Day trip to Palmie

Today we took a trip up to Palmerston North. We travelled the back way through Shannon and Tokomaru, drove past the turn-off to Linton Army Camp, and skirted around the entrance to Massey University. It was yet another wet and windy day and we saw plenty of horses standing dejectedly in the rain. The Manawatu region has excellent conditions for dairy farms as attested by the many herds of dairy cows we saw. Gambolling around a few paddocks we spotted some early Spring lambs. We arrived in Palmerston North and a sign announced "Welcome to Student City", a reflection on the many students, both local and overseas who come to study at Massey University and the English Language Schools.

Spring has sprung

The reason for our trip was to visit grand-daughter Megan who is still in hospital recovering from her operation following peritonitis. It was nice to see some of her young friends from High School coming to visit. Unfortunately it was very difficult procedure when her drain was removed but once the pain killers kicked in she was feeling much better. All going well, Megan should be home in a few more days.

The wind and rain was getting stronger on the trip home. A "Weather Bomb" had hit the Auckland region during the day and caused a lot of damage, with flooding, and gale force winds ripping roofs off houses. A large area of Auckland had lost power to homes. Let's hope that the weather bomb doesn't travel down the country to Wellington!!