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Published: November 23rd 2005
Seriously...for those of you that may have thought about coming here, stop thinking and book your ticket. Just one town/city/location makes is all worth it.
Currently, I'm in Napier. The Art Deco city of the South Pacific. It's beautiful. Sits right on the Hawk's Bay and the beach is magnificant...not a sand beach, but black rock and sand...I think from the earthquake that happened here, but not entirely sure. I don't have much time to write, and I took a tour of wine country today...so I'm a little bit tispy...sorry for any missing/misspelled words, but really it should be expected. The wineries here were great. Several wines at each one. I was with a local guide and we had some unique access to the wineries. Bought another X-mas gift (John, get excited) and a little treat for myself. Napier is a quaint little city with wonderful small town type of people. Although Kiwis are so friendly, I'm not sure that it matters where you meet them. They have a $2 Store here, which is the same as a $1 store in the US...Jenny, get excited...you have a gift coming your way...hee, hee! Anyhow...back to where I left off...
So, the booze cruise was hardly that. It was more like a working/adventure cruise with a drink here or there. Our captain, Alister, was the perfect example of a beautiful Kiwi man! I was very excited about that. Wow, this is a little more candid than normal, but oh well. Anyhow, he was great. Had the best accent yet! I was loving life. The catamaran was huge. We had about 25 people on board with one being an older couple from England. I have found that most of the people I have met here are from Europe. The next largest group would be Asians. Only one other US girl thus far. Come people, you need to leave the country and represent! So, we pushed back from the dock around 9:30 a.m and set out for the day. There was not too much wind, which of course was good for me because that meant that sea sickness wouldd be kept at a minimum. The Bay of Islands is a beautiful place. I tried to take pictures, but they will never really capture what I saw. The water is a saffire blue with waves crashing into the rock walls that line the coast line. We had dolphins swimming in the wake of our boat and saw Gannetts (sp?) fishing. This is a wonderful bird...white wiht black and white coloring. They usually die after aobut 7 years of life because they dive into the ocean at 60 mph with their eyes open and eventually go blind. Once they go blind, they can't fish. We ventured up to a small secluded bay and dropped anchor for about 2 hours. From here, I was a little chicken cuz the water was really cold, I went kayaking around the bay, other went snokeling. The water was perfectly clear for at least 12 feet (maybe more...my judgement is bad). There were little areas to explore with different rocks and fish. After a bit, I jumped back on the boat and let another person take a try. Alister was cooking up a traditional kiwi bbq which was beef and chicken wiht pasta salad, potato salad and fruit. Good stuff. It was at this time that I decided to dip into the self serve bar on board. To my surprise, not only did they have three different types of beer in a can, but they also had Jack Daniel's N Coke, Gin N Tonic and Rum N Coke in a can. When I asked Allister about it, he said, "Kiwi's will put anything in a can!" I picked a beer I had not tried and then basked myself in hte warm sun. NOTE - when traveling to NZ takes lots of sunscreen and apply once an hour. I had it on and never usually burn and I burned out on hte boat. Back to the good stuff. From here...we headed back out into the big bay for some true sailing. After some brief instructions, Alister asked for volunteers to help and of course I had my handd up! I was helping raise hte sail. I am now a professional sailor. :-) In my world anyway! At this point, the wind had picked up and we were really picking up some speed. After some sailing, Alister realized we had some extra time and picked another bay for us to anchor in and laze around. Once here, everyone was jumping off the side of hte catamaran. IT's not like in hte US where everyone is afraid of hte next lawsuit...here you just do. So, I took off my layers, stood up on the side and dove in! It was really FREAKING cold, but really, when will I ever do that again! I swam around in the cold, clear water for some time before climbing back onboard. The water was about 65 degrees and I have no idea what the air temp was. They keep giving it to me in C and I have trouble remembering the conversion. The rest of the boat trip back to the wharf was peaceful. It was just so nice to sit and soak up the scenery. Once at the dock, I said goobye to my friends for the day - the group from Holland was one of my favorites thus far - thanks Alister and headed toward town. The two germans stopped me and asked what I was doing later and if I wanted to meet up for some beers. I agread. I have friends! At least for now...I met up with them around 8 p.m. It was still light here...since it's summer the sun is up forever. It's odd for it to be late November and the sun to be up for so long. Now, listen, take caution when drinking with two Germans. Those boys could put them back. I had three beers and was ready to head home...they were just getting started. We had a really nice time. Lots of laughing and discussion about our countries and experiences.
The next day, I had a very early morning. I was picked up at 7:15 a.m. to have a 12 hour excursion up to the far Northland which included 90 mile beach and cape reigina. This trip was in an old 4x4 WWII Jeep/Truck thing. It used to carry troups around. We had about 15 people on the truck. I liked being in the small group. Again, had the best tour guide! He was very passionate about NZ, history, trekking, fishing and us having the best time! I love Kiwi's! He talked about the countryside and history of what we were seeing almost the entire day. I don't know how he did it...and I can talk alot, but this was incredible. Our first stop was in the Puketi Forest to see the awesome Kauri trees. These are the trees that are only seen in NZ that the Maori used to make just about everything including their canoes. After a short trek into the forest, we were standing next to one of the young Kauir trees...it was about 600 years old. They live to about 3,000 - 4,000 years old. The largest one on record was 20 meters in gurth (do your own coversions here) and it was 30 meters up to the first branch. I just can't begin to explain the sheer size of these trees. They are the second largest tree in the world after the Redwoods in California. After alot of awh and wonderment...we loaded back up on the bus to continue on our jouney. We were told about small hills that the Maori built to protect the women and children in battles, the history of several of hte pubs we passed (no stops were made here), the history of many of the buildings past that were the beginnings of English settlement villages. We took a short break at a cafe for mid morning tea and coffee. They like to drink coffee here. I had a quiche and water. At this time, I met the nicest woman from Switzerland. She had the best accent. She told me here name, but I could never spell it, so she is going to be known as the Swiss. We chatted...she is traveling on her own as well. Back on the bus, we continued our jouney to 90 mile beach. Now, the beach is not 90 miles, but rather 64. Long story about the name that I won't get into. Something about farmers moving cattle and it taking three days to walk the whole thing...anyhow, the beach is just long and flat! I have never seen anything like it. There is no one on it either. It was a bit erie, even during the day to have the vast beach with no one on it. It sits on the Tasman sea and Australia was 2000 km away. We stopped at one point to walk around. I took a picture of my feet in the water...I really hope it turns out. The other incredible thing, no boats in the water. Our guide, Todd, said that this waters here are usually very rough...maybe that's why. From here, we headed to the sand dunes for a little adventure. We were all given a boogy board, some quick instruction, and then began the trek up the dunes. It was so hard and I'm in fairly good shape. The second tier was really steap and I was sufficiently out of breath at the top. It was worse than climbing the stairs at Swallow Cliff. Once there, and I caught my breath, I climbed onto my board on my stomach, lifted my feet and slid down the dune really fast...sandboarding! It was fun. At the bottom I made friends with a Scottish girl - Sara. We watched and laughed as the others made there way down. Some of the men were going so fast that they fell out the front and ate sand. Pretty entertaining! Back on the truck and onto the next destination. We went to Cape Reinga. This is the point where the Tasman SEa meets the South Pacific Ocean. It was a site to see. You could see a line where the two seas collided. There is a lighthouse at the point that is one of the oldest in the country. You are standing on a rock bluff looking out into the oceans. You can see forever it seems. THere was a little fog moving in while we were there. I wish I could have captured it on film. The waves are the bottom were crashing into the rock and it was all a beautiful, rich tourquoise. The Maori believe that when you die, your spirit comes here to jump off into the heavens. I can see why...there's a peacefulness to this place. And then we are off again, time for our lunch break which was at another bay on the Pacific Ocean. Sara, the Swiss and I sat on the grass and looked out into the ocean and chatted. Now, many of you think I'm brave/crazy for traveling alone for a month...The Swiss was alone and traveling for 4 months and Sara was alone and traveling for 6 months and had already been to Africa for 64 days! I'm a wuss. I decided to stick my toes in the water here too. Much colder than in the Tasman. Then we were off again. Todd, being the enthusist that he is, suggested we stop for some great, cheap ice cream. Who am I to turn down ice cream! He suggested we try the Hokey Pokey. This is vanilla ice cream wiht little bits of honeycomb in it. It's wonderful. WE need this in the US!!! The next stop was for wonderful fish n chips. The drive was several hours, so, between lunch and dinner, we had a couple of hours. The fish shack...which is exactly what it was, had fresh snapper caught that morning. It was amazing!!! I couldn't stop eating it. It just fell apart. I sat with the two girls and another guy from the trip. Sara told us about here Gorillas in the Mist experience in Africa. I have to go there! She had some of the best experiences I have heard yet and I have met people from all parts of the world that have travelled to even more parts of the world. Then, back on the truck...only one stop left...for fresh fruit. This little fruit stand was cool. I should have taken a picture. The owner was about 80 and grows all of his own fruit...no chemicals on it. THe very best kiwi (the fruit, not the man for those of you who may be a little dirty) I have ever had. At this point, it was about 5 p.m. and I was very tired. We had a jam packed day. Once we were dropped off at our hostel, the Swiss suggested we meet for a drink in an hour. I agread, showered up to remove all the sand that was everywhere. Sara talked more about Africa. I heard far too much about Figi...apparently everyone that comes to NZ also goes to Figi...I did not get that memo. Damn! Sara is also going to the US so we talked about that for a long time too. It was really fun. We had one drink and then departed our separate ways. It was really nice to meet such wonderful people and experience the day with them.
The next day was spent travelling. I was on the bus for 12 hours to get to Napier. Parts of it was beautiful. I travelled through some of the mountain areas used in Lord of the Rings. Magnificent!!! I decided to skip Rotorua, the Coromandel Penisula and Taupo. There just isn't enough time. I was foolish enough to think a couple of things, 1.) this trip would help cure my wonderlust, 2.) I would be able to see the country in a month and not need to come back. I'm a silly, silly woman. I am already planning the next trip - I'm thinking, a month in Australia with two weeks on the end in NZ to see what I have missed. Taupo is really a place I should have stopped, but again...I really want to get to the SOuth Island. On the bus trip though...I saw the best rainbow ever! You could see the whole thing, including the places where it touched the ground. I watched the color dance over the grass and trees as we drove towards it and eventually under it. Incredible.
Book your tickets people!!! I'm leaving Napier this morning, heading to Wellington and then off to the South Island on Friday. I'm going to Kaikoura which is an old whaling community. I'm going to go whale watching (get excited Elise) in hopes to see Sperm Whales.
Love to you all...more in a few days...CJ
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Rachel
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The Life and Times of CJ!
This place sounds so cool! I am really glad that you are having a great time and meeting wonderful people. This makes for one of the most fantastic chapters in the Life and Times of CJ. The only thing that would make it more fantastic is if you found a place to waterski. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! and I'll let you know if the Noles beat the Gators! Go Noles!!!!! Breakin' records today!