Just creeping in at the end of the month for Jude’s series of Bench memes – this month of April is for those with a view.  I hope you enjoy my views of the sea today 🙂

In just a few months I will be able to take advantage of this view of Queen’s Beach in Bowen.  Just a short walk from our accommodation – 4.5kms of sand stretching from the mouth of the River Don down to Cape Edgecumbe. http://beachsafe.org.au/beach/qld0950

There is a funny little one right on the sandy beach at Monte’s Resort just an hour and a bit up the road from Bowen. http://montesreefresort.com.au/

Drive a few hours down south west of Melbourne along The Great Ocean Road here in Victoria and you can see this one set on the shoreline near the lighthouse at Port Fairy – two of my ‘favourite things. right next door to each other.    http://www.portfairy.com.au/

Can you tell I really need a trip to the coast lol

The other week I posted some benches I had seen in a garden – this month I have some in Black and White or monochrome as others like to say.  I’m not too good at spotting situations where they show up more easily in B/W so here are some I like – even tho’ they might not be the best examples.

This little wooden one was at the foot of the escalators right by a car park exit door – just in the right spot for a weary shopper to collect their bags and thoughts together before leaving.

The rotunda in the big park at Mooroolbark has long benches – just right for families to shelter from the heat – or the drizzle that was coming down this day. 

A little covered area near the pond in Kilsyth – a favourite spot for family gatherings at the weekends. A good spot for picnics – Cool in the summer with shelter on rainy days.

This is ‘My’ bench, the one featured in the header picture above – the nearby shrubs have grown and the bench now has a more mature look about it.  Sitting on it makes you feel as though you really are in the bush and not in a suburban park.

If you pop over to Jude’s blog (Travel Words) you might just see some more in the Bench Series – February Black and White/Monochrome

And if you want to join in the Bench Series she has a list of monthly themes here.  

Well today we are going to be ‘near’ the sea not actually beside the sea. In Napier, one of the stops on our 2011 New Zealand cruise  – about halfway up the east coast of the North Island.

Famed for its Art Decor buildings and the fact it was nearly destroyed in the 1931 Hawkes Bay earthquake, it turned out to be a very interesting place to visit,

Hot day + lots of walking = sore feet and a need to sit down so I was on the lookout for a bench (near the sea)  I spied these near the roadside and decided Too Hot and Sunny so wandered over to the shade on the right of the picture.

Where I saw this little beauty

Nestled there in the shade of the trees that line the Marine Parade  Gardens it was just what I needed.

Looking very cool and very inviting – a simple garden bench.

Somewhere to sit 🙂

I knew that behind the trees was the Pacific Ocean and in front a small garden bed – but because of the bright light couldn’t quite make out what was at the other end of the garden walkway..

Oh joy – another of my favourite things – a fountain.  A large fountain (Tom Parker Fountain) and what looked like a sound shell.

Well, that was me done for a good half hour before I wandered up to marvel in the coolness of the fountain and to discover what was at the other end of that broad expanse of green grass.

pier.govt.nz/napier/parks/gardens/marine-parade-gardens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier,_New_Zealand

If you pop over to Judes blog – Travel Words you’ll find loads of other benches

Linking to:

Our World Tuesday
Bench Series