Patea

I went to a wedding yesterday at Patea, about one and a half hours south of here where a camping ground on the banks of the Patea River had been taken over by the guests. There was even a teepee and a house bus. It was more like a happening. The bride was barefoot and later in the evening there was a dogfight. Both those facts seemed to impress me immensely for some reason. Cortina were playing at the time of the dogfight. Much of the food was vegetarian, and all of it high quality. There were whole fish, freshly caught and freshly cooked.

Above is snap of children swimming at the river mouth. It has some feeling of what it is like there.

Below is a view across the river from where the wedding took place.The train crossing the hillside caught my attention. As usual I found myself struggling to take any wedding photographs. I find it difficult to take photos at weddings and I admire people who can.

A problem with a camphone is that on a sunny day like this, is that it's hard to see the screen and they have no viewfinder for the eye. Perhaps for this day I should have taken a thin, pocket sized, good quality digital camera, easily carried. Perhaps I'm just not equipped with the most appropriate instrument for an occasion like this when, as usual, I simply want to photos for my own project. I had taken my large Sony but on arrival found that the card from it was still in a slot in my computer in New Plymouth.

The site of the wedding was the exact spot where Charles Heaphy painted this in 1839. Notice the waka pulled up on the far river bank.


Here is an historic image of Patea. By clicking on the photo it should be possible to read the tiny text below it.

PS Monday morning.
I'd like to add the other two photos I took at the wedding, to last night's posting.
The bride and groom are somewhere up the Wanganui River on their honeymoon and not-to-be-disturbed but I'm sure it's OK. On a mundane level, I notice how sharp the images are.