We are winding down. We will spend the day after tomorrow racing from Opunake to Auckland airport. We woke up to blue, hot skies and took a walk along the south arm of the walkway–past the beach, through a well populated cow pasture, and by a lake.
After lunch, we went to a local dairy farmer’s place. He was both pragmatic and stubborn about the environmental impact of his operation. He uses palm kernel in his feed and he planted pines and grows maize on his land. But he also used many natives in his riparian planting and he reuses all of the farm output he can. It was tough. They are huge animals, and use a remarkable amount of resources. We don’t get nearly enough back from them.
The day rounded out with a cookout of mussels (most people were apathetic or unimpressed with the mussels–NO PROBLEM, I WILL TAKE CARE OF THOSE FOR YOU) on the beach until sunset. The sunset was about as magical as a sunset can be. It made me melancholy in a good way. I missed my place, and my time alone. I can’t really think, here. Not hardly enough.