A Gentle Stroll

This was going to be the weekend Kitty and I checked out post-earthquake Kaikoura. I had the car serviced in anticipation of the not-very-long road trip but a seriously flat battery put an end to our journey. 

Let's have a holiday around home we decided (and we do need to buy some milk). Since new orthotics have increased my mobility, I have been eager to walk to Rangiora along a recently created footpath by the river. 

The road from Ashley to Rangiora has never been pedestrian friendly but this bosky walk, recently upgraded as the Tarapiroe Trail, takes a shorter if more rugged route along the river bank to the road bridge.

Coming out from this dappled trail onto the busy road bridge marked a change in the mood of our walk, and by the time we had reached the picnic area on the Rangiora bank we were ready for a rest out of the sun with some quick refreshments. 

If we thought the traffic on the bridge was busy we were in for a surprise at the showgrounds where it seemed the rest of New Zealand had come to colour our holiday.

Muscle Car Madness had returned as it does each January. Cars in unfamiliar places; queues of people on the road; traffic controllers in normally quiet spots...

And oh those cars! Of course I never quite had my camera handy when the longest or lowest, ugliest, or loveliest machines passed by but I managed to capture some of the madness all the same...

both heading into Rangiora, and back again, when everyone was leaving the show.

In Rangiora we made a point of exploring some of the shops we don't usually shop in, but for lunch still headed to one of our favourite cafes, Continental Bakery. With a mind to our walk home, Kitty and I both succumbed to these delicious little cottage pies.

Then it was time for a lie down in Victoria Park. When would I ever make time to relax in a park except when I am far from home? But today I needed a nap and I also needed to rest my feet for at least an hour. When I am travelling this is something I factor into my day if I have been walking a lot.

And after my rest we did a little supermarket shopping, bought cooling gelato cones from the new Vietnamese yoghurt parlour and felt that our day had matched anything we could do around heartland New Zealand.

Jeneane on Cones Road Ashley Bridge: Photo by Kitty Jamison
Photos taken with both Canon SX30IS and Samsung Galaxy S Note 5