Sunday in Putaruru

Sunday morning we found a little Presbyterian church just a few blocks from where we live. There were lots of children (who left before the sermon but after singing “I‘ll be a Sunbeam” with rhythm instruments), the guitars were painfully out of tune but the singing was enthusiastic, and the new minister gave an interesting sermon. If nothing else, we’re finding God’s people are varied but sincere. After church we stopped in for a long time of spirited conversation and instant coffee with our landladies. We went home for lunch and then hopped back in the car to drive about 5 minutes out of town to the Te Waihou Walkway--the local treasure! An ancient waterway for the Maori, the Waihou River is a spring fed, fast flowing, narrow river that is a haven for birds. We were surprised by a wild turkey family on the path and pleased to see fantails and pokeko again. The walkway/trail, which follows the river for a little over 3 miles, is almost completely hidden from the road and is lined with lush green growth. The water comes from an aquifer and is very pure (they bottle it as Blue Spring Water). It is incredibly clear and blue!

Mark is proud of this one!

a pukeko

Putaruru (poo-TAR-roo-roo) is a small town of about 6,000 people. Besides the water, its main claim to fame is that it is on Highway 1--THE highway that goes from the far north to the far south of both islands. It has one grocery store and a railroad track that cuts the city in two and is only crossable in one place. The highway traffic can make getting across main street kind of tricky. Off the main street, it is just a typical small town with lots of friendly people and kids. I met Mark for lunch on Wednesday and while we were checking a map together, a lady hallooed to us from her backyard to see if she could be of any assistance. She had seen us at church on Sunday….Little tidbits: bathrooms in homes and hotels always have a heated towel rack--our current little house has two; diapers are called nappies.