It was a wild night, weather-wise (for me, there's never any other sort). And though this morning it was still pretty wet, I doughtily grabbed my umbrella and set off to re-acquaint myself with Takapuna, starting with the Firstborn's recommendation of a Beach Cafe almond croissant. Oh, yes. Mouth watering now, at the memory.
Duly fortified, I set off along Hurstmere Road, admiring all the gorgeous houses that are such a contrast to the simple (and infinitely cheaper, despite that $68) campsite life. I cut down then to the coastal track, about which I have written several times in the past and, dodging decent-sized waves breaking over the pathway, and exchanging cheerful greetings with equally wet dog-walkers, made my way back again to my Big Little Campers van, which I am happy to report does not have a vanity mirror. I had a prowl then around central Takapuna's shops and eateries, before setting off for my final - and finally independent - destination.
I felt like an old hand now, driving the van, and the route was initially familiar, so I cruised along the motorway through the city like a professional. A professional who had forgotten to plot the route, so it was a bit of a muddle at the end, but I did eventually roll up at Ambury Park, on the opposite coast's Manukau Harbour, just north of the airport.
It's a working farm open to the public, with camping facilities and lots of walks, and really well presented and especially child-friendly. Except, not today... (foreshadowing). It is also CSC (Certified Self-Contained) like Shakespear, so all I did was access the gated campsite and park. Done! The campsite was neatly mown, open, with lots of trees and views across the farm and the harbour. Peaceful? Hardly - cows mooing, dog barking, sheep baaing, roosters crowing, hens clucking, ducks quacking, pukeko squawking, cicadas clicking... Lovely.
The weather was back to proper summer, so I set off on the Foreshore Walk, an easy stroll through tussocky flats along the harbour edge, with hides, info boards and, again, plenty of pukeko for company. Keen to keep exploring, I headed off in the opposite direction, but the route wasn't clear and I got distracted by meeting Connor. He is a lovely Shire horse who let me pat him, and was willing to eat the grass I picked for him, but was clearly depressed, poor thing - and understandably so. What a shame. I hope he gets a new companion soon.
The other sad thing about today, I was informed by the farmer doing the rounds of every camper on her quadbike, was that the ruckus from the cows was because they were today separated from their calves, who at 6 months old were to be sent to market. They were now in paddocks about 100m apart, well within hearing range, and were calling out to each other continuously. Boo hoo.
I really regretted having a tin of beef chili arranged for my dinner, especially when I went out for another walk and got up close to both calves and cows - one of whom was a gorgeous Jersey, with enviably long, lush eyelashes, and all of whom were clearly well along in calf again. I tried to distract myself by visiting the goats, pigs, hens and turkeys, but just got hotter and damper in what was later reported to be 100% humidity.
But - no mosquitoes! So I used the van's gas cooker to heat up my dinner outdoors on a picnic table, watched closely by a pukeko, a duck and seven hens/chicks. I shared my dessert cherries with them, charmed to see the hen making sure all the chicks got some. And then, as the evening cooled, I sat in the van with the door open, smugly watching a movie I had cleverly downloaded, and thoroughly enjoying the ambiance. Apart from the constant cow chorus, that is.