting this is my inability to recall the name Mangawhai. you would think i could, since a significant percentage of my time in Aotearoa was spent there, but hey, me. it is likely that both Katie and Daniel would take delight in telling you the various names i used for the place. from what i can recall at times i called in Waghamaga, Mangawangamoo or similar.
oh goodness me, yes, there are quite a few pictures of moi in this post. as point of fact i believe that i feature in all of them. so, once again, if for some reason you come here to read this but have a preference (to be fair an understandable one) not to actually see me, you may wish to do some deft swiping. or, you know, take it all in.
which (or what) body of water am i stood in there? the Pacific Ocean, i believe. some of good memory, or simply like to take me apart, may recall that i made a vow not to stand in any significant body of water again unless it was the Aegean. it's also that i vowed never to get on a plane of any description again, what can i say i am not to be trusted.
no, i didn't go swimming in it, just stood there, letting the water flow over my feet. i did take some swimming attire with me, but didn't wear it that day. believe me, there's a very provocative image of this to follow, kind of. it would be unfair to say that i elected not to swim in this ocean due to an unfounded fear of sharks, but that's up to you.
from my side there's no issue whatsoever if them what do the tourism promotion (advertising) for the place (Mangawhai) wish to use the above image. yes, i am wearing both my preferred hat and them sunglasses i got what i for some reason think are quite Natural Born Killers. further yes, i am indeed enjoying a nice cigarette (sorry), as there were no "no smoking" signs and i disposed of it when done in a responsible, dolphin friendly way.
did i spent a great deal of time at the beach? not as much as you might think. i mean, yes, it is famous for being, and celebrated as a splendid coastal beach resort. i am just not really all that much of a beach person, alas. for those looking for smart beach places, well, yes, i would say with confidence that Mangawhai excellent, but also i am not all that qualified in this.
sadly i don't have any pictures of them, but something which really caught my attention at Mangawhat was the many "cliffside" houses i saw. they were beautiful. far, far beyond the reach of my humble budget, and rather a distance from my place of verk. one or two of them very much reminded me of that most excellent house in my beloved Body Double, which was excellent.
yes, that's me with Mum and Dad, enjoying an ice cream in a sort of cliff like area above the beach like area. oddly, sadly (maybe) there aren't anywhere near as many pictures of me with Mum and Dad, or the rest of the family, as you might think. but not everything has to be documented, some experiences shall linger on as memories for all the time one has. yes, for those who(m) for some reason looked at my feet, i am indeed wearing some dapper slides. Gill insisted i get some.
did Mum and Dad have a good time? yes. it was a delight to spend as much time as possible with Mum, with just family time really being my only ambition. as a plus we got to play 2's and 8's, along with other games. in regards of Dad, well, he did (very much) Dad things. one particular incident probably warrants its own paragraph, so.
there was the one morning i woke up, went through to the kitchen and found Dad already up. it was not, from what i remember, the morning he elected to wake up so as to watch Middlesbrough FC labour to a draw. he, on seeing me, advised me that he "urgently required an aids test". i suggested, in a most insistent way, that i would really prefer to have at least one (1) cup of coffee and a cigarette (sorry) before going any further with the conversation. this i did. it turns out that what he actually wanted was one of them 'covid' tests (remember them?) but he had been reading the Bernie Taupin book and, having a bit of a fever, got somewhat confused.
more on all of that shortly, but first, to punctuate the prose, another pic. and yes, one of them selfie type ones, taken by my sis, Gill, who is the one with the smart Bono like sunglasses that isn't me in the above picture. from what i can recall Daniel and Grant were off being busy looking for sharks in the water, whilst i decided to have another cigarette instead.
so, tests and Dad. actually, discretion and privacy says that i cannot say all that much more. but what i can tell you is that yes, Mangawhai does indeed have a chemist (or pharmacy). i would not call the relationship what Dad struck up with the staff there (one member in particular) as being particularly constructive or beneficial, but still, all done now, i suppose.
golf featured an awful lot more on my odyssey than i had either anticipated or expected. if that isn't saying the same thing twice over. any why not. the golf, that is, on the and why not, and not any form or type of semantic debate on language.
it turned out that there was a minigolf course at Mangawhai. possibly more than one, but we found this one quite close to the chemist what Dad is probably now banned for life from. also it was across the road from a Four Square shop, where one could purchase cigarettes. generally all win, then.
also it turned out that both Katie and Daniel were most keen on this form of golf. i found this to be splendid and most agreeable, as i enjoy it to. the bloke what ran the place was lovely, and in many respects symbolic of the friendly ways i found across the country. it was late on, so he charged us a lower price and said we were welcome to play a couple of rounds. nice one, man.
would i like to return (or go back) to Mangawhai one day? certainly. there isn't a single part of New Zealand that i saw which i would not dearly wish to see again. family, mostly, but truly they have all found a wonderful place to make home. granted, or sure, there might be some trepidation in returning to Mangawhai knowing that we might not be at all welcome at the chemist thanks to the sterling ambassador job Dad did there, but we could always just take a supply of pills, bandages and what have you with us, including aids tests.
now then. earlier i promised (if not threatened) some visual evidence of my going (or doing some) swimming whilst there. such an image is below. one cannot unsee what they see, so do continue beyond these words of your own decision.
it is so that warned, you have been.
around the time this picture was taken (obviously after) i shared it with friends on one of them social media platforms. yes, the book one. i chose to share it with the simple, humble and modest title of British Beefcake. this did not go down well. from what i recall the most polite and diplomatic responde i got to this was simply "where?".
let me leave this here, then, for now. it is indeed so that there is now a dwindling level of images from my trip to share, you may be pleased, saddened or indifferent to learn. perhaps i shall mix them up with posts on other subjects, so as to make it all feel more closer.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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