Trust, Peace and Paradise!

Finally having a relaxing day not cycling (well maybe a bit)- and trust me it's nice to be out of the saddle... the distances have been as follows:
Friday - 47km uphill to the National Park - passed Mt. Doom for all of you Lord of the Rings fans Mt Ngarahoe (pardon the spelling)
Saturday - 123km up and downhill - see the running of the sheep blog entry - I should also note that during this day I was mistaken to be a part of a cycle race which took me 25 minutes to actually figure out while I was waiting for the leader of the actual race (which in essence was actually me... I'll explain at another point in time).
Sunday - 103km fairly flat Wanganui to Hawera (wind in my face the entire time)
Monday - 97km Hawera to Oakura (finally a CBC drama day - aka Wind at my back... I know I keep using that joke)

So what brought me to Oakura? Good question... on my flight overseas I sat beside a woman named Shirley Fisher, we were both flying from Toronto (to NZ) and she sat beside me on my flight from Toronto to Vancouver. I obviously made a good impression and in Vancouver she provided me with her home number, email address etc... and she gave me an offer of a place to crash if I made it to her home. Anyway, she lives pretty much right on the beach (black sandy beach) just outside her front door and beautiful Mt. Egmont National Park in her backyard. Blissful paradise!

I arrived at her place yesterday, was given a place to clean up - a big bedroom with ensuite and was made to feel like I was apart of their family, even did a load of laundry.

Bill (her partner) came home after we had been to the beach for a swim in the refreshing Tasman Sea. We ate a lovely meal of lamb snags (sausages), chicken and beef with heaps of wonderful salads.

Today they are both at work... I have access to the internet, was given a key to their place, and was even offered a car to drive (I politely declined the car). This is paradise. Such a trusting lot...so peaceful - waves crashing in...someone pinch me this has to be a dream. Picture is of last nights sunset!