Our first stop was at the Hastings Farmers' Market, which is so popular it is held every Sunday - sun, rain or hail. The queues for coffee were too long for us to wait, but we bought two lovely croissants from a French baker's stall. We picked up coffees in town at the cinema cafe. Something we don't see at home is milk being sold in reusable bottles. It is decanted from a bulk container so is labour intensive. We stopped for lunch at Palmerston North. There are several wall murals in the city but none were very good. The art deco style "Ladies Rest" was built in 1937. Inside there are arm chairs in a lounge area, original tiles and some original plumbing. When first built it was just rendered, but the current colours work really well.
The historic village of Ahuriri is 5 minutes from Napier. It was the original port before the earthquake. These days it is home to the commercial fishing fleet and recreational boats. Restaurants and bars have taken over some of the old warehouses. My favorite art deco building is the National Tobacco Company building at Ahuriri. We walked around the nearby town of Hastings, which also boasts numerous art deco and Spanish mission style buildings. These grasses by the point grow in interesting swirly patterns.
On our drive south from Woolgoolga we called into Pet Barn at Coffs Harbour to buy a stronger dog crate for Coco - so far so good. We had booked to stay 2 nights at Jimmy's Beach caravan park but decided to stay 4 nights. This beautiful protected beach is on the north eastern shore of Port Stephens near Hawks Nest. There is a large bush reserve around the park. Last night the dogs barked and I looked out to see a dingo trotting away from their crates. It was sniffing around the backs of caravans where it is darkest. We went swimming today with our friend and the dogs. At this time of year on a week day that section of beach is very quiet. The humans and canines had their exercise so I brought the cats to our friend's house so they could run around - so much for that idea! Our critters can all stay here safely while we go out for dinner this evening.
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