Nice Little Saturday...

Last Saturday we had a little romp around Wanganui...stopped for coffee at "The Orange," (delicious Flat Whites and free Wi-Fi!) picked up some produce at the Farmers' Market, and then went to explore the town and surrounding areas (ie, practice driving on the left).

This is a shot of the bend in the Wanganui River that is our town...Wanganui.




Looking this way you can see where the river meets the ocean -- our house is right at the base of the bridge pictured on the right-hand side (sort of near that big orange-y building).



Memorial Tower in town is a nice vantage point to see the town and the closer-than-you-think mountains, Ruapehu and Taranaki (skiing just an hour and a half away...like Keystone to Arvada!). The Memorial Tower was built for Wanganui soldiers killed in WWI.

After the romp through town, we hit the river road, winding along the great Wanganui River...when you look at this shot, keep in mind that most Kiwis have been telling us, "Don't worry, it'll be green soon. It's only very early spring..."

We waited for quite a lot of livestock on our drive...there are a lot of fences to mark pasture land, but the sheep and cattle are not always on the other side from you. We discovered that baby lambs are REALLY cute, but terrified of cars, so they are hard to photograph because they scamper off so quickly when you approach. This little guy was already escaping, but we got a quick shot before he ran off to his mama lamb!