Day 4

It might just be our luck that we get rained on very night.  We have a tent, actually two for us three, and we're very thankful for shelter, though a wet tent leads to the daily frustration of a musty car once packed.  Upon completeion of a warm-up hike or discovery of coffee somewhere, we then have motivation to repack our gear which is an often required task in our little car.  Included is the stowage of, today, a mostly dry sleeping bag.

The rain was prohibitive today.  I had a great hike planned for the morning; starting early, thereby forcing a quicker pace in which to adventure along the beautiful and uneven beach.  A no go.  We dilly dallied, hopped online for an hour and hit the road by lunch.

A quick jaunt along a snaky road and in no time we arrived in Blenheim.  I found a Simms fishing and Hunting & Fishing store catalogs to be roadworthy "reading" material and just as importantly we got directions to the secluded White's Bay.

White's Bay is likely my favorite stop as of yet on this adventure.  Nestled between high palm and pine wooded walls is a petite grey-sand crescent beach.  The campground was simplest in amenities and price and we felt at home right away.

A beach with breathtakingly cold water runs out of fun quickly.  Our first real, solid beach since leaving the ice world, it's charm will likely last longer than out presence here.  The abrupt change in coastline to jagged boulders, arches, tunnels and caves supplemented the time we didn't spend on the beach.

There was so much climbing to be done.  I made my way alone over beach, streams and bouders to get to, and successfully summited a spined archipelago that held in our perfect rescent hideaway.

For dinner we made easy pasta and pulled three beers from a crisp stream.  The rest of the evening was merry with hot chocolate and guitar melodies.  Tonight: when in darkness, asleep.