Mastodon Bluesky Instagram

Not Palmy

2026-08-13 11:00 GMT+12 barefooting,travel

As I wrote a few days ago, I've been back to Hawke's Bay, where my whānau are from (and where I grew up at least half of my childhood) a few times. In my previous couple of trips, I stopped in Palmerston North not once but twice (actually four times; twice going up and twice going back).

So, here are the snaps that are utterly improper to include on a memorial page: barefooting pics!

I stayed at the Vista Motor Lodge on the North Clyde side of the bridge that joins the two sides of the town. Therefore, my first stop was the Portland Island lighthouse placed right next to the northern end of the south bank. It's one of the first things you see.

Because I didn't have anybody to take a photo of me, I placed the camera on the ground, turned on video mode, and shot what I shot. Could I have crossed my legs and hidden my feet? I suppose I could have, but then it just wouldn't be me.

Me sitting on the ground in front of the Portland Island lighthouse in Wairoa. Because I didn't have anybody to hold the camera, the phone camera is on the ground looking upwards at me. The soles of my bare feet are visible in the lower third of the image. I am looking at something out of frame.
Me sitting on the front of the Portland Island lighthouse.

There next two pictures were taken on the riverbank side of the Marine Parade. This street is split into four sections: the south-east township side, the north-east riverbank side, the south-west college side (where the town secondary school is located), and the the north-west camping ground side.

These pictures are taken on the north-east riverbank side, across the road from the main street's line of shops.

Me sitting on a low concrete wall that serves as a seat. In the background, some of the towns on the Marine Parade, the main shopping street. In the foreground, the tops of my bare feet crossed over at the ankles as I sit on the concrete.
Me, enjoying a concrete wall-cum-seat on Marine Parade, the main shopping street in Wairoa
Me standing in front of a large tree on Marine Parade.
Me standing in front of a large tree on Marine Parade
Me sitting on the ground in front of the Portland Island lighthouse in Wairoa. Similar to the first picture in this article, my phone camera is on the ground and pointing at me with a clear view of the soles of my feet. In this one, both feet are visible instead of just one and I am looking at something out of frame.