ligar bay
The last full day that the family was in Ligar Bay, they decided to go on another adventure. They decided to drive north, as far as they could go. The farthest-north place on the South Island of New Zealand is the Farewell Spit.
They drove for about an hour. Mommy and Daddy got out and opened the car door for Annie. “Help! Help! I’m cold!” she cried immediately. Mommy wrestled her into a warm raincoat to block the wind and she allowed her parents to lift her out of the car. And then it was hard to stand up straight, because the wind was so strong, and unrelenting.
They started hiking along rolling hills and pastureland, walking next to sheep and cows that watched them impassively and didn’t seem to care about the wind. Annie put her hood up against the wind but it was hard to walk. The green hills turned steeper and steeper, and the path got very narrow, meandering along the sides of the hills with steep drops to one side. Annie wanted her daddy to carry her on his shoulders but it felt too dangerous to Daddy, with so much wind and such a steep drop.
Cora rode along strapped to her mother, which was where she wanted to be. She shut her eyes against the wind and snuggled in close. The only things that interested her were the cows and sheep, which were fascinating; she could have watched them all day. And the birds. She really loved birds.
The path went on and on, eventually getting sandier, until they reached the beach.
The sand was fine and white and so soft in Annie’s hands and on her feet. She took off her gumboots and walked barefoot.
The sand blew into her eyes. The wind didn’t stop. It was hard to see.
But Annie loved it.
The sand dunes, stretching so far into the distance, and eventually ending in crashing waves… they called to Annie.
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