Well, you wouldn't read about it....

We did the boat trip up the Waihou river today as far as the Puke road Bridge. We did in this boat, all 37 of us that went, the M.V. Kawhau. She was originally built in 1952 & rumbles along contentedly at round about 10 or 12 knots or so. Its a very leisurely way of seeing the sights. You have to go quite a distance out in the gulf so that you don't run aground on the mud banks. Even so, the trip can only be made on a spring tide, which limits the number of trips you can do in a year. Six days this year so far, & weather & seasons play a part as well.


This is Paul. He's the Skipper &, I suspect, the owner of the company. A really nice guy who provides a very knowledgeable commentary spiced with his own particular brand of humour. He has, by his own admission, does this trip 134 times







He is ably assisted by his partner, whom I suspect is his marital as well as his business partner, Cathy. She does the morning tea, lunch & afternoon tea & also brings the car down so that they can go home every day. She has only missed one trip, so they fit together like a comfortable pair of shoes.




This is the main reason we did the trip. So that we could see the bridge open. Its a tribute to the old timers engineering that the opening segment is that beautifully balanced that it has to be wedged closed otherwise a strong wind will actually blow it open.






Very awe inspiring. The whole thing only took about 5 minutes. The old boys really knew what they were doing as after quite extensive tests it was found that the only place they could build the new bridge was right alongside of the old one. Because The Waihou river is legally a seaway, Transit New Zealand have to provide passage for any boat that wishes to use the river. This means that the new bridge will have to be high enough to allow passage. The old bridge truly is amazing. Some of the pylons that support it go down 98 feet & still don't hit bedrock. All that holds them up is the friction in the mud, a scary thought.

From then on in, its a fair amount of this sort of scenery.


I've driven the roads through here, but it was interesting to work out where you are. This gave me time for a good old natter & wouldn't you know it. One guy I ended up talking to at great length was an ex Firefighter like myself, who is semi retired & living in Paeroa now. We didn't actually work together, although we both worked at Hamilton at different times. We had enough mutual acquaintances to pass a very pleasant hour or so chatting about this & that. As I said at the top. You wouldn't read about it. What would be the odds against two old Fireys in 35 people, let alone them discovering the common bond while talking. I do like a good old natter now & then. Jude & I used to talk a lot, & although we still communicate, I do so enjoy a bit of good old intelligent two way conversation.

Anyway, this is where we ended up. A little jetty by the Puke road bridge. From there, we were whisked back to the Thames wharf in the air conditioned comfort of one of Murphy's Buses. All in time to be home for the second part of a two part Star Trek, Next Generation tribute to Gene Roddenberry, featuring the inimitable Mr Spock working with Data. To quote MrSpock, "Interesting."




Tonight also saw the conclusion of a two part mini series, The Day of the Triffids. I have seen a few adaptations made for film & TV of John Wyndham's classic sci fi epic. This was a modernisation of the story & I'm usually sceptical of such things. In this case, however, I doff my hat. The producers have done a wonderful job on updating without losing the plot of the original. Full marks. Currently reading Stephen King's latest novel, The Dome. An intriguing plot. One that as per King, you have no idea where its going to end up. He still writes a very good story.

Tomorrow marks the start of Jude getting back into her routines. There is a morning tea at St. Johns that she has been invited to. I have been invited as well, but I think I will pass. They are, after all, her friends. It will give me some of the down time that I haven't had over the last month or so as well. Friday, she is back to patchwork. Don't want to go there either. Time to do a couple of little jobs that need doing on the boat I think...