April 2nd 2021: Shakespeare and tsunamies

It was hot. And Nienke had seen pictures of people swimming under a nice waterfall in KeriKeri. So instead of shopping in town (my favorite activity 😇) we went looking for those falls.

Unfortunately there were too many other creatures in the water, E. coli. Thanks to the farmers upstream who keep saving money on fencing along the waterways. So instead of a cooling dip we did a hot stroll along the stream. Another tourist insisted on taking our typical holiday picture. Sorry for the plastic smiles.

Driving into Paihia the first thing we saw was sign outside of a pub announcing live music that night. Not sure why we continued driving, but we did. All the other accommodation types were quickly disapproved by our sub conscience and after a nice coffee on the waterfront we found ourselves driving back to the camping next to the fore mentioned pub.

It turned out to be a great move. The live music was the jam session of a couple of locals. In fact, almost every local that walked in at some point grabbed an instrument and joined. We had a great night and later that night even Nienke was incorporated in the band. With a tambourine in the hand she joined the supporting vocals group while I kept drumming on the table, carefully avoiding my pint of delicious hazy pale ale. OK, I think Nienke will again miss out on being the Dutch 'European Song festival' representative, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

And this is the awful place we had to settle for in order to be close to the pub. Nice pond with ducks and a waterfall in the background. Serene,  quiet, just perfect.

We met up with friends of us in Paihia and decided to do something cultural. After a short discussion the winner was a Shakespeare play. The 'Twelfth night' at Kainui winery in KeriKeri. Luckily not one of his heavier pieces. The comedy was just right for a night on the winery. Nice pinot gris too.

It was a Wednesday and Tim and I were supposed to play competition that night. Being good teammates we decided to send a supportive picture to our 'comrades in tennis'. Curiously enough they won twice during our absence. ??? When we got back from holiday we did beat the team that became champion this Wednesday, so we're not just decoration yet.

The first time Nienke and I went to Northland was 14 years ago. Then we visited Waitangi (the place were the founding document of New Zealand was signed between the different tribes and the government representative) and Russel (in the old days the pirate capital of New Zealand). Waitangi was interesting (even more so now we have lived here for a while), but Russel was a town for retired people. Endless bars and restaurants full of grey haired people. And thus we completely misjudged the Bay of Islands. It is in fact an amazingly beautiful part of New Zealand. We decided to do the 'Tall ship experience' and see the island from the water.

My tennis team mate Tim had said it was amazing. Well, it was enjoyable, but with hardly any wind we only just got out of the harbour. Visited a small island and did the obligatory walk to the top. Nice , but we had hoped to be sailing at high speed, slaloming between the island, etc.

None of that. They did invite us to pull the ropes (sorry, forgot the technical terms) for the sails, but I had an excuse (my hernia's) and Nienke... eh. well, anyway, there were other volunteers. Climbing the ?? (again, forgot the technical term) appeared to be too dangerous for old people like us. It was a bit embarrassing that a 4 year old almost climbed to the top. All in all a nice trip but I wouldn't do it again. The ship by the way was owned by a charitable trust that invited brothers and sisters of children with disabilities or chronic diseases for a week of sailing. The trip we did was to fund that and that was really necessary because of all the foreign tourist who could not come to NZ. That gave us a real good feeling.

We skipped the temptation of having dinner in a restaurant in Paihia and drove to our next adventurous destination. A very windy road took us along beautiful beaches and cliffs with stunning views. We found a great camping on a small land strip with the sea on one side and an inlet on the other. Somehow cooking your own dinner on the beach is still very attractive. Or was it the wine and the view, I forgot...

We did a not too strenuous walk on the peninsula. Around every corner you expect a pirate ship. Peace though.

That evening it was cinema night. Our van has all the luxuries you need, including a laptop loaded with movies and a good speaker. Too bad the batteries were too low to charge the popcorn machine.

And a nice sunset on top of a great evening.

You won't believe it but we found a few more nice beaches. This one was on a remote and difficult to reach peninsula called Mimiwhangata. The Department of Conservation managed a Coastal park there. The road to the park was unsuitable for caravans or big campervans so not surprisingly we were the only ones there. Well, we did see horses.

Nice walking tracks and several swimmable beaches. And three cottages you can rent for the week. I think I know where we are going to organise a future party!

The weather started to change, rain predicted for the coming days, but even with the clouds the waves are amazing. Lots and lots of birds, even the rather rare 'fairy terns'.

Heading further south we had a nice swim during one of our walks at Whale beach, close to the place I spend the night on my way up north. Somehow I missed this gem.

And then we were in Tutukaka, the town this coastal area was named after. From here we were going to take the boat to the Poor Knights islands to snorkel. Because of the rain we had cancelled the first day thinking that we would not see that much when it was cloudy. Next day it was sunny and we were just having breakfast or rather, they had just brought us our coffees, when the alarm went of. Not the fire alarm or so but a deafening siren outside. A series of earthquakes at the Kermadec island had caused tsunamis. We had to leave the hotel immediately and were told to head for higher grounds. Djeez Nienke, why do you ask for water with your breakfast!

With a few locals we waiting higher up a hill for the tsunami. A long waiting game. After a while some other locals invited us to some prime seats on their deck, with complementary flat whites. Now that is 'disaster watching first class'. While waiting I started looking through some campervans for sale. After all, our van was in the hotels parking lot and would not survive a tsunami. After a few hours we were done waiting and headed down to the hotel to see if it had opened again. When we reached the harbour there was water on the road. Some other locals saw us in doubt and invited us in for lunch. Hey, that is Kiwi land. When we reached the hotel again after lunch staff was glad to see us,. They had all gone in the other direction and had been sitting on top of a hill in the sun with nothing to eat or drink. Needless to say that the boat to the islands was not going so we booked another night at the hotel. They had upgraded us to a room with harbour view which was right above the restaurant. Which opened at 7.30, with music! We did not complain as they played the golden oldies.

Did a nice walk in the afternoon to one of the local clifftops where you had a great view over the Bay of Islands.

Walking in the sun is hot, very hot. Good thing there are always some small beaches nearby to swim. Tsunami-risk or not, we needed to cool of.

In the background you can see the faint contours of the Poor Knights islands. And what about that lady in front of it. What a sports lady!

OK, but this is allowed after a day full of excitement and physical activities. Have to say, one of the best fish'n'chups I have ever eaten. Fresh gurnard!

Yes, the boat left the harbour and we're finally on our way, accompanied by dolphins, the 'common dolphin' in this case.

Not such a common sight on the bow sight of the boat. Take it from me, you should be glad you can't hear the embarrassing sounds the ladies were making. As if they were talking to babies in a crib.

The name Tutukaka reminds a lot of people of Pipi Longstocking, the Swedish rebel being the main character in a TV series enjoyed by many generations. These islands reminded me of Pipi Longstocking and the Pirates.

No pirate ship when we sailed through the hole in the rocks. There were caves though.

One of the caves became famous after Jacques Cousteau visited it. He found the cave full of blue Mau Mau. And that is where we went snorkeling. Really nice experience. We saw some tropical fish swimming amongst the known Kiwi species like kingfish, snapper, cod and stingray. The snappers came so close you could almost grab them, but, no fishing here! It's a reserve.

I forgot to tell that Auckland had been in lockdown again for a couple of days. A woman caught the English strain somehow (we still do not know how, but I suspect she had a rendezvous at the airport with some crew member or so). Anyway, her friends and family were positive too and just went out working and shopping (KFC of course). And thus Auckland shut down again. Our main concern was that we might not be able to pass through, in other words that we had to extend our holiday. Horrible prospect. Luckily enough (😒) the lockdown ended in time for us to drive south again. Back to an appointment with the dental surgeon, work (well, a few days) and a garden desperately needing attention.

We visited our friends in Waihi on our way back home. With Carla we walked the amazing track from Homunga bay to Waihi beach

I'd love to live on the beach. Oh, eh, I do. But this coast with all the rocks, waterfalls and turquois bays is so beautiful. Who knows, one day....

Here is my little cowgirl home again, reconnecting with our animals after the 3 weeks break. Feeding them apples from our own apple trees. Until a few years ago I did not even know cows ate apples.

I wonder if you keep feeding them apples if the milk would taste different. Well, obviously not in this case as they are all bulls. I've seen animals served at dinner with an apple in it's mouth, but would you be able to make the meat taste different? Marinade them alive?

No, we're not playing hide and seek. This is the cable guy at work. Since a couple of months our TV reception wasn't the best anymore. A quick inspection on the roof revealed the issue. The bottom half of the dish had disappeared. Rusted away. So I bought a new one and sprayed several layers of sealant over it to extend its lifespan. Then I had to install it. The old transponder had turned into accommodation for two giant spiders and was unusable. So I cut the 2 cables and installed a new transponder as well. Now I had 2 cables and only 1 connection on the new transponder. With a friend I tried to align the dish with the satellite. Our compasses were completely mad, north kept changing and we could not get a good signal. Was Nienke right about mysterious earth rays under our bedroom? So I called the cable guy, who had much better machinery. 'No sir, you do not need 2 cables, that was something from the past!' So he cut one of and finished his job. Brilliant, we could watch the news again. That is to say, upstairs. No reception downstairs. You guessed it, cable guy had underestimated the ingenuity of the people who build our house. Anyway, this project is finally done.

We should have build an extra level on our house as the view from the roof is even more amazing.

We have always been great fans of a New Zealand artist by the name of Trevor Askin. He makes beautiful bronze sculptures. It was in the Christchurch art center where we first saw one of his sculptures, called the 'Godwits return', absolutely beautiful. One night I thought what the heck, we'll commission one for ourselves. And this is it, a sculpture of three seagulls in flight, as an in memoriam to our three children. We named it 'Soaring spirits'. If you'd like to see more of this artist, click here

It is almost unbelievable but last weekend was the first time we went to CubaDupa. That is the revival of the old Cuba street Carnival. It started in 2015, but somehow we've managed to travel all over the country for concerts, but never visited the one in our 'back yard'.

500 bands over 50 stages and 20 parades, spread over 2 days.

Unreal if you think of the situation in Europe. Here Jamaican disk jockeys caused a traffic jams in Cuba street, it was that crowdy. And no masks. Luckily Asian food stores everywhere.

Even a guy in a wheelchair doing acrobatics high above the road.

Since we were in Wellington anyway we had to visit Te Papa museum. The museum is always interesting. A must do for all visitors to Wellington. I'm standing in the big installation room where the Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota exhibits his 'Web of time'. It's huge and you can walk through it or see it from above.

Of course we had to have a bit of fun with the kaleidoscope.

And back to the festival. Here we are in the tiny room (only 5 visitors are able to get in for just the one song). Here is Sirisan Sobhanasirr from Thailand playing a song for us.

We're nearing the end of this post. I'll close with two pictures Nienke took on the beach. Our never boring sunsets. Good to come home to after a hard days work. Well, for Nienke, although I have done a couple of days in our local practice again as well. Saw a lady with deteriorating kidney function and gout. Interrogated her extensively to find out what cause it. 'Are you sure you did not have shellfish?' 'I only had oysters from a jar, no shells!' 😴. Painting the house is more satisfying, but I have to hurry up, it's getting wetter and colder..

And that's it. I hope next time everybody had their Covid vaccination, the Dutch soccer team stopped disappointing me (4 -2 loss against Turkey!!!) and holidays can be planned again.