A quote from Souza:
"dance as though no one is watching you,
love as though you have never been hurt before,
sing as though no one can hear you,
live as though heaven is on earth."
aurum, accommodation + heaven…
now for some breaking news…
the quite decent waves are rolling in and peeling right off. it’s a beautiful sight, even for a non-surfer like me.
now is the time to go for a surf: the end of the summer, no crowds on ohiwa beach (though neighbouring ohope beach is still quite packed out).
if you are one of those who surfs for the solitude among other reasons, now is the time to visit aurum at ohiwa beach!! the pacific beckons!!
new zealand’s busiest holiday season is from boxing day till mid january. this past monday, most shops opened back up and some small businesses resumed their activities. tomorrow, most new zealanders return to work. summer, however, continues for another six to eight weeks. often when i walk our long sandy beach, i am the only one on it. 2.5 miles of pristine beach, with stunning waves just calling one to dive through.
i personally haven’t had too much beach time lately, but yesterday i was able to go with a guest for a 2 mile walk. the dry sand was too hot to walk on barefoot and required jandals, but the wet sand was just right.
the oyster catcher that was just ahead of us for much of our walk was reflected in the wet sand, doubling the lengths of his long bright orange bill and legs. pipis (native shellfish) in the sand, on which the oyster catcher was likely feeding. the river right where i had left it the last time i walked, whenever that was. the volcanos majestic and still. clouds and sun reflected in the wet sand on our way home, while the aqua of the sea shone in a new-for-me way from some favorite shells. heartfelt conversation had the perfect setting. renewed, we prepared our evening’s barbeque.
my kayaking friends went for a roll in the waves, caught on camera for future laughs. a good day.
what will your day be like when you come?
ever been to an active volcano? ever walked a geothermal area?
we are spoiled for choice here. visitors can fly vulcan helicopters from whakatane, rotorua or tauranga. i have done this flight, which is spectacular. if the volcano isn’t spewing forth too much sulphuric acid, the helicopter lands and you can have a bit of exploration. there are things of geological, biological and historic interest to take in, in addition to the raw power and otherworldliness of it all - scenic beauty in a class of its own. the day i flew we couldn’t land as the helicopter would get an acid treatment. (and so would we!) i still remember the clarity and beautiful aqua colour of the water surrounding the island…
or make a day of it, weather permitting, with the lovely boats and crews of white island tours. you will likely encounter a dolphin or two along the way. and the interest starts as soon as they hand you your most unusual ticket…
the volcano has smoked every day for the almost 20 years i have been here, except for two years recently when a lake formed atop the active . however, smoking has since resumed. aurum’s visitors have just to wander down to the "front yard" beach and see who they can see. sometimes whakaari/white island hides, but almost always an inactive volcanic island, whale island, is visible. there are trips there too, but that’s for another day.
Shortly after arriving, we sighed — a great big letting go of a sigh.
Our bodies relaxed and our minds stood still.
Being in the trees and hearing the surf, breathing deeply –
This is a very special place, a place of calm, a place where the regular beatings of the earth make time irrelevant.
Thank you — we should say "yes" more often.
i’m baking again. guests who arrive are treated to chocolate yummies, or yummy chocolate.
which goes down nicely with an espresso, which i have finally mastered. (i find it amusing. before i couldn’t get the milk to foam to save me; now i can’t imagine it not becoming silky with bubbles. i don’t even try, it just happens of its own accord.)
today’s version of chocolate yummies is what i call my "adult" cake, with bourbon and ground almonds, topped with a rich ganache with espresso.
now i have a table with an umbrella at which to drink and eat and feast on the views. what a glorious day it is.
i went into my lounge to get something and it stopped me in my tracks. the light reflected by by the beautiful calm pacific. shimmering? sparkling? i have a word for it, liquid light, but even that didn’t say it. there was too much movement; glimmering? dancing? well, dancing was the closest… and then i saw it was like the light shining from an elegant evening gown covered in sequins when the beautiful woman wearing it moves gracefully.
every day i see it, the sea. but its beauty is fresh and changing and still has the power to stand me still, speechless, in awe. to return me to my Self, my centre, my silent Home.
come and see the sea with me.
peaceful, spacious, expansive views. understated luxury, modern appliances and exquisite bedding blend with country antiques in relocated cottage with wraparound deck. originally a "sleepout" with enough room for one single bed and the ability to walk around 3 sides of it, then expanded to a shed for processing local pohutukawa honey, then possibly serving as a sleepout/respite for teenage boys from violent homes, providing them a safe and calm place to do their schoolwork, and then serving as a shed, then deteriorating, which is when i bought it.
a bit of love was all it needed. it began a new life as a much more spacious sleepout, then as a venue for meditation and prayer, and various spiritual workshops, marae style. it has also served as a bit of a honeymoon sleepout for more than several couples. and then it was reinvented as an art gallery for a local collective of artists, a successful and rewarding experience in its time. while lovely in its bush setting, it got little sun.
i hatched the plan of adding a toilet & shower and a kitchen sink & bench/counter and renting it out. well, one thing led to another, and the"whare" as it was lovingly known was relocated to a sunny, treetop "possie" (position) and a new tiled bathroom built alongside it, and the upper room was created. it has had a new gas cooktop and a convection/microwave/grill oven added for the new year.
also new this year is the day spa next door…
and the lovely bush bath awaits, with the stars and moon above, the estuary and sea below…
come on, you deserve it.
the earth moved for me last night. and i think i’m not the only one that felt it. the hanging ceiling lights were swaying and my open front door was moving back and forth. they call new zealand "the shaky isles" and this is why.
two weeks back my cousin came from the united states to help me prepare my place to receive you. i was lying down and he was sitting reading when we had an earthquake. only he didn’t feel it. came all this way and missed it. i reckon he’d have felt last night’s one, however.
we had quick sharp shakes, followed by slower shakes similar to a heart beat, then long slow rolls. it was quite a varied ride. nothing fell to the floor, however. which is a good thing, because i have two beautiful and huge mirrors in the east and west units which have not yet been secured to the wall…
apparently being at the beach helps minimize the impact of earthquakes. so it doesn’t get much safer than here, because boy did we go to great lengths to exceed earthquake requirements in our constrution. and it’s still standing, mirrors intact. won’t you come and see them?
the concreters are coming today. one is also a barista, and is teaching me to make you a yummy espresso. this lovely man greeted me with, "It’s lovely to be back in your haven." and evidently he was being sincere, even though he is the same man who went for a wee swim in my septic tank last year when the digger he was driving over the tank crushed the walls of the tank. so that’s how very beautiful it is here…
anyway, i digress. i am converting the two strips of driveway i had to a wide concrete driveway, and am putting in all new culverts at the bottom in order to lose the ditch on either side of the drive, all so that you can easily come and go. i want you to be certain that i welcome my guests and appreciate your choosing to be here!
hope to see you soon. the driveway will be driveable in about a week…
note: this is old news. found that it had not been published. the driveway is fabulous!!!!!