Cape Kidnappers weekend

Drove up to a bach (NZ holiday house) at Cape Kidnappers on the weekend. That's about 350km from here. Pals had rented it on their way down to Wellington, so met them there for Saturday night. Had a lovely agricultural drive up the inland North Island, through small towns and the scenic Manawatu Gorge, then east to the coast. Paddocks full of sheep and lambs and cows and calves, and everywhere fields and hills of yellow: buttercups, broom, gorse. All in full flower. Spectacularly yellow at this time of year. Cape Kidnappers was named by Capt. Cook when local Maori grabbed some of his crew. Now it is a gannet colony, and they're currently nesting on the limestone cliffs at the end of the cape. It was a fair bit warmer up there, so Mish is grumbling today, off to work on a blowy, drizzly, grey day, with her 72 layers on 'and it's spring!'.