A woman has just walked past the house and asked if I was looking forward to the rain. Looking up at her from cleaning the van, I remarked that it depended where you came from. Frankly, we didn't come to New Zealand for the rain. But of course she being a local wanted her water tanks filled up from her roof. This is fairly common in semi rural areas, such as Wanui where we live, folks don't have a mains water supply, their water is held in two or three large concrete tanks in their garden. They are a bit unsightly, as they sit a couple of metres above ground level. Houses also often have an individual sewage disposal tank, which is treated and pumped out from time to time.

At this time of year the sun can be strong. The seemingly constant wind hides the true damaging nature of the solar radiation, made more acute by the weak ozone layer. Mind you, some of the local residents who you see have been sun worshippers for all their days going by the colour of their skin; and more often than not the giveaway is the line of surf boards stored in their garages. Lesley craves just being able to sit outside after a day's work, but it hasn't happened yet.

Lake Waikaremoana (meaning lake of the rippling water) has been on our list of 'to dos' for some time now and we've been saving it for when we had the van. It's a 2.5 hour drive from Gisborne, the last 20 minutes up a steep windy gravel track which is actually State Route 38. The lake was formed about 2,500 years ago when a gigantic earthslip, possibly the result of an earthquake, removed the side of a mountain and deposited millions of tons of rock slabs and debris in the valley that drained the area. We arrive at our pre-booked holiday park at 8pm, just as the sun is setting over the captivating lake.

The next morning, shaken awake by a rising wind off the lake (which brought not just rippling water but white horses whipped up by the vicious gusty wind), we decide on the day's plan. A short walk is in order this morning as Lesley is still feeling tired after contracting a bug 3 weeks ago. I decide to explore further in the afternoon, walking a track up to Lake Waikareiti. Like many of the North Island tracks, it is in semi tropical bush and there are no views…….it is akin to walking through Glasgow's Botanic Garden or Kibble Palace in temperatures 20 degrees less, which is fine if you are into arboreal stuff, but a bit of a bind if you are used to views as we are in Scotland.

Technology has a part to play in outdoor pursuits and I'm happy to report that my i-phone with NZ mapping is proving a great investment, not from being lost, but from something to occupy me during the endless hours on bush tracks! It has also been useful in fixing just exactly where we are on some long country roads. GPS mode makes the i-phone especially prone to battery loss, so we carry a little charging unit gratefully gifted from our long time Croydon friends (from Aussie 30 years ago) Martin and Judith Johnson. This neat device provides about 3 or 4 i-phone full charges and it is a really useful back up.

Monday 16th, 11.33am. The house has started to shake uncontrollably and I get to my feet……..yes, another earthquake. This time there is no thump, but a rocking lasting about a minute, a bit like your car being buffeted by the wind or trying to walk along a train carriage in motion. It is really really odd, and the thought that you can't do anything to stop it is quite scary. The phrase 'When will it all end?' comes to mind! Mind you, Lesley has the interesting tale. She was carrying out a bit of minor surgery on a woman's upper neck when her room started to shake. The first thought was 'Am I having a dizzy spell not quite recovered from that bug yet?' and pulls back the scalpel. Well of course, the patient being a local knew all about what was happening…….just an earthquake she reassures her! It was in fact magnitude 6.5, fairly big but no damage caused.