January 25, 2026
The day started out cloudy and drizzly, so we decided to drive into town and eat out for breakfast at the Mumble's Cafe. I had the salmon benny with potatoes and fresh spinach. This was the very first time in my life that I had tried eggs Benedict, and it was delicious. Heinrich had the Big Breakfast with scrambled eggs on toast.
After breakfast we took a walk around the outskirts of town. Saint Mary's Hospital had park-like grounds with trails running throughout the property, and we admired the trees. We walked north past the golf course and then returned to town.
In town there was a farmer's market going on. I finally got some New Zealand cash from a nearby ATM, and we bought some fresh vegetables. One booth was selling varieties of New Zealand honey and giving samples. I tried the manuka honey and discovered I did not care for the taste. But I did buy two jars of the local brand.
The weather had not improved and light rain was coming down. I got a message from my friend in Hawaii that episode 41 of the Kilauea volcano had started and was attaining record-breaking heights (1,575 feet!). So we stopped at the bakery, bought a chocolate eclair and a chocolate cluster scroll, and drove back to our room to eat our treats and watch the volcano erupt via the webcam view on the big screen TV.
The weather cleared a bit, so I ventured out to the Woodland Walk one more time to take some photos of the nearby stream which now had rushing water from all of the rainfall. I followed a different path back for a new adventure.
In the evening we drove back into town and bought fish and chips for a take-away meal. We also bought some food at the grocery store to get us through the next couple of days: we were going to be driving into a remote area with few food options.
