A weekend getaway to Castlepoint

This weekend was no doubt one of the most relaxing weekends we have had here thus far. It consisted of a weekend getaway to Castlepoint, just a two hour drive northeast of Wellington. We took our new good friend, Dan, and his lovely four legged friend, Juno (black lab), and met our friend/landlords Shaun and Lauraine for a deluxe car camping adventure. Told that Castlepoint is rugged and exposed, we were expecting the worst I suppose, however it ended up being unbelievably calm, warm and wonderful.  A couple hours after the 3 (plus Juno) of us arrived and set up camp, Shaun and Lauraine arrived with the crayfish buckets. There was no denying we were there just to camp as we were on a paua (abalone) and crayfish (spiny lobster) hunting spree. While we were daydreaming on the days prior of a seafood only feast for the weekend, we were proven it takes more skill than we had...still fun anyone, and leaves us with an even larger craving! The three of us (plus Juno) running toward the cray pot after leaving it out overnight was a bit reflective of a good Christmas morning!

On our way to the cray pots...on the other side of the lighthouse!

 A very happy Juno looking for a restroom spot...

 This reminds us of how Avila Beach must have looked 50 years ago.

 The big daddy of tractor/trailer that pulled some big boats out of the water...this was the only one that had a built in cab!

 The boats surfed their way right into the back of the trailer...

 Boat surfing...?

 A pristine morning at Castlepoint

 Looking North with the lighthouse on the tip...

 Not a UFO in the picture...perhaps some friendly sand that didn't want to get out of the camera lens...

 A very fun, happy group!

 The sunset was breathtaking...

Very pretty view... 

 This was what the entire rock was made out of that consists of Castlepoint...a whole lot of compressed ocean floor (I am sure there is a more elaborate word for this)...

 Couldn't be more relaxed...

 A very excited Juno!

 Sunset. Waiting for the crays to bite...

 We don't think this was trash, but we don't really know how it made its way beyond where the tides reached...

 Someone obviously got a hold of the camera to document a much needed morning nap I was enjoying!

 For some reason this mossy rock captivated...

 Dan and Shaun carrying an empty cray pot... reluctantly!

 A very large cray boat coming in after a long day of catching some big ones (we were a bit envious of the latter part of that statement)...

A very happy Zeph and new friend Dan...and a tuckered Juno...Believe it or not, the wine bottle wasn't theirs (or mine for that matter)...it was all about the smores!