Easter holiday

Wow - I had a long weekend that felt like a long weekend! I guess it's because I packed so much into it: Laura and I rented a car on Thursday, because the bus only goes up to the Northland, specifically the kauri forests, every other day. We felt like teenagers again, only we drive a lot better now, even though we're on the opposite side of the road. The first thing we did was go see In My Father's Den, which was specially re-released, (not for me, just in general due its having won so many awards)! I'm working with this novel (it's fantastic) in one of my English classes, but unfortunately I had missed the film. Thankfully, it's received enough notice to get re-released - check it out if it's in a theatre near you.

We woke up early the next morning and headed to Puhoi Cottage in Puhoi. Puhoi Cottage is one of the last remaining authentic Devonshire Cream Tea houses. Need I say that we ordered the Devonshire Cream Tea: Excellent looseleaf black tea served with cream and sugar; huge scones baked fresh that morning (we know, because we got there early and had to wait - they don't open until half-past nine) served with REAL whipped cream (NOT out of a can) and delicious raspberry preserves. You split your scone in half, spread it with preserves and then spread the cream on top. Puhoi Cottage itself is a really neat 100-year old cottage built out of kauri trees. It's on beautiful grounds, and Mr. Bear the giant cat naps next to you in the sun while you have your tea. The proprietor is very friendly, the cottage is lovely, and the food itself is worth the trip to Puhoi.

Next stop: Matakohe Kauri Museum which was very interesting; I'll be sure to show you my postcards of the exhibits when I get home. Cream teas and museums are hard work, and we were famished, so we stopped at hole-in-the-wall Ocean Beach Fisheries and Takeaways for fish and chips. Dargaville is worth visiting just to eat lunch at Ocean Beach Fisheries. They serve you the catch of the day, battered and deep-fried to perfection, with a side of kumara (pronounced "koo-ma-rah," accent on the "koo") chips (chips are fries, chippies are potato chips) all wrapped up in a paper package. Our fat stores replenished (ha - as if they needed replenishing after the cream tea) we rolled on to the Trounson and Waipoua Kauri Forests. We had a lovely campsite on a river in the Waipoua Kauri Forest, although the campsites were on a field, so we were in the kauri forest, but not IN the kauri forest. Check out the pics in the link if you want - it's gorgeous. Also, I've seen rainbows like this three times since I've been in NZ! It's amazing! We did a guided night walk in the Trounson Kauri Forest (we heard a male kiwi call!) which was interesting and educational, but the real highlights were the following day.

We did a 3-hour walk (read hike) in the northernmost part of the Waipoua Kauri Forest. It was awesome: Waterfalls, scenic overlooks, and a natural cathedral of kauri trees at the top of the loop. Hiking here is called walking, unless it takes you all day, and then it's called tramping. We then went to pay our respects to Tane Mahuta - Lord of the Forest. He really is like meeting someone. He's more than 2,000 years old! He's impressive, and I had another spiritual moment standing in front of him. I'll post pictures, but there's no way he can be photographed in a way that could communicate what he is. If you're ever in NZ, be sure to come meet him.

We next went to Opononi and took the water taxi to the GIANT dunes where we went sand dune boarding. This is sort of like boogie boarding down a ski run, only it's sand instead of snow and there's no lift to the top. Laura took most of the pictures over Easter weekend, so I'll be sure to post more photos once I get copies of her pics.

We drove back to Warkworth to be nearer Pakiri Beach for our HORSE TREK the following day! We were supposed to stay at the historic Warkworth Inn, but it no longer existed in the historic building. It is currently a house in a residential/industrial section of Warkworth, and the lady running it a) didn't know about our reservation and b) more surprisingly didn't know if she had a bed available or not (how can you not know if your lodge is booked or not?) Anyway, it seemed a bit dodgy to us, so we headed back into town and stayed at the Bridge House Lodge. The Bridge House Lodge is very nice and clean, and is right in the center of town. Not much else to share on this point, we arrived late and headed out early the next day for Pakiri Beach Horse Rides!

Pakiri Beach is a beautiful area, and our ride was definitely adventurous as it was Easter weekend and there were motorbikes, cars, trucks, surfers, dogs, etc. All of which the guide assured me my horse was not afraid of, although apparently my horse felt otherwise. No worries though, I managed to remain seated for the entire two days. Perhaps this was unfortunate since I have not ridden in two years and was barely able to remain seated on anything else for the rest of the week.


Here is Grey, my horse who was not afraid of anything, grazing above Pakiri Beach. I had my lunch up here, too.  

The final highlight of the week was the Goat Island Marine Reserve where we camped and snorkeled. Seafriends rents pristine wetsuits and snorkel gear, and they also have a really good cafe. More importantly, their profits go to support the marine reserve, and the reserve is wonderful! Snapper are truly beautiful; they have flourescent blue spots that are breathtakingly gorgeous when they're lit up by sunlight shining into the water. We also found ourselves in the midst of a giant school of huge kingfish! Luckily, we had an underwater camera! Check out the Seafriends link above for some great photos of the area, and I'll be sure to show you my underwater photos when I get home.

Cheers from NZ