Ok im 51 and 3/4 and getting in and out of a sports car that is almost as low as the kerb has been great for my flexibility hehe.
Zooming around windy roads here in North Island has been great fun, although its super hard to hold a conversation as the soft top doesnt really have any sound protecting qualities (plus im deaf on the drivers side too)! So we point and gesture instead which seems to work.
Its a curious landscape here, i was expecting a million sheep - yknow, New Zealand lamb and all that but what i mostly see are a million cows. Upon research i discover that most farmers have moved over to the more profitable dairy and beef industry. Lloyd says the natural land looks 'raped' and i think i agree. Km after km of flat agricultural land is the norm, with some hills and mountains. The real beauty shows itself when we hit the coasts and you see a myriad of islands and green hills, stunning.
We travelled all the way to Cape Reinga in the tip of the north and it was majestic, then back down to Doubtless Bay to stay in a nice little self-contained apartment on a hill for a night. Dinner was overlooking the sea in a fish and chip place, veggie burger for me obvs.
Back at our hosts house we find another couple of visitors, Joy and Bruce and the six of us have a few nice eves with chatter and wine and food, Lloyd and i love cooking and entertaining for others so often commandeer a kitchen. Our hosts Glen and Liz take us to Rangariri to see where the battle happened in 1863 (where 1500 British troops defeated about 500 Maori warriors) I felt a pang of guilt for being a Brit as i learned the story. We then visited some wetlands as NZ is a major wetland area and hosts the biggest collection of seabirds in the world, there was a cool shop with tons of stuffed birds and loads of books and info. Then onto a Maori graveyard in Glens hometown, they bury their own dead rather than dealing with the local authorities and these graves were by the sea. Bruce suddenly started playing the bagpipes as we perused the headstones, strangely eerie but kind of fitting.
Sunday brought a big family gathering and there was mass cooking, the numbers went from 7 to 15 in minutes and we all pulled together, it was a great laugh We have been here a week now and we think the camper van repair may be today.....
In other news i have secured a pet sit in Vietnam during December! More on this later.
Kia koa for now!
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