Monday, March 11 - Surf Highway

    We spent the night at a campground near the beach in Opunake.  Exploring the headlands above the coast, we were surprised by a big fog bank that quickly moved in from the Tasman Sea.

We camped there, at the bottom right of the picture.  This fog bank
seemed to appear out of nowhere.

This surfer was threatened with nearly whiteout
conditions soon after this photo was taken.
Radical, dude.

Most of the coast is hidden from view

Diana looks like a scarecrow as we walk through a sheep pasture on the
headlands overlooking the coast

Just a few kilometers north the conditions were clearer

We drove up to Cape Egmont for a picnic lunch

Nice craftsmanship on this homemade RV

     While we ate we saw an older Kiwi couple parked with their caravan in front of us.  Diana commented, "I bet they've got 15 years on us".  You know how old people like us are, always trying to spot someone even older.  Then they stopped by our van and started chatting with us.  Diana, being the blunt one she is, asked "OK, how old are you?"  He proudly answered, "She just turned 91, and I had my 88th birthday last week".  When Diana told them that we're 60 he laughed and said "you're just spring chickens"', then turned to her and said, "wouldn't it be great to be 60 again."

     They have both lost their spouses, and have been "dating" for quite a long time.  He's a retired cattle and sheep farmer, and had some pretty funny stories to tell us.  Both of them had a keen wit and quick minds.  They were there catching herring for his cats, wading out onto the boat launch with some kind of bait trap.

I'm not really sure what he's doing here, but he seemed pretty nimble

I snuck this picture of them as they returned from their herring hunting.
What an inspiration!  To think how lucky we are to only be 60!  With three
decades on us, they still know how enjoy life.

We had internet access, the views were splendid, and we could stay the night
for a $5 donation.  Perfect.

There was a fierce offshore wind,  you can see the top of the surf
being blown off like the froth from a mug of beer.  I watched this amazing
scene until the sky turned dark.

To the east Mount Taranaki catches the last rays of the setting sun