Opotiki

A couple of days here on edge of the Bay of Plenty and you begin to get a feel for how the weather moves in and out over this vast shoreline. 

 

 image: Grutness at en.wikipedia

The Bay of Plenty or Te Moana-a-Toi (Māori) is a large bight in the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east, a wide stretch of some 259 km of open coastline. The Bay of Plenty Region is situated around this body of water, also incorporating several large islands in the bay. The bay was named by James Cook after he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to the earlier observations he had made in Poverty Bay.  According to Māori traditions, the Bay of Plenty was the landing point of several migration canoes that brought Māori settlers to New Zealand. 

We walked on the Dunes Cycle Trail this morning in sun.

Clouds on our return.

Roast chicken legs, buttered beets, spicy chard, and (unintentionally) incinerated onions for first meal.

This afternoon, an extraordinarily dark storm crept in low and menacing, sparking thunder and lightning and saturating the colors of nature.

After the rain and toward sunset, the clouds broke up and the sun painted the sky.