A golden beach

Today we had to head off early to get to Takaka by 10, for the boys soccer game. It's always a bit of a mission to get over "the Hill" to "the Bay"! But always worth it. Thankfully there was no carsickness, or ice, although the roads were gritted from the recent cold snap. It was a lovely warm day, there were baby lambs and calves to catch glimpses of as we drove by. I always feel the urge to stop and catch a newborn lamb, as they smell and feel divine, takes me back through the years in a flash to my childhood. After the soccer game and lunch we headed to a beach. Ended up stopping at Ligar Bay, which is a small beach with the golden, crunchy sand. The tide was in so our walk was accompanied by the slapping and swooshing of the waves. The sun was shining, it was bliss ......

the tide lines looked like landscape drawings

There are a few of the original kiwi baches left on the beach front. There has been a lot of controversy over them, and whether they should remain or not. There are eight that were built in the 1930's and 40's on the council road reserve.They have until 2014 when they will be removed.

This one has quite a "modern" attachment - the green corrugated iron section looked quite new to me

I could just peek this one through the trees, loved the colours and wooden butterfly on the wall.

 Across the road there is a mixture of older "baches" and newer "holiday homes".  When I was a nipper we came here a few times, I think the bach we stayed in is long gone. Apparently on my first holiday here at 18 months old I spent quite a bit of time eating sand!

This is a view from the beach looking across the road.

Ligar Bay is also the home of one of Golden Bay's famous murals on the toilets. This one is a fabulous paua shell.

 But the interior was quite a surprise! A mixture of different animals and birds, complete with sky and clouds on the ceiling.

According to the boys, they had more of the same on their side of the toilet block!