In Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, the powers that be have created miles and miles of limestone or concrete paths, for bicycles and walkers.
Miles of them.
Right through the wetlands and the farms and down the beaches and through the country. You can walk and walk.
Tourists and locals, able and disabled alike can enjoy the absolute peace of this glorious place without the presence of cars or four wheelers or motorbikes. Just the quiet. Nice easy walking. No fees or doormen, or campers or gates, or fear. Some start out along the roads or railway lines then veer off into the country. Just wonderful peaceful walking. If I lived back here now I would be on these boardwalks every day.
The beach is still a magical place. Though there is now an explosion of beach flowers along the waterfront. It is wonderful.
Along the foreshore in Napier, New Zealand are a series of concrete bunkers. 
These were gun emplacements built during World War Two when the threat of invasion from the Japanese was a very real and incredibly scary possibility – for a little country such as New Zealand. (There are other coastal strongholds that are even older from the 1800’s when it was thought the Russians were going to take over – but we have never been invaded, not in an aggressive way anyway. ) The bunker we found was from WWII.
When we were kids these were over grown with grasses and beach trees and were the hang outs of less than savoury characters. Though we still climbed all over and inside them making up our own war games when the unsavoury characters were gone. Against our mothers express commands I might add.
We are still playing.
Good morning!
Today is a glorious day. Since the wedding it has warmed up beautfully, of course, so we are going to be showing our visitors even more of Hawkes Bay today. I will be showing you too. When I post tomorrow.
I almost made a terrible error yesterday. I forgot that the blog fed straight to my Face Book page and the bride asked us not to put any pictures of her wedding on Face Book. This is why the images of the day were so subtle. But still. One does not want to get in trouble with ones new daughter in law! So I took off the feed to facebook yesterday. When the ban on photos is lifted I will go back and put some beautiful wedding pictures back in. And today we are back to normal blogging protocols.
Tomorrow we drive up to Castle Point to stay in another wee house. But this one has no modern connections at all. So I will be gone for those two days. Then off to Wellington we go. But today is ALL Hawkes Bay.
I hope you have a lovely day too.
See you tomorrow!
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
44 responses to “walking the dog”
Your photos are so lush and rich – I am sure a metaphor for your experience. And I have a dog crush.
he is a rather large crush too and much gentler than a kitten! a really gentle giant of a dog.. c
What a beautiful place! I would walk those boards daily, too, if I could. 🙂 I’m taking lessons from you about how to share from a special wedding when the couple wants to retain privacy. My son is getting married in January and in a lovely vacation destination, but I don’t think they’re going to want their photos shared either so I’m paying attention. You are beautifully discreet and your photography is lovely. Continue to drink up that fabulous salt air. I feel refreshed just looking at the photos!
The air is just wonderful, though it is pretty wonderful out on the prairies too.. c
Ha ha – I don’t blame your daughter in law. When I was little there were quite a few WW2 bunkers on the beach and even a few air raid shelters in the back garden. Most were bricked up or pulled down, but some were still open. A few bunkers have been converted into homes these days – I can’t say that I’m completely convinced by the conversions 😉
those bunkers must be pretty big if eople can live in them, ours are kind of tiny but still a wee bit thrilling.. morning mad.. c
Most of them were just one room with 3 or four slits for guns, but there might have been larger ones on the east coast. I suspect some of them have been enlarged in order to turn them into dwellings and the attraction would be the sea views. I think I’d prefer a nice Victorian seaside house 🙂
What kind of dog is that. I loved his face from the wedding photos! Have so much fun!
He is a black russian terrier.. very sweet.. c
Hope you have an awesome day Celi, wish you were here for longer but I treasure the time I had with you. I started reading the book and have already laughed and cried. Must go off to work now. Love you
glad you are reading it already G, have a great day!.. c
Beeeautiful pics today, and yesterday. What a wonderful beach. I would tramp miles too. Loved your words yesterday describing a wedding. I am imagining all that lovely sea air and endless sky.
Good morning.. weddings are full of pitfalls.. but then it all comes together and none of that fraughtness matters any more.. and they gives me an excuse to get out of farm clothes and wear a dress! c
Such beautiful scenery! And the dog’s not bad, either. Is it a Bouvier?
Black Russian Terrier.. .. a lovely dog.. very laid back.. c
Endless [flat] coastal walks, flowers and that sky! But more, the wonderful memories, present company and lovely dog… walks are always better with a dog 🙂
I agree, walking a dog makes a lot of sense.. and they just Love it! my grandmother used to say that eople who walk their dogs live longer.. there are a lot of reasons why that makes sense! c
The farm stay that we stayed at (Bossu at Wainui) had emplacements and Chris was enthralled by them. It was a beautiful place and we enjoyed our short time there. I love the photos you shared today–they are simply wonderful and relaxing and lovely and I have run out of words to describe the feelings that they stir in me. I love that you are posting while away–makes us all feel a bit closer to you!
Hey Celi .. wonderful shots as usual. Isn’t NZ beautiful! I loved the pics of the wedding – yes indeed, very subtle. Must find you on FB. Take care enjoy being home 🙂
How big is that dog? I love the scenery and particularly the silhouette of the young couple and the dog.
Stunning views. That silhouette should be blown up and hung on a wall! Thank you for taking us with you on your adventures. it is a beautiful country.
Your photography and thoughts really shine on this trip to NZ. Your words are the ray of sunshine in my day today.
What a great “family photo” to start your blog post.
Lovely, lovely photos, but you know what? I’d love to see a photo of a relaxed, happy and laughing Celi… I can hear it in your words, but all your focus is turned outwards, as always. Share a grin with us, eh?