Whangaroa – Tom’s B’day
Thurs 15th Jan
I had a very early morning shower and shave as I didn’t want to be possibly queueing. I stripped my bed as required and took the bed linen down to reception. I checked out just after 08:00 and went to Sierra for my chai.
I had quite a bit of time to kill before being picked up by Tom. In fact I had 2 chais before heading to the rendezvous point at 125 the Strand. The walk took 30 minutes. I had another chai in a fancy café before Tom turned up with Jo and Lizzie after 11:00.
So, 4.5 hours driving north. We stopped once for pies and petrol and some provisions. Otherwise, a very scenic drive. That whole area is much more hilly than I expected.
We arrived in Whangaroa…gorgeous, with its boat marina, fishing club and not too many houses. Elton’s house is up the hill and overlooks a big inlet, and it’s on 21 acres.
I was shown to my sleeping quarters converted container (of which there are 3). I was sharing with Tom. There’s a 4th which is a bathroom and small kitchen. That’s all slightly uphill with its own view. Down the slope is a large lounge/kitchen/bathroom/verandah…anyway, all quite amazing.
Later in the afternoon we went to the Fishing club for dinner and drinks; I had a lovely fish and chips for 25Nzd or 11Gbp. Then back to the house to a fridge crammed with assorted beers.
Fri 16th Jan
I had a good sleep. A chill day; I lay in the sun….just enjoying the lovely environment. Early afternoon we went down to the harbour and took Elton’s boat out on the water.
We moored at a little inlet and all went for a swim…even me. The water was not too, too cold and there were little pockets of pleasantly warmer water. It was another hot day.
After a bit of a chill we went down to the Fishing club for dinner again; I ate fish and chips again. Someone had caught a huge Marlin. Good banter, good atmosphere…and then back to the house/containers for more drinking and chatting.
Sat 17th Jan
I woke up earlyish. I made myself some tea and went down the slope for the wifi. I sat in the sun for a bit. Other young guests arrived. Neville…Elton’s dad…took us on a conducted tour of pathways around the ‘estate’, explaining about trees/flowers/shrubs/mangrove swamp etc etc…very interesting.
I didn’t do much for the rest of the day. The weather was lovely and there was lots of mingling and chatting with the other guests. Great for Tom that 2 friends came over from Perth. 2 others came especially from England.
And then the party officially started with cooking meats on the bbq and the preparation of salads and the ‘drinking’. A great evening was had by all. There were a few fireworks before midnight, and I went to bed at 12:30.
Sun 18th Jan.
A slow start to the day. I helped Elton with the resetting of some possum traps. We went down to the harbour to Elton’s boat. We dropped Jo and Lizzie off at a small rocky beach landing area after 20 minutes, for them to climb up to the Dukes Nose.. quite a high volcanic rock.
Elton took me ‘ out to sea’..!!! We went to where the Pacific Ocean started starts, and if you travelled straight across you would reach Chile. On the way back he set up a fishing rod for me to try some trawl fishing i.e. the boat was not travelling too fast while my line was in the water.
Then we saw a flock of birds and fish jumping in the water. We headed there, and basically, I felt a tug on my line and I caught a fish. It was a strange feeling to reel it in and hope it didn’t break free. Elton caught it in the net and I had a 2ft long fish…but don’t know how much it weighed. I was thrilled of course.
We picked up the ladies and went back to the marina. I tripped over the little rope I was holding as I stepped off the boat onto the dock, which amused everyone, including me. I grazed my left knee. But at least I could proudly show off my catch.
We had drinks at the club and thete was a nice sunset.
We had a lovely dinner as usual…with some of my fish included. There were fewer people as a couple of groups of peope left that morning.
And the usual chat and drinking throughout the evening. That was the day the miserable weather started.
Mon 19th Jan
I awoke a bit late. The weather was very drab; a very fine drizzle persisted for most of the day. Two more groups of guests left.
I’m getting the taste for mince on toast as a mid morning breakfast/lunch.
I helped put up some plastic sheeting on one part of the patio area to help protect against the wind/rain and to help keep the area a bit warmer. Other than that it was just a mooching day.
Mid afternoon we went down to club for drinks and ended up having dinner there. I chatted with Julia about when to leave and how to get back down to Auckland. I had fish and chips again, but the slightly more expensive one at 29Nzd …great value for 13Gbp.
Then it was the usual drinks up at the house before going to bed. The weather forecast wasn’t looking good.
Tues 20th Jan
Another slow start to the day. I took Tom a mug of tea in the room. I sat quietly with my phone in the lounge, as Elton was working on the patio.
It was drizzling initially, but after things dried up a bit I decided to climb up to St Paul’s Rock. It took just over half an hour due to the wet ground and it being quite steep. I reached the base where there’s a chain for extra support up the Rock itself. I didn’t go the whole way as the little rocks/stones looked far too slippery. Anyway there was no decent view due to the low cloud.
So, back to the house; an equally tricky walk as it was downhill in the wet. The youngsters had gone on a fishing/swimming excursion with Elton; I went down to the Club with Tom. We met the neighbour who had been at the party.
Elton came back and went up to the house. We followed a little later, in time for a nice dinner of sausages and salad..plus,plus… Then the evening of chatting and drinking commenced. I had a couple of shots of Ed’s home made spirit and went up to bed. It was continuing to drizzle quite heavily; the rain having started in Sunday…so in that sense it was a miserable last few days in Whangaroa.