A Break In The Clouds

A mist lays across Muriwai running up it's black sand dunes to the fields beyond. 

During a brief moment of clarity & ability we travelled to the west coast North Island black sand surf beach Muriwai.  A lot of beaches can look picturesque but the rocks and waves are dangerous.  Lately more people, new to the area, are taking risks on the beaches, and during a recent fishing accident 2 people lost their lives.  A family had gone out fishing with their kids off the rocks, the father was swept off by a wave and the mother pulled in after him.  There was a recent blessing ceremony from the locals, rescue staff, & iwi by the beach and another from the Buddhist community.  The weather can turn quickly here, the rocks jagged and slippery.  Volunteer lifeguards put out flags for swimmers & junior surfers on good days.  There is still surfing out during high winds, even during mild hurricanes.  But it is not a forgiving area and the locals know this well, including the local gannets.

 

 Life can be both fragile and indomitable.

The gannets nest and ride the winds around the cliffs.  You can see their nesting spots they come back to claim each year, waiting to see if their mates return to join them.  We watched them dive & scan the ocean for fish.  Then they would rest on the waves in a group together before launching to make the journey back up the cliffs to their nesting spot.  It can be rough as the gannets face a lot of risk most the year travelling around NZ and Australia before returning for nesting season.  Especially as recently a lot of sea birds have been dying  from dehydration & starvation due to the warm La Nina weather conditions & changes in fish stock.

In before the spring rush picking a good nest spot & tidying it up is imperative.

We could not stay long.  The recovery from hubbies brain injury is slow so his energy wore down quickly.  But at least he had enough time to eat his hot steak and cheese pie.  Feel & taste the fresh sea air.  While I got to take the photos in this post.  I prepared to drive us back with singing breathing exercises to stay focused & keep my mind off the pain.  I am the sort where I got used to doing maths tests with migraines as a teenager, i.e. stubborn wanting to complete a task, through pain, through nausea and if that includes a physical punishment later I pay the price.  It has been a lot to adjust to with chronic fatigue.  ME is a thousand times worse than any migraine and with continuous effects, gut, allergy, flu symptoms, even multi day migraine symptoms and orthostatic intolerance issues so I have to do regular safety checks and be fully certain of my condition & mental acuity.  If I am too far gone to drive, eyesight affected or hands & terrible fatigue it is a no go.  We have backup plans in place, lots of hydration & rest ahead of any planned trip so I only head out on days where I almost approach normal and only for short trips.  The energy never lasts and the punishment can hit like a goat to the groin.  We travelled back on the busy state highways peppered with wineries, farms, orchards and lots of trucks.  Nice drive but it hit me really hard afterwards, with a couple days of a really bad flare.  I had difficulty sitting & speaking and hand control was affected.  Pain intense.   I think it was worth it.  These moments may be fleeting but they are the light coming through the clouds after the storm.

As if hanging by a thread trying to get home.

Lyrics from "Till The Clouds Clear" - Lamb

What's left to say with all that's come and gone
Words get in the way
And anyway the devil's got your tongue
And the storm brews inside
And there's nowhere to hide
It's gonna blow your cover sky high

If you let this thing go
It's gonna burn, it's gonna burn
You're gonna take the whole world with you when you go

What you gonna do?
When the storm takes over
What you gonna do?
When the storm takes over

So here you are,
demons screaming in your head
You try to shut them out
But they just get louder instead
And nothing you do
can seem to break through this darkness smothering you
when it takes hold your heart turns cold
your very soul sneaks out of you

What you gonna do?
When this storm, this storm takes over you
Can you hold this thing?
Can you hold this thing?

Till the clouds clear