Day 316-318: Karamea, New Zealand

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Tuesday, December 8th

After breakfast we found Margaret and Morris (a very nice older guy who also stays here at the camp and help where he can) cleaning up a fallen tree behind the house. We pitched in and helped remove the cuts while Morris used the chainsaw. The chain needed sharpening and Ferdi quickly sharpened it. Talita had asked Margaret if we could take over the duties of cleaning the toilets, showers and kitchen every day, as these are the parts of the park we use most frequently. She happily agreed so we set about our cleaning duties. It’s great to feel like we’re giving something back, because the Mansell’s had been very kind to us. While cleaning, Talita found a cute spider in the bathroom. It was very curious and aggressive, and when Talita took a small stick to try and chase it out it attacked the stick, making Talita laugh/scream hysterically. It also appeared to look directly at the camera when we she took a picture of it, making us wonder what goes on in that little head of his. It’s the most entertaining spider we’d ever encountered.

With the cleaning done Ferdi fitted the aluminium trim to the Boesman’s counters while Talita did the last of the varnishing. Fitting the trim was a mission, but in the end, with a lot of grumbling from Ferdi and some encouraging words and advice from Talita, the job was done. Now all that remains to be done on the van is the fitting of the mattress.

We headed into town and picked up a few baking supplies. Back at the park we loaded two of the park’s kayaks onto the van and drove down to the estuary. John had kindly offered us the use of the kayaks for our own amusement. Aren’t they great? Anyway, it was high tide so we rowed out over the area we’ve walked during low tide. After paddling about for a bit we headed up-stream. We saw hundreds and hundreds of fish that scattered as we passed. There’s definitely no shortage of fish here! Finally the stream hooked up with the Karamea River and we rowed back down to the estuary and the park.

With the kayaks stowed away Talita started baking banana bread while Ferdi worked on the blog. When he tried to charge the laptop it wouldn’t charge. It appeared that the cable had broken from all the travelling and bending it had done. It was a worrisome problem, because getting a new charger out here wouldn’t be easy and without it the laptop might as well be a brick. After some debating Ferdi decided to open it up and try to fix it. It wasn’t like he could break it any further. Cautiously he opened the cable and found that the wires had indeed come apart. Soon the wires were back together and he plugged it in to see if it would work. He had a stressful moment when it appeared to do nothing, but then the charge light came on and all was good with the world once more.

Today’s highlights:
1. Rowing on the estuary and the river.
2. More banana bread.
3. Being able to fix the laptop’s power cable.

Wednesday, December 9th

In the morning Ferdi helped Morris clear away the brush and fallen tree behind the house. They loaded it onto a trailer and hauled away three loads with an old Massey-Ferguson tractor. Riding on the back of the tractor brought back memories of his childhood on the farm, riding behind his father on their old Massey. While the boys were playing with the tractor Talita handles our cleaning duties.

By the time we were done with our chores it was low tide, so we took two kayaks and Ferdi’s fishing gear, and headed to a spot John told us about where the Kahawai congregate during the low tide. We had to carry the kayaks all the way to an island next to the river mouth, crossing the deep mud of the estuary (we’d need them to get back when the tide rises). Talita laughed hysterically as she sank into the deep mud. After 30mins of fishing Ferdi’s cheap little reel went haywire again, tangling the line so badly that he had to cut it all off. The wind was picking up and we got very cold so we decided abandon the fishing expedition and head back. The tide was still low so we carried the kayaks all the way back (with more hysterical laughter from Talita).

Lunch was followed by the baking of another Banana Bread. Paddy and one of his mates dropped by for a cuppa, then we had a reading session and a nap. When we woke we drove to Shaun and Naomi’s place to say hi and drop off a piece of the Banana Bread. They weren’t home so we left the bread and a note, then drove to the Guppy’s place. They weren’t there either so another note and piece of bread was dropped off before we headed home. We made dinner, watched a doccie, read some more, then slept like babies.

Today’s highlights:
1. Helping to clear the brush and fallen tree.
2. Walking through the deep mud of the estuary.

Thursday, December 10th

Another rainy day dawned on Karamea. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and according to the weather guys, we won’t see the sun until early next week. After breakfast, Debs and Julian stopped by for a quick visit. She wanted to let us know when they will be leaving on their holiday (as we will be house-bus-sitting) and also wanted to invite us for the "Christmas in the Park" event coming up this weekend. Later we performed our cleaning duties, then spent an hour reading. When the drizzle stopped we had lunch, then spring cleaned the kitchen, washing the walls, the floors, the tables, chairs etc. and cleaning the stoves. That took most of the afternoon.

Afterwards we sat in the kitchen and looked in detail at the canoe plans. We found pictures of it online and were surprised; it’s much bigger than had thought, spanning 5.5m (the exact length of the Boesman) and can carry up to 315kg. It’s a big project, but we can’t wait! It’s going to be awesome!

For dinner we decided to make a soup. It turned out to be more of a stew and was delicious! After dinner we retired to our van and spent the rest of the evening reading.

Today’s highlights:
1. Spring cleaning the kitchen.
2. Getting more info on the canoe.
3. Our first stew.

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Photos

A mess!
A wise man once said: You get what you pay for.
Another (not so) wise man said: I pity you fool!