Epic camp mini NZ day2 - Takaka: where the animals go in two by two....

Day 2 beckoned after a reasonable sleep, after a delicious meal and a wine or 2 last night, woken up occasionally by the sound of the heat pump - eh ? Nope, that was rain. I was awake at 5.30 am and couldnt get back to sleep, made some coffee while watching the rain go from torrential to biblical to torrential with a few wind gusts in between. Plan was a swim at Tata beach, 100m elimination reps. Driving there past stormy, brown seas and waves bouncing off rocks wasn't particularly filing any of us with excitement but it was slightly calmer at the beach ( ie pretty rough and decent Northerly wind gusts making the rain horizontal ) . Hamish spotted a seal swimming which at least assured us there weren't any sharks around. I did get into my wetsuit but decided against getting in, being the slowest I was to be first guinea pig in the water anyway but it was just too rough for me. Yes, yes- I know you dont improve by not tackling the rough stuff but I know my limits. I did make use of the time by rescuing errant jandals that were flying off in the wind, always got to see the positives - would hate to see thongless campers . Ha. Kudos to everyone that braved the conditions !! We returned for brekky then left at 10.30 for the drive to Farewell Spit ( was supposed to be a ride but it was THAT wet and also windy- shame as would have been a great ride, almost trafficless). We headed up a load of paths over rolling gren cliff tops, some parts very muddy, some sandy, rooty. I had decided against wearing contact lenses after a blurring incident descending Mt Luxmore in the rain at Kepler... bad idea as I couldnt see very well and was descending like a mountain snail ( again!! Sorry John Hancock, I think I am deserved of your moniker now....). The trepidation of a potential rolled ankle and being stuck there didnt appeal so I proceeded with ( a lot of ) caution. It was wild, windy and could see the wild Tasman sea bashing against the cliffs below- nature at her best !! We had to cut it short and head down a shingle road due to some flooding but thenwere able to join a coastal path to Whiriraki beach, then turned around, piled into the steamy van and back to Takaka for 2nd hot shower of the day. Gail and Kylie our super support crew laid on a fabulous lunch including soup, perfect!! I am sharing a unit with Jana and our living room/ bathroom is like a Chinese laundry, its not really too cold but the heat pump has been on to dry clothes all day........ yes, its still biblical out there and its 7pm :-) A few of us walked down the main street to grab a coffee then back and loaded into the van as John was taking us to a tourist destination for a walk. We ended up on the track to Wainui Falls which is part of the Abel Tasman National Park ( its probably just over the hill from Totaranui somewhere). That was a spectacular amount of water and worth the 3rd soaking of the day, in fact absolutely drenched.... however, I'll take it is we can get a dry day tomorrow as a big ride to Murchison is on tap. Guess my butt will be happier tomorrow for a day off the bike today, lack of recent long rides never tells in fitness I find but in all the other areas......!!!! Right its nearly dinner time, heading to some other local joint tonight. As long as its licensed, I don't care. Just cooked myself a head of broccoli from the supermarket as it was only a dollar and I was craving some greens. #weirdo. Also spotted 2 shoeless people wading through puddles with their groceries - wtf is the deal with this place ??? !!!!!