A Holberg morning

By Gord Henschel, North Island Eagle, September 23  2022

I once spent the better part of a week in Holberg sketching, painting and photographing the many beauty spots in the area. Arriving late on the first day, I headed for a spot that didn’t require a lot of walk-ing, Palmerston Recreation Area, or popularly known by the locals as “Two Min-ute Beach”. It was a glori-ously, made to order, sunny day and total enjoyment was easy. I shared the beach with a group from Regina who were looking for and found a campsite.

On the next day, bright and early, I strode through the superb forest trail to San Josef Bay. 

Always a treat, San Josef is probably the most visited of the beaches on the west coast of North Island. 

Today, the only other souls I saw were kayakers on the river. The weather was de-teriorating, however, and by the time I returned on the trail, a light rain was keeping me from doing any sketching.

 On my third day in Hol-berg, I had planned to vis-it the picturesque Hecht Beach. Although on this Holberg morning it was raining quite heavily, the forecast was for afternoon clearing. With the rain, lit-erally pelting down, I made my way down the Winter Harbour road, heading for the Hecht Beach trail. By the time I reached the trail-head it was 1 p.m. and the rain hadn’t let up. The trail, which passed through sa-lal and low scrub, soaked me to the waist before I reached the shelter of the trees.

When I finally reached the ocean, I knew the walk was more than worthwhile but sketching in this deluge was out of the question. I risked damaging my not so waterproof camera but managed at least a memen-

to. I consoled myself by vowing that this was a spot I would return to in better weather. Back in Holberg, feeling much like a wet puppy, I changed into dry clothes while listening to the rain beating on the roof of my camper.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, a totally different world. I did my North Island thing:  stuck my head out the door, sang “What a Wonderful World” in my best Louis Armstrong voice and went down the road out of town to do the sketch for this painting.

                                                                                                                                     Artwork By Gord Henschel