Return to Uretiti

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With all the recent stresses of getting our resiency application ready for immigration, a long weekend at the beach was calling. Waitangi Day, a public holiday, fell on a Friday this year and like many Kiwis, we decided to take advantage of the time off and head to the beach for a few days.

We set off early and found the roads to be relatively deserted. Bliss. Just before we reached our destination, we stopped off at a so-called German Cafe and Motel just outside Wairewa. I was excited to see if there was any kind of bakery inside but was shocked to find not one single thing remotely German looking about the entire place! Not to be completely disheartened, Glynn headed back the way we came to a Dutch deli we had passed a kilometer or so before. Although the prices were pretty steep, we did find some cheap Volkornbrot (a heavy type of rye bread) which we don't often get to have over here. Lecker :-) (that's yummy in German!)

It was only a short drive later that we reached the turning for our campsite for the weekend at Uretiti Beach. If the name rings a bell, it's because we were there last Easter for a night on the way back from our trip to the Bay of Islands. That time though, Glynn was ill and didn't get to enjoy the beautiful beach there. In all, it was a 2 hour drive from Auckland which wasn't bad at all.

The campsite was much less busy this time round and we soon found a spot with a picnic table, which was great as it's the one vital piece of camping equipment we are missing . The skies were lovely and blue with a hot sun blazing away even though it was only 10.30am. We unrolled the tent and were dismayed to find that the wind was pretty damn strong - so strong in fact that erecting the tent took over 45 minutes rather than the usual10 minutes. To add to the difficuties, the ground around the tent was sandy and soft so the tent pegs kept coming out with every strong gust of wind. There was no natural shade around so we tried rigging up a tarpaulin from the car to the tent but the wind was so strong that there was a real danger of the whole tent taking off with the tarp in tow!

To cheer ourselves up, we made a beeline for the beach and ran like excited little kids into the clear blue sea. The wind was wreaking havoc with the water too and huge waves lashed the shoreline. It was heaps of fun splashing about in the cool spray while the sun continued to beat down and we were in and out of the water all afternoon long.

In the evening we chilled out by our wooden picnic table, Glynn making some beach clothes for Jish and me getting stuck into a puzzle book for the first time in ages. The wind was still blowing a gale and didn't ease off much by nightfall. At times, the wind was so fierce that the tent folded in on itself and we didn't reckon on getting much sleep. In fact it wasn't the wind that caused the problems at night but the slow puncture on my air bed! Twice I had to get up in the night to breathe new life into the damn thing, only to wake up a couple of hours later lying on a hard floor again.

When the morning came, we were pleased to find the wind had abated a little. We wasted no time in heading back to the beach again where the waves were gentler than the previous day but still high enough to form some awesome tunnels, just like the ones surfers are so fond of. Floating in the water and washed up on the shoreline we found hundreds of odd looking transparent globules. We've still no idea what they are - maybe jellyfish eggs if there's such a thing? During one dip in the sea I felt a pinch on my big toe which could only have been from a crab! I hastened out of the water and sure enough there was a perfect pinch mark where the crab got me! That put me off for all of about 10 minutes until I just couldn't resist the call of the ocean any more and splashed back in.

Back at base camp, we tried rigging up the tarp again but it was still too gusty. With no shade to shelter us from the strong sun, we could feel ourselves slowly roasting. The sun is particularly strong in NZ as the country lies beneath the 'hole' in the ozone layer. Not even sunscreen with an SPF 30 could protect us for long and by mid-afternoon we were in danger of seriously burning. With a heavy heart, we decided it would be safer for us to pack up and head home a day early.

The roads back into Auckland were relatively clear and we made good time. On the way, we chuckled at all the people queuing at the pay machines for the new toll road which had recently opened. We were travelling the slightly longer but free old route but I'm certain we reached Auckland way quicker than everyone else on the supposedly fast road!

The following day brought yet more hot sun and cloudless skies but sore from sunburn already, we were glad to have cut our trip short. Another day at the beach and we would surely have roasted alive!

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