This text was read by OCR from a scanned newsletter and has not been proofread yet, so expect odd characters and mistakes.
by Louise Hargreaves and Glynne Lloyd photos by John Rhodes
The field: Craig and Victoria, Sue, Darren, Michael, Harry, Bronwyn, Margaret, Constanze, John, Glynne and Louise.
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Thanks to Craig McGregor, the WTMC had the use of the Treasury bach for the weekend of the Castlepoint races. What a prime spot, right on the water front! We all went over in the club bus, except for John. Being a pensioner, he was uncertain whether he could afford the fare, and he felt like he needed the exercise anyway. All he asked, was that we call in to his home in Greytown to pick up his bag. Thanks to Glynne's navigating, this resulted in the added bonus for the punters of a tiki tour around the back streets of Greytown.
Arriving at Castlepoint, we drove past the bach a few times before we found it. It did not help that the house numbers did not follow the usual numerical order. Glynne was then preoccupied with manoeuvring the bus into its parking place. We all had a good chuckle at his anxiety about the lean the bus was on....might it tip over!! On Saturday morning Glynne, Louise, John, Harry, and Bronwyn set off on a bike ride up the coast along Mataikona Road. There were great seaviews from a rocky promontory, which marked the turning round point. We arrived back in time for lunch and the start of the farnous beach races. From across the road in front of the bach, Victoria beckoned us to a perfect vantage point. We tottled across with tea in hand, ready for the first race. The first few races were for the “farm hacks” ridden by the local geniry, in all manner of garb. Then followed the silk-clad jockeys, riding high in their stirrups, on an assortment of thoroughbreds. The array of colours was matched by the sound of hooves thundering along the beach. Some of us “punters”, could not resist the opportunity to indulge in a few bets. Craig seemed to be flushed with beginners luck!! Following the races, perfect weather prevailed, and several of us headed off on foot to visit the lighthouse, or stroll up the Castle Rock. Views of the rugged rock formations and coastline, were truly spectacular. These pursuits were a great appetizer for what awaited on our return. All back at base, we tucked into Victoria and Craig's culinary delights. Oh what morsels — superb marinated steaks, cooked to perfection and accompanied by delicious salads. The treats that followed were their legendary trifle and green pudding, which all made for quite a banquet!! Once full to capacity and well satisfied, we sat around teacher Margaret who proceeded to quizz us from the resident trivial pursuit book. Collectively we did well, with Darren and John scoring particularly highly. Sunday morning delivered a good sunrise with clear skies. Harry, Glynne and Louise made the most of it, being up and out walking by 6.30 am. The light on the unusual sea-eroded formations around the lighthouse, was especially rewarding for the “early birds”. Back at the bach, the day was off to a leisurely start. Breakfast out on the porch in the sun was very relaxing. This experience was further enhanced by the left-over yummy desserts. How many helpings was that Harry? Then it was a recreational free-for-all...cricket on the strip of lawn outside the bach, or out exploring the environs on bikes, or a swim in the temperate water. Harry was the first in. It was very inviting, almost tropical!! After lunch, it was “all hands on deck” for operation cleanup, with eleven of us on the job. John had departed mid-morning back to Greytown on his bike, a clever tactic John! Many hands do make for light work, the bach was ship-shape and we were all packed up and ready to depart by 2 pm. It was with great reluctance that we all set off in the bus for the return journey. Castlepoint had thoroughly spoilt us, with activities galore, and idyllic weather conditions. A weekend at Caslepoint with brilliant sunshine and virtually no wind is almost unheard of Quick Craig! Get that bach booked soon, for the next Castlepoint race weekend!
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