Raindrops Falling on My Head

After a few days of sweltering, oppressive sunshine we were thrust into a cloud. Even when it wasn't raining, an ultra-fine mist covered every surface and made everything stick to everything else; hair stuck to foreheads, T-shirts to backs, little blades of grass and sand clung to our ankles and sodden towels stuck to the car like glue. Pretty much the only thing that did not stick were the strips of velcro ("hook and loop" here) that we glued to the windows to hold up our curtains.

The sound of rain on the roof of the car is endlessly soothing, but trying to brush off our muddy, grassy feet before getting into the car is endlessly impossible. The Mazda Capella has power windows so, although we won't get achey forearms, when in starts to rain in the middle of the night Chris has to knee me in the head, crawl over the front seats and strain past our backpacks to reach the ignition and roll the buggers up.

The night before the first big rain was the night I realised we really had to get the laundry done. I decided we'd do it first thing in the morning and the clothes would dry on the line in no time, it's so hot you could cook a chicken in the noonday sun. Then the rains came and now our laundry bag is almost bigger than the backseat, we'll probably have to sleep on the floor tonight.

This morning the wind came in and kicked the rain out, it just screamed and screamed till every last drop of humidity upped sticks and left. It's the sort of wind that immediately rips your towels and washclothes off the line and buries them in the dust. A perfect day for a hike up Mount Maunganui, another expired volcano. The hike up was gorgeous, hot and steep, so the winds were a delicious treat. From the top we saw the Pacific ocean rolling out to forever on one side, and the busy little harbours and bays to the other. I know we'll upload more photos, but they cannot capture the beauty and subtleties of colour and light, or the enormity of the views. Sigh, you'll just have to take my word for it.