When it's not been raining we've been clearing the parking area of weeds ready for a fresh layer of gravel. Underneath the top inch of soil we were hitting sand and the aim was to clear the area - five generous parking bays worth - back to this, which for the most part was simply a case of scraping it off with a hoe, though some areas the weeds had taken a bigger hold and larger tools were needed. During our final week here we'll be moving the gravel over from another area of the farm and hopefully we'll be able to see this looking finished and shiny before we go.
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| Clearing the parking area |
Wetter moments have been spent inside with the set of dining chairs. The original red upholstery was being replaced with a cream fabric and this week we polished up the wood and sorted the new fabric for the last two chairs. They look much better for the refresh and maybe we can utilise the new skills when we come to sort out chairs to go with the table back home.
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| Before and after... |
When not working hard we've also had a little time off this week and took a day to visit the local seaside at Raglan. The beach was well frequented by surfers and we enjoyed lunch sitting above the sands watching them. The sands themselves were a lovely dark colour from the volcanic landscape.
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| The waves at Raglan |
On the drive home from Raglan we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls - we're always a sucker for a good waterfall - and were very pleased with this one. The falls run over the edge of an ancient lava flow, slowly wearing away at the sandstone beneath it, leaving a long drop and interesting rock patterns. The car park was at the top of the falls with 261 steps down to the lowest viewing platform. Worth the trip down, but a little hard on the legs to get back up again!
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| Bridal Veil Falls from the mid-height platform |
Finally we also enjoyed a sunny afternoon off to visit Hamilton Gardens. They have split up the land into lots of smaller themed areas which worked really well - we particularly enjoyed the Italian and Indian areas, as well as the sustainable living family garden, complete with chickens! Unfortunately they were clearly gearing up for the summer visitors and several of the gardens were empty of established plants. There was enough going on to keep us amused for a couple of hours but looked like it would be stunning in a few months time. We heard this weekend that Hamilton Gardens has just won an international award for Municipal Gardens - nothing but the best here!
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| The Italian Garden at Hamilton Gardens |