Christmas in Kiwi Land

Since we returned from the Milford Track it has been all about Christmas here in the land of the Kiwi. Kiwi's take Christmas very seriously! Most business' shut down from the 24th of December through the 5th of January. The amount of boats leaving the harbour on December 23rd and days following create a massive parade of entertainment for us in our perch above the harbour. Rob & I had a very, very quiet Christmas as Ross & Emmy spent Christmas back home at their Aunt Sheila & Uncle Weez' this year.

We managed to borrow the BEP Christmas tree again...although this year the tree had a difficult time staying upright as one of the legs had been reconstructed to replaced the leg that mysteriously disappeared. After we set it up with all the decorations it just toppled over without warning, crashing into the window. It had a few other crashes along the way...this was the tree that only lasted four days. The night before Ross arrived, I decided that we really needed to take it down and let it rest for another year. Also, after Christmas we purchased a new tree for next year...50% off...so no more borrowing the BEP tree.

Christmas Eve we had our neighbors, Paul & Margaret for a very fun & festive celebration. They have been such generous, and fun hosts for Rob & me as we have gotten acclimated to the Kiwi lifestyle. Really...we are so blessed to have found this living situation. We even squeezed a friendly game of petanque in before dessert...Margaret ran away with the win. More petanque games will follow, as the weather is finally to the gorgeous state.

Rob & I have also finally done some swimming! The water is very cold at first...but so clear and amazing once you have gotten over the shock. Christmas day we spent at Torpedo Bay with our chairs and umbrella...cooling off with a swim when it got too hot. The sun is so intense here that you literally will fry if you do not protect yourself in the shade and with the proper level of sunscreen. On the radio you hear the announcer say "it's another day for slip, slap, slop"! Which translates to: slip on your jandals, slap on your hat, and slop on your sunscreen....kind of a cheeky way to remind people of the hole in the ozone here.

On Boxing Day we ferried over to the city to see what kind of deals we could find. Not many shops were even open, so it was not a lengthy shopping trip. Kind of a dud, in fact. We should have gone back to the beach.

Sunday, after Christmas, we decided to go for a tramp in the bush, as it would at least be in the shade. For some time we have been passing an area when we travel up north...Pohuehue Track. I have always wanted to stop and check this track out. Unfortunately, not all of the Kiwi's had gone off on holiday before Christmas, and as we got to the tunnel...traffic turned into a nightmare. Thankfully, the Pohuehue Track was not far past the tunnel. What a relief to be out of the traffic and into the bush! We took a loop track that passed a nice little waterfall. I say little, because the waterfalls we encountered on the Milford track were massive in comparison. The only thing we thought would make this track better would for it to be farther away from the road, and traffic noises. But, once you got deep into the track it was void of traffic sounds and quite pretty. We saw some plants that we had never seen before...hopefully I will get one of our friends to help me identify them.

On our way home we decided to take a tiki tour out to another area that we have passed along the motorway...Mahaurangi Regional Park. It was only 7 kms. off the motorway, so we made a go of it. The colors of the water were amazing blues and greens. Sailboats and motorboats dotted the harbour, and heaps of campers in tents lined the shore. The harbour was flat calm at the bay we parked at. It was an idyllic area to boat and camp. We will definitely return to this new found area!

The 28th of December we awoke at 4am to pick up Ross from AKL. He had had quite the travel time, as he had to return to Chico from the Bay Area to retrieve his passport before he got on the plane to NZ. Luckily, he realized this fact with enough time to make the journey to and from Chico. We had a walk about Devonport, Ross got settled...and then he crashed into his pillow for a nap. When Ross came back to life, we took him up to one of our favorite beaches...Long Bay. Long Bay was packed, but the tide was out and we ventured around to Grannie Bay where there were very few people. Again...the water was gorgeous so we found a nice, sandy entry into the water.

Our plan was to take a road trip up to Cape Reinga...the northern most point of NZ accessible by car. To break up the trip a bit, we stopped in at Langs Beach and stayed with our neighbors at a family bach. (Bach = Holiday Home). We turned off the northern motorway at Mangawhai and drove out to the coast. We took a short walk up to a view of Mangawhai, and Mangawhai Heads, and journeyed over the hill to Langs Beach. The Hen & Chicken Islands were in full view. Paul & Margaret met us at the bach, and we enjoyed a moonlit dinner on the deck, followed by a beautiful beach walk in the moonlight.

Off to Whangaroa on Wednesday. Not such a bad trip as we had broken it up with our stop at Langs Beach. We found Chris & Jeanette's place in Whangaroa without any difficulty. The only difficulty we had was getting up their incredibly, steep driveway...it took 3 attempts! The house is still under construction, but Chris made sure there was electricity, running water, and a functioning bathroom. We were priviledged to be put up on the top floor with an outstanding view. Well...anywhere in this house has an incredible view. The Whangaroa Harbour is right in front of their house, and a high rock outcropping called St. Paul's is to the right. Whangaroa Harbour has very steep hills/cliffs surrounding it. Very dramatic landscape. Chris gave us a tour of the sights in the area that afternoon..which included the beautiful Mataturi Bay. It seemed to me that every bay/cove we saw was more incredible that the last.

New Year's Eve, and we took off from Whangaroa to see the sights of Cape Reinga. Along the way we had breakfast and coffee in a nice little town called Mangonui. Mangonui is situated on Doubtless Bay...another gorgeos area! We thought about driving on Ninety Mile Beach...but that was as far as we got...just thinking about it. Instead, we drove straight up to the Cape. It just boggles my mind that the road is nicely sealed all along the way...except the last 20 kilometers. It was incredibly dusty going that last 20 k's. At the end, there is a lighthouse to walk down to, and a very clear view of where the mighty Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. This was the spot where all of the tourists were swarming, so we decided to get away from that element and explore a place called Spirits Bay.

After the first 20 Kms. of dirt, we got another 15 kms. of more dirt...Yay! NOT! I am not a fan of dirty, dusty roads. However, Spirits Bay was one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen. The sand was soft as silk, and there were pockets of pink hued shells broken down along the beach. There were also piles if beautiful shells. The beach was shaped like a half moon with gorgeous blue and green waters. You could see all the way back out to the tip of Cape Reinga...but it was too hazy to see the Three King's Islands. We had our picnic here, and explored the beach & tidepools, collected our sample of sand/shells for our ever growing collection. Another place that we are lucky to have visited!

We arrived back in Whangaroa around 5:30, made a very delish dinner, and settled into New Year's Eve among good friends. Jeanette had received a Play Station game called Mr. Buzz, so we played as teams. Having never played a video game before you can imagine that I was extremely handicapped...and very hopeless when it came to pressing the correct button. Forget about being quick! I was the loser...and the slowest responder. But...who cares...we had peals of laughter at the game show host who continued to diss me throughout the game. It was a fun, and clever quiz night! Midnight arrived...we all wished each other a Happy New Year, and most of us went off to bed. Chris, Rob & Ross sat out the window on the top floor overlooking the harbour telling stories and looking at the blue moon until...??? I was dead asleep when they all went to bed.

Back in Devo...had no traffic on the way home. So...we will remember that New Year's Day is a good day to travel!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy New Year filled with fun, laughter and goodness! Cheers to you all!