Did he or didn't he hit the waves?
The view at Mongonui.
Dad took the kids out for Valentines Day dinner and Steve and I went to the beach.
On the ferry in the Hokianga Harbour on the way to lunch in Rawene.
The view from the hills in Ahipara looking down onto 90 Mile Beach.
The Bay of Islands just past Russell.
On the boat in the Bay of Islands.
The Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett in the Bay of Islands.
Another shot of the Bay of Islands.
With the performers at the cultural performance at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
E catching dinner for the family. He landed the two Kowai all by himself. They were delish.
I am surprising myself here in the boonies of Kaitaia. Not because I freaked out when we arrived here, seeing only a hick town with one main street filled with run-down store fronts and long empty spaces to anywhere else. No. That was to be expected. If I have learned anything about myself on this journey, it is that I am terrible at transitioning. No. I am surprising myself, because I like it here. The store fronts may be run down a bit, but when you walk inside, they are lovely. And there is everything you might need in the town: a couple of good book stores, a couple of good restaurants, a café or two, a few nice clothing stores, a health food store, the ubiquitous Warehouse (the NZ equivalent of Walmart) and most importantly a great library. The space to elsewhere is growing on me too. It is beginning to look less scrubby to my eye. I can now see the beauty in the rolling green pastures. And of course the “elsewhere” has turned out to be stunning, long white sandy beaches empty but for the Tasman or Pacific lapping at their shores.
My father has been here for the last six days and that of course has helped me make the move from flash Sumner to laid-back Kaitaia. We’ve been travelling all over the far north region. As a family, we took a tour of Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach stopping to tobbogan down the giant sand dunes in Te Paki. One day Dad and I drove down to Hokianga Harbour through the Herikino Forest and took the ferry across to Rawene for lunch. Another day, we drove to Mongonui via Cable Bay and Cooper’s Beach and explored the old town there. Dad had his first and very greasy experience of NZ fish and chips at the “famous” local fish and chips shop.
The second weekend of his visit the whole family took a road trip in a rental van (they only had a ten seater available at the one rental place in town, so plenty of room - what a hoot to drive) down to Paihia. There we took a half day cruise in the Bay of Islands to see the bottle nose dolphins and the Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett. We stopped at Urupukapuka Island to swim and hike and then headed back. In the afternoon we went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to see where the treaty that created the modern state between the Maori and the Pakeha (Europeans) was signed. Then on to Haruru Falls.
It was quite a week of travelling and visiting and getting to know the place. Now Dad’s gone home, Ethan’s caught fish for the family dinne,r and tomorrow I’m starting a Maori language class. I think I’m going to like it here.
My father has been here for the last six days and that of course has helped me make the move from flash Sumner to laid-back Kaitaia. We’ve been travelling all over the far north region. As a family, we took a tour of Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach stopping to tobbogan down the giant sand dunes in Te Paki. One day Dad and I drove down to Hokianga Harbour through the Herikino Forest and took the ferry across to Rawene for lunch. Another day, we drove to Mongonui via Cable Bay and Cooper’s Beach and explored the old town there. Dad had his first and very greasy experience of NZ fish and chips at the “famous” local fish and chips shop.
The second weekend of his visit the whole family took a road trip in a rental van (they only had a ten seater available at the one rental place in town, so plenty of room - what a hoot to drive) down to Paihia. There we took a half day cruise in the Bay of Islands to see the bottle nose dolphins and the Hole in the Rock at the top of Cape Brett. We stopped at Urupukapuka Island to swim and hike and then headed back. In the afternoon we went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to see where the treaty that created the modern state between the Maori and the Pakeha (Europeans) was signed. Then on to Haruru Falls.
It was quite a week of travelling and visiting and getting to know the place. Now Dad’s gone home, Ethan’s caught fish for the family dinne,r and tomorrow I’m starting a Maori language class. I think I’m going to like it here.
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