Travel Page 17

17
A Week with Miranda
16-Dec-2005 to 23-Dec-2005

Friday morning arrived and we still had no idea if we would catch up with Miranda. We checked our emails and there was nothing from her so we decided to carry on travelling with Jill and Pete.

But before that Pete was determined to wash our Turbo Snail from head to toe. As usual Pete knows exactly how to do the job and has just the right equipment. In this case a broom like brush with soft bristles so that the paintwork does not get scratched. In the handle one places a bit of round soap not unlike the stump of a dinner candle. This stump of soap gets screwed into the end of the handle and the hose connects also to the handle, making it possible to have water frothed passed the soap and along the broom handle to the soft brush.

Fergus re-parked Turbo Snail so Pete had the best access possible. It was great fun watching Pete at work and all of it before his breakfast. I was so impressed and Turbo Snail looked like new again. We continued to clean the inside of the motorhome ready for Miranda’s arrival. Then the phone rang and Miranda got in touch. She was in Raglan with a friend of hers and it was agreed that we should meet them at 1pm in Raglan by the post office.

Miranda & Esther

Miranda at Mangawhai Heads

We agreed to meet Pete and Jill later later that day in a place called Waingaro where we could enjoy the Hot Springs. Packing up and getting ready had to be fast and we took off back to Raglan to meet Miranda. We did find each other and it was absolutely lovely to see her again. We had a spot of lunch and then we travelled to Waingaro and the Holiday Park with the swimming pools of Hot Springs. Miranda loved her new home with us and we made room for her luggage in the overhead compartment so that she could stow all her things away safely.

We arrived at the new site before Jill and Pete and had a lovely swim in the hot water swimming pools. Miranda and I had a chance to chat and catch up on lots of things. Miranda first came to my ballet classes when she was 11 years old. She became a professional dancer and choreographer and even had her own dance company. Then she added a teaching diploma to her list of skills and started to teach GCSE and A Level Dance at a very big School in Brighton. This job kept her incredibly busy and we had not seen as much of each other as we would have wished. Then Miranda started to send me some of her talented dancers for Ballet classes and we started to work together for the fist time as colleagues, which was absolutely fantastic for me.

Pete and Jill did arrive and it was lovely that they showed up. As usual we had dinner together and spent another lovely evening chatting and hearing some of Miranda’s travel stories. She had gone to South America first and then to New Zealand. By now she had spent 5 weeks on the South Island mostly on her own travelling and hiking and enjoying the beauty of the South Island. The idea was for us to show Miranda our favourite places in the North Island and spend a week travelling together.

We started off on Saturday morning quite early and headed back up to Auckland. We dropped in on Geri and Colin and collected our post. It had a DVD of the Juon family and 3 CD’s of the Heidi Story (which my dad recorded and commercially produced) from my dad and from my sister Ruth I received her latest compositions also on a CD. I was delighted. Miranda really liked Geri and Colin’s house and garden and appreciated the artwork around the house which Geri and Colin have collected from their various travels.

We stayed only a short while and then started to travel up to Whangarei and back to Tropicana. On the way up with stopped for a walk at Mangawhai Heads and had a fantastic walk along the beach there. Fergus used to come here as a boy on holiday and Geri had a batch here but sold it about three years ago. The timing with the weather was lovely and we managed to walk between the rainfall. All day it had rained on and off and some of the rainfall was very heavy.

Mangawhai Heads
photo by Miranda

Sunset at Tropicana

Whangarei Glass Studio

We arrived at Tropicana to a most lovely evening with the sun out again and preparing for a fantastic sunset. It was comfortably warm and Fergus cooked us a delicious meal, which we enjoyed sitting outside watching the high tide and the sun setting. Tropicana is a particularly fabulous spot for sunsets and on this evening it was warm and perfect.

We woke up to a beautiful sunny Sunday morning and we enjoyed breakfast outside again by the water. We made a plan of all the things we wanted to show Miranda and then after we tidied up we took off again. First stop was Whangarei Harbour. It is a very nice harbour, the sun shone and the Pohutukawa trees were in full flower. Miranda liked these trees very much and from now on I will always think of Miranda, when I see these trees. We also talked about the fact that it was almost Christmas and it just did not feel like it to us. There was a fully decorated Christmas tree on one of the sailing yachts and to our eyes it simply looks very strange indeed. I am sure in years to come I will adjust to the reversal of the seasons. We strolled along the jetty and had a look in all the lovely crafts shop. Wonderful jewellery, hand made and blown glass, wooden carvings and all sorts of other lovely things all beautifully crafted. Unfortunately we have no room for such lovely things in our Turbo Snail so I just feast my eyes on these lovely things.


Next stop was at Whangarei Falls, which are simply lovely and set in a park. The river which jumps gently over rounded large pebbles and rocks feeds the falls. We stood at the top of the falls and then followed the bush walk to the bottom of the falls where we crossed a bridge and then back up the other side of the bush. The bush is full of fern trees and the sun filters through the fern also known here as "Ponga" creating lacy patterns on the bush floor. We climbed up to the top where we found a fantastic old tree with the most amazing trunk and widely sprawling branches overshadowing a big and broad root system. If that tree could talk!!!!


We were back on our way up north and stopped at Kawakawa to have a look at the Hundertwasser Toilets. Again Miranda liked them very much. Then it was time to introduce Miranda to her first New Zealand Tip-Top ice cream. She loved it and we walked back to Turbo Snail to continue our trip north. Check out www.kawakawa.co.nz Esther in the Ladies at the Hundertwasser Toilets ------>

Next stop was Kerikeri and the oldest stone building in New Zealand called the Stone Store. It was built in 1836 which makes it three years older than the building we just sold in Brighton. We were greeted by a very nice lady who persuaded us to become members of the National Trust, allowing us in the future to visit this and other places free of charge. She was so charming and nicely persuasive that I asked Fergus if we could join. We did, and I also bought a little lavender bag to embroider later. I have been looking out for such a thing to keep our cloth cupboard smelling nice and fresh.

Then we had a look around and I very much liked the garden and the "Store" next door. It was set out like a store where people could buy china, cooking pots material for curtains and clothing plus a whole lot of other things. The china was all in the blue willow pattern and very pretty indeed.

Then we had a late lunch on the way to Paihia. We found a campsite on the bay and booked our trip for the next day. We booked with Vanessa and her boat, which we had really enjoyed two years ago. On our last trip we hoped to go swimming with the Dolphins but they had baby dolphins with them and this was the reason why we were not allowed in the water with them. For this trip we hoped for a good day, spotting dolphins and being allowed to go swimming with them.

Monday I think was the most disappointing day of all. We ordered a taxi, which did eventually arrive and only just got us to Viennese’s boat on time. It was overcast and we hoped that the sun would come out and let us enjoy the fantastic views of the Bay of Island. It was not to be. It started to rain and the view was greatly restricted. Vanessa and her helper Phil hoped against hope that it would clear up, but it did not. So we headed out into the Bay of Islands and saw nothing. We did stop somewhere for a bit of snorkelling but it was too cold for us to get into the sea. There were some brave ones, who reported later that one could not see anything as the sea was too churned up. We had a barbecue lunch on board, which was very nice and Miranda and I did a bit of people watching, an occupation we both enjoyed. The trip back was rough and we all felt that we had funny tummies. In fact it took several hours to recover from this trip but we did enjoy a pleasant Fergus meal in the evening and the sun finally decided to come out and play.

Esther & Miranda in rain

The road at Mangonui

The Old Court House is on the left

Tuesday we got up early and drove most of the day to get to Waipapakauri Beach. On the way we stopped for lunch in a place called Mangonui, on Doubtless Bay. A stunning place nestled into the huge harbour and with the villa style houses on the inland side of the road. We parked right by the water’s edge and went off exploring this lovely place. We had lunch where they said that they sold the best Hamburgers and indeed they were the best I have ever tasted. We sat at a window table and enjoyed the views as well as the food. Then we walked along the road and found a place called the old courthouse. Today it is a shop of arts and crafts specializing in weaving and pottery. Miranda and I entered enjoying the wooden floors, walls and ceilings. An older lady with a very strong Swiss accent greeted us. I decided to throw a bit of Swiss German into the conversation and she looked at me in utter surprise. While Miranda looked around we had a chat and it turns out that she was the weaver of all the wonderful shawls, scarves and blankets. They are woven from a mixture of Marino wool, silk and possum fur. The wool is then dyed with natural vegetable dye and the mixture of colours looked amazing. Agnes had left Switzerland 20 years ago and considers herself very lucky that she got away and over here. She has a lovely house and garden, which she could not possibly have in Switzerland. She also felt that the Swiss mentality is too narrow and that they all lacked a certain sense of humour. I could not agree more. We laughed a lot and I hope to meet her again one day. On our way out we noticed a sign on the door which read: "Gone to kill something for lunch". I think that said it all!

Mangonui photos below


		We headed of towards our next Holiday Park at the 90-mile beach and on our arrival booked the next day trip with "Sand Safari". We parked the sail and went to the beach. What a glorious beach on the Tasman Sea! The sun was shining and the wind was up too. Miranda and Fergus took off into the waves while I strolled along the beach enjoying the water rippling over my feet and legs. I am not good with a rough sea and I prefer a calmer sea to swim in. Waking along one of the largest beaches I have ever seen was also perfect. The beach is so big that it is also an official highway and cars drive along the beach on the sand. Speed records have been held on this beach and it is almost unthinkable that one can drive a bus for 60 miles along this coast. <------ 100kph speed limit on this public road beach


But that is exactly what we did the next day. Bright and early we were picked up from our holiday park and ushered into a 15-seater bus. We got a traditional Maori greeting which lasted a good 5 minutes and as the chap was looking so serious. I wondered if he was giving us a talk on health and safety rules on the bus just a bit like the one the airhostesses give before the airplane takes off. We listened with serious faces not understanding a word and I was feeling a bit guilty for not having a clue about what the driver was saying. The driver found the end of his speech and laughed at us for looking so concerned. His name was Sani and it became clear that we were in for a treat. He told us the sad story of his life and how he eventually got asked to drive this bus as they could not find anyone else to take us. He also told us that he had sat in the pub until 2am and was wearing dark glasses just so we could not see that he was asleep while he was driving. It was all very funny and we took off down to the beach and he drove along the waters edge, as close as he dared. Miranda was spell bound and I enjoyed watching her. Then the driver told us the story of the car that got stuck on the beach and we all thought he was joking again but no he stopped the bus and we all had to get off to have a look it was true!		Miranda in bus driving North on 90 mile Beach


Mercedes caught by the tide 3 days before	Sand hills & Cabbage palms	Sani told us Maori stories of the coast and sang songs for us. Then we headed inland up a riverbed and he stopped the bus again. This time he got the toboggans out and we all had to climb up a steep sand hill and then toboggan down on a plastic shaped and formed toboggan. I declined but enjoyed Fergus and Miranda following orders while I tried to take the photos. Covered in sand everyone brushed themselves down and we resumed our places in the bus.


		<----- Miranda sand tobogganing We headed inland and up onto the ridge of the hills, overlooking the sea on both sides. Sometime we could see the Tasman Sea and sometime the Pacific Ocean. We travelled to the very top of New Zealand a place called Cape Reinga. The two oceans come together here and this is also the place where the Maoris believe their spirit goes after death. Their sole travels to this place then descends through the roots of the Pohutukawa Tree and then jump off the cape into the sea which takes them back to the land in the Pacific where the Maori came from, Polynesia. What a lovely story! Cape Reinga is a sacred place and it has a wonderfully spiritual atmosphere.
		Below: Cape Reinga photos


We regrouped back to the bus and Sani took us to a small but wonderful beach for lunch. We each got given a sandwich, a bun and tea and coffee was served from a picnic table. We strolled along the beach and regretted not having more time to just be there. In the afternoon we got taken to the Kauri gum-digging museum and learned all about buried Kauri forests of 100 000 years ago. Gum was pretty wonderful stuff and it could be used for furniture polish or as candles. Some of this was used as rosin and some turned into jewellery and is known as a stone called Amber or copal. To get at this stuff the men had to dig through the ground which is incredibly hard, sometimes for many days to just dig a pit big enough for a Man to get in and then hopefully find some gum. Incidentally this is where the name gumboots comes from. Rubber was just becoming available and the gum diggers wore long gumboots making life much more bearable. We saw replica huts the gum diggers lived in and life must have been very harsh indeed.

Gumboots

Thursday was spent travelling back towards Auckland. On the way we passed through the Kauri Forests and stopped to have a look at New Zealand’s oldest and largest tree. It is huge and a very impressive giant in the forest and well protected. It's 1500 years old and has a 17 metre girth, simply magnificent.

By evening we were back in Orewa where we booked into the very first campsite we had stayed in just after we got Turbo Snail. The weather was nice again and after a walk to the beach we went out to a restaurant for a final dinner. The food was lovely but very rich and salty. We reminisced about our week together and we were very grateful to have had this time together.

On Friday it finally all came to an end and a friend of hers picked up Miranda at the Mega Centre in Auckland. She will be spending Christmas in Auckland and then fly to Australia on the 28^th December. We visited Geri and Colin and had a lovely meal with them. On Saturday 24th December we drove to Coromandel to celebrate Christmas with Diana and her mother’s family….


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