To go camping, kayaking and have a whole day out picnicking. It’s on New Zealand’s north Island, east-south of Mount Taranaki. Maps and photos provided below. 

We woke to a lovely sunny day and told we were going out to a place called Lake Rotarangi. Well, we had no idea what really to expect. 

So much activity in preparation:

We watched as things were packed for a picnic. And downstairs a bright yellow kayak was taken down from the garage celling where it had been stored.  

Then a trailer was filled with picnic paraphernalia and connected to the back of the car. And the possibility of been a very hot day, we were given hats to wear.  

So it seemed it was going to be a great day and we were in for an exciting day. I love painting water scenes and with the undercurrent of anticipation, I thought I better take my camera too. 

Most profound outing:

The journey there was beautiful with twisty roads at the end.

 

And when we got there the whole lake spread out before us, within a range of mountains closing it in.  The water was shimmering back and forth, depending how the breeze came and went during the day.

As it turned out, I found it was a popular spot. It even has a boat slipway, a club house and toilet facilities. And yet nature is mainly undisturbed! 

We were one of the first to get there and so we accommodated the wooden picnic table seen in one of the photos. And as the morning progressed other people arrived as well. Not too many to spoil the scene, but enough to add a holiday ambiance to the whole place. 

Kayak time:

After having something to eat and drink, the yellow kayak was taken down to the wooden steps to the shore below. I didn’t get a chance to row in the kayak, but wished I had.

  

It looked so much fun. Especially when the guys rowed out across the wide river to the other side where there was a yellow and blue bus raft. It sat dished up, out of the water on the opposite bank. You can see it in one of the photos. 

Later in the afternoon:

I ventured out taking photos of the wildlife and plants on the shores of the lake. 

That is looking up and down the one side of the lake, the side with the wooden picnic table is on. 

The power of my camera!

I must add I’m not so young anymore and not so fit with back problems. So there is a joke in our family about how energetic I get and Walla a miracle happens when I have my camera. That I even climb mountains and scramble over huge bounders, etc when it’s hanging around my neck! 

They are right. I will do just about anything to get my pictures. I collect and use them as visual aids to write about and paint from when I’m back home.  

It gives me so much joy. It’s like taking an adventure. You never know what profound beauty you will find just around the next corner. We don’t always have the opportunity to see such wonderful things. 

You must make the best of it. I believe, we should live life to the fill, every minute of our life. And sharing those moments with others is the `cheery-on-the-top’. So here is an oil painting I did of the place.