Greg Taipari: Storm brings a raw beauty of its own

Greg Taipari.

Long weekends can be an interesting time for most people.

As a new arrival to the region, there are always plenty of new and exciting things to see and experience.

Luckily for me I get to share these exciting new experiences with my family who have travelled from Rotorua through to Napier for the school holidays.

Thank goodness my children don't believe in first impressions making a lasting impression because when they arrived on Thursday night, the weather gods had put on an impressive display of wind and rain.

Taking them around Napier and Hastings yesterday, the scenery was breathtaking. Even with the swell along Marine Parade, which is usually a beautiful tranquil blue, now a mix of brown and white foam with waves crashing into the shore with a vengeance and the howling wind ripping through our hair.

It was actually quite scary and exciting at the same time.

Today's weather is expected to be more like what I've come to expect from Hawke's Bay with clear skies and sunshine, with a high of 24C in Napier and 23C in Hastings.

I'm looking forward to taking my children up Bluff Hill as well as hiring some bikes to take in more of the sights and sounds of this beautiful region.

Being able to share these experiences with loved ones is a blessing and it's always good to reflect on just how lucky we are.

There are some who aren't so fortunate. You only have to look as far as the tragic story on our front page today.

Police were late yesterday still trying to establish the movements of an elderly man before he was found dead a short distance from a overturned mobility scooter.

His body was found in the drain between Latham St and the Marewa Walkway yesterday morning.

Although police secured the area of creek and reserve as a potential crime scene, it is now being treated as an unexplained death.

At this time, it is uncertain how long the elderly man lay dead in the drain or how long he may have been alive lying in the drain.

But it is sad to think this man may have lain there possibly hurt, lonely and scared.

My heart goes out to him and his family, it's sad to think that the last few moments of this man's life were spent alone on a cold, wet miserable night laying in a ditch.

I'm sure there are loved ones out there, who cared for him and would want him to be remembered for the person he was and not how he ended up.