Roadtripping and camping were splendidly awesome, because it reminded me a little bit of being back home - only with less bears and a helluva lot more beaches. Driving down the east coast from Paihia to Auckland, me, Luisa and Diede traveled the long winding roads (Luisa insisted on playing that Beatles song at one point) and stopped along the way to marvel at the sandy bays and beaches that New Zealand has to offer. The first day, our favorite stop was definitely Matapouri Beach, which had blue-green waters so vibrant that we thought we were on a tropical beach. No wonder nobody here cares about not having a white Christmas!
We stayed in a holiday park that night in Tutukaka (hilarious name, it's also the town where I went snorkeling awhile ago), and I roomed with Diede in her 1.5 person tent. It wasn't the tight squeeze that woke me up at 6am, though. It was the cold and my flimsy sleeping bag - not surprising since it was the same sleeping bag that kept me up the whole night 2 years ago in Italy, homeless in the Dolomite Mountains and shivering on top of a picnic bench. Didn't keep a blog for that one (but I should've, since that was the first Shabadoo's Blabadoo ..sorry Ken). Anyway, I ended up reading some girly book in the lounge to escape the cold (holiday parks have kitchens and lounges, so you get what you pay more for) until everyone woke up.
The next day, we passed through Whangarei (where I went back when I left the first farm) and checked out Abbey Caves, which was great because I had missed out on it the first time. More Lord of the Rings-ness! There were 3 separate cave entrances, and the fields in between had giant rock formations that have been weathered over what I imagine are thousands of years by water and wind, rendering them extremely statuesque. We avoided the cave that reportedly has water rising up to your chest, and did the other two where the water barely hit our knees. Super cool! It was a bit tricky climbing down rocks in bare feet, but Diede our climbing expert led us through safely. The glowworms were all housed on the cave ceilings, and luckily they charmed us enough when we turned off our flashlights that we didn't notice we were 3 girls in a very dark and wet cave. After the caves, we walked into the rock forest, with more giant weathered rocks and also trees that were statuesque in their own right.
Nearby, our campsite awaited us, but more importantly the beach that was right in front of it. Uretiti Beach (giggle) is the name, and it was perfect for those classified ads people that love long walks on the beach.
That night of camping was more rugged since we just set up shop on some grass and cooked couscous in front of the bathroom, but actually we had an even better time than Tutukaka. Afer dinner, instead of knocking on the doors of RVs with satellite dishes and begging them to share their TV, we walked the 50m over a little dune and had full access to the magnificence of moonlight on beach action. (why would you bring your TV out camping, anyway?) I was mildly bummed that we couldn't watch the sunset as we were facing the east coast, but we did manage to see some colors on the bushy horizon behind us, and ended up getting the best of both worlds. This time I opted to sleep with Luisa in the back of her car, which was definitely warmer but more cramped (fine with me).
The last day involved a scorching morning tanning session on the beach (I think I've already hit my sun quota in this ozoneless country) and then driving back into the city, something I dreaded after witnessing so much awesome nature. The only good thing was getting groceries, since our lunch had been crackers with all the various condiments we had. Auckland again was nothing special to me, just a home base until the next destination. I was at a nice social hostel though, plus one of sister's high school friends and her boyfriend took me out for wine and seafood. Woot for getting slightly buzzed in the middle of the day and sleeping it off on my dorm bed! Oh and lots of Christmas lights on Franklin St! It still feels weird to hear Christmas songs playing in the supermarket while I have shorts and a tshirt on.
Just before going to the next farm, I stayed one night in Thames (6km away from the farm). It was another cloudy Sunday, so hard to judge the town when it's dead quiet and grey. But I think Thames is small and quaint. I did have a memorable meal at a tapas restaurant, and tried smoked eel and black (ie. blood) pudding. Tempted to try their grilled kangaroo... but besides the moral dilemna of eating my namesake, I think I'll save that culinary adventure for Australia. The waitress ended up being the owner and a very nice lady who gave me a ride home back to the hostel after closing the restaurant, which was unecessary but very appreciated.
This week, I am all too glad to be enduring the wind and rain in the comfort of someone's lovely home (but dang, isn't this partly why I left Vancouver? At least it's warm). John and Trish of Peppertree Nursery have taken me in, along with their new hyper dog Roxy and a black cat Lancer. Their house is very cool - windows for walls, fish-filled ponds lining the walkway, and a view of their landscaped gardens out back that's sometimes open to the public. I made the mistake in thinking that they also had vegetables to farm....'growing plants' doesn't equal farming! So it's been gardening, ie. sweeping leaves, weeding pots, potting. Roxy the dog gets into everything unless you tie her up - she also hasn't gotten over the habit of jumping and play-biting, which she attemps wholeheartedly with me. It's hilarious when she tries to jump at me but gets yanked back by her leash and ends up doing a karate flip. That and watching her trying to conquer the tall soil hill where we pot plants and sliding down very comically (and repeat).
Today is a rainy day in, perfect time to curl up and read... except for the fact that the other day I realized that The Rainmaker, which I got from a book exchange, is missing the last 10-20 pages. GAH! So I've been watching How I Met Your Mother. And later we're going to decorate the Christmas tree!
Also, Trish brought back the trifle half-eaten from their dinner party, so I've been sneaking bites from the fridge all day. Lord help me!
Hey, your pictures are good, especially the one with the big white dog and your friend.
ReplyDeleteSo re you going to travel with Luisa later on?
Seems like the bigger cities up north are not that impressive to you, it has been beaches, caves, water all along, and they look great!
ooh that corned beef hash looks nom nom.
ReplyDeleteI leave for Juneau on Monday until Fri-- skype Christmas weekend?