Saturday 15th November 2025

Saturday 15^th November

SHE SAID:

We had breakfast at Captain’s Cafe in Sand Spit before heading 3 ½ hours north to Coopers Beach. It was a tasty breakfast & scenic overlooking the little bay there.

Our 2nd stop was in the Dome Valley; I was keen to do the Dome Forest walk & look for my 1st NZ orchid. I found one in flower & 4 other remnants (finished, leaves or seeding). The rain found us as we came back down the steep walk, but the trees did help to shelter us from the worst of it.

We wound our way north needing to do a ½ hour detour around a closed section of the highway. Around 2.30pm we stopped for a cuppa & snack & I drove the last 90 minutes. Our BnB, called Sails, is quaint, with a view over Doubtless Bay & on the same street as Molly’s place.

My surprise for Molly has been found out…. I stupidly posted a photo last night on FB of the Salty Dog Inn, & she saw it this morning!!! DOH! Oh well, she seemed happy to see us. We joined the family for dinner down the road, followed by birthday cake.

 
Sand Spit &
the Fisherman's Cafe

The view from Molly's place.
Me with Molly, I'm holding the flowers
my cousin Linda sent to Molly for her birthday

HE SAID:

Our drive up from Snell's Beach to Cooper's Beach was rather ordinary. There were plenty of rain showers for the first couple of hours, and we wondered whether an apprentice road designer had gone spazzo years ago, putting sharp bends everywhere when a straight line would have worked better. The long detour, with no follow-up signage at all, was an added bugger-up. Getting to the BnB, and then the short walk up to Molly's to see her and the family was quite a relief and a joy. Molly seems to not have changed much at all in the 30 or so years since I last saw her in person, though her mobility is much reduced.

Dinner out at the Taipa was good. We met more of Molly's grandkids and their partners, and the food was good, too. It was very funny when the birthday cake was coming, and everyone started to sing Happy Birthday, And Molly was singing along, looking around for the cake recipient, not realising that it was for her!