It is a glorious spring day and from the verandah where I sit I can gaze out across the Napier town and to the sea beyond.

A fresh breeze is blowing from the east, just strong enough to put some white caps on the waves. A white-sailed yacht curtseys and lifts as she makes her way across the bay.

The dark colouring of the water against the glowing sunshine reminds one of a lovely picture by Somerscales. In the distance, where the horizon melts away in tender mist, the trawlers can be seen making their way to the port beyond the Bluff.

Looking south is the lovely curve of the Bay, golden in the sunlight. The league-long rollers of the Pacific surge toward the shore, holding themselves in majesty until the mighty moment when they crash and break in lovely foam.

The Norfolk Pines lifting their tendril branches in the breeze make a gracious break between the shore and the sea.

Immediately in the foreground is the new town of Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.