And on the sixth day we rested. And recuperated. Sunday was a gorgeous day. We missed the first part of it – no more alarms for a while. The morning was sunny and calm. We headed off at about 11am for the Sunday market down in the Old Cromwell area. We made a beeline for the sticky bun shop and the still had some left. Also in the shop was a camera crew and the plump judge from the Australian chef programme on TV every night. We got coffees from along the road and enjoyed our second breakfast in the sun. Here we ran into three backpacker seasonal workers we’d met at the camping ground in Kerikeri.
Out in the lake they were having powerboat races. These were more-power power boats and they were going for it. We watched a few races and wandered through the market without buying anything. There was a race between the two fastest boats and that was fairly spectacular. They’d hurtle towards the corners side by side but only be able to go around one at a time and not one-behind the other becuase of the spray so the one on the outside had to turn wide all the time. Then they’d hit the power again and roar off to the next corner. These two made so much noise that fingers in the ears seemed prudent. Another race featured a green boat that was very tidy around the corners and holding off another boat that was faster on the straights once it got round the corners but was travelling much further by having to go wide all the time. We ended up watching them for the rest of the afternoon, sitting in the shade of the car boot lid to escape the burning sun. A pie from the Vic across the road sufficed for lunch.
Eventually the racing finished and we headed home, remembering the swimming pool as we passed. It was open which seemed like a sign. It’s a great wee pool and at $3.50 seems a bargain. Apart from a lap pool, they have a ‘therapeutic’pool at 32 degrees and a spa pool at 38 degrees. I can manage 32 degrees – much less I find too cold. And the spa was great for sore muscles – we had a few. At the end of a good afternoon we called in to see my sister and ended up having a beer and a catch-up with Alaine and Murray, sitting in the evening sun looking out and up to the Pisa Range – a lovely way to end a lovely day.