Morning at the Market

The Riverbank market is always a bustling affair.  Parking is at a premium as everyone arrives to get a bargain or two.  We watched as the early birds tried to back their cars out of the parking spaces while the later arrivals were driving slowly past, keeping an eye out for a spare space.  Some drivers had trouble manoeuvring in the crowded conditions, while all the time a steady stream of pedestrians wandered to and fro.

Riverbank  Market car park

With our 4WD safely parked, we joined the throngs to check out the vegetable stalls.  Market gardeners bring their produce down from Otaki and the surrounding growing areas, and business is always brisk amongst the dozen or so stalls.  We wandered slowly past each one, checking the prices of the goods we wanted to buy.  The trick is to remember which stall was selling the best looking produce at the very best prices and then find our way back!

   Busy market stalls

Once you have made your purchase, it’s no good getting upset if you happen to see the same thing a bit cheaper at another stall.  That’s just the luck of the draw.  We were soon laden up with carrots, parsnips, yams, brussell sprouts, silver beet, leeks, a big pumpkin and a whole pine-apple.  That should keep us going for a while, I should think. 

What else – perhaps some free range eggs so we can have our Sunday morning bacon and eggs breakfast.  As well as eggs, these vendors were selling bags of chicken feet and heads.  Yuk, who would want that, but I guess someone must buy them, or else they wouldn’t bother offering them for sale.

If we are honest, perhaps the cost of driving there and back rules out any savings we make.  But that is not the point, is it?  Going to the market is fun as we hunt for the best buys.  It’s interesting to see what is on offer, and those food stalls selling all sorts of exotic snacks seem to call our name as we walk by.  On the way back to our car, we came across someone being pro-active as he looked for work.  Let’s hope he gets an offer or two. 

Work wanted

We drove back home, well satisfied with our bargains.  Muffy decided that the nice warm bonnet was just the best place to be for a bit of R&R.

  Muffy is keeping cosy on the warm bonnet