Yes, it’s true. Derek and I have moved from inner city Grey Lynn to the stunningly beautiful but remote Hokianga. The slow reveal of retreating early morning sea mist and the ever changing skies and harbour vistas of daylight and sunset provide plenty of drama. And the astonishingly rich biodiversity keeps on providing surprises that bring delight (mostly). There are pipits and piwakawaka frolicking outside the bedroom window, kiwi and ruru calling in the night, spoonbills nesting in the mangroves, and restlessly swooping welcome swallows riding the thermals. There are some less desirable denizens – the rabbit munching nonchalantly in the middle of the lawn, the possum sneaking across the deck in the night, the magpies quardleardleoodling on the power lines, the flock of wild turkey careering along the road – but mostly there’s a balance of nature with the hawks munching on road kill and the predator-catching traps maintaining a vigilant presence everywhere.
It’s less than a month since we moved, so we are still unpacking and settling in – thankful for the help of various friends and family who have made journey to visit us, and the extraordinary efficiency of the movers from Allied Pickford and their ginormus truck who nevertheless managed to transit down our at times challenging unsealed road, safely.
