The Bay of Islands

The players this weekend were Pablo from Chile, Jeannine (sexy redhead from Germany) and of course, myself. No caravan, as they require a minimum of 5 days to hire. Instead we had a sexy little Honda civic hatchback in silver. We didn't leave on Friday until just after dark, so I was faced with driving the entire way in blackness. I have very little night vision, the steering wheel and and cars are on the wrong side of the road and the first two hours was all winding mountain roads...I was a little stressed.

For those of you that have never been here, I would like to tell you a little about New Zealand street signs. They have normal ones of course, but they have a bit of a sense of humor when it comes to some of them. There is of course the black cow on the yellow sign, easy. Then there is the picture of a truck. Ok. truck. My favorite (now that I'm not driving it at night) read like a soap opera:
First sign was a very very squiggly arrow that was much longer than the American ones I'm used to indicating that I was in for quite a time of very windy roads. Ok. True. A little further along there was a large ! on a background of an orange sign and just as I'm wondering about this there's another picture of a car skidding sideways off of a cliff of a very windy road...I think I whimpered at this point.

There were many possums on the road as well- they don't look the same here as in the States. So-you're driving along and suddenly there is a small congregation of strange looking animals roughly the size of a medium sized dog looking at you as you try not to hit them or swerve off of a cliff. Very strange indeed. Also of note- no one else in the car with me saw them as they raised their heads and regarded us as if they were some mythical creatures and we were strangers in their land (but not ones of portent or note).

At the beginning of the Bay of Islands Pablo took over the driving (as he did for the rest of the weekend). We then drove to the town of choice and we found a small hotel where the owner had just gotten out of bed to let someone else in, so we were lucky enough to score a room as well. It was a large two bedroom which suited us very well. We could hear the sound of the waves, and upon crossing the road we discovered that the ocean was right there. This was around 11:30pm and the three of us crossed the street and sat on the beach under the stars with the sound of the waves watching the ghostly sails of ships in the bay. Jeannine left us after about an hour and a half, but Pablo and I stayed until 3:30 in the morning. Pablo is a kindred spirit who understands the value of watching the stars for hours. The constellations are different here after all and deserve a great deal of attention.

Despite my late night I was up at the crack of dawn where I greeted the rising sun on the beach with my guitar. I was kind enough not to harass my companions until 8:30am. This day was spent largely in cafes, exploring tidepools, watching a swimming competition and hiding from the cold wet pouring rain. We also went to a national reserve that is very important to the Maoris and has the treaty signed with the British as well as a giant migration canoe. Although it was a kiwi habitat, sadly I did not see any of the strange nocturnal birds. We finished off the day watching the Rugby match between the Wallabies and the New Zealand Blacks (so close!!) and playing some mean shuffleboard with a number of others in the bar before going dancing until 3am.

Sunday we had a fabulous breakfast that couldn't be beat before heading off to rent kayaks. Sadly Jeannine did not want to kayak (too cold and wet) so she instead went on a highspeed boat tour of the islands. Pablo and I headed off in the beautiful sunshine into the surf in our swimsuits and lifejackets. Of course I was soaked by a wave before I truly began- but this was not bad. It was perfect weather, the sun was shining, it was cool not cold, the birds were singing...we discovered a very quiet and beautiful bay. We watched the water fowl as they dove for fish and called to one another. Then there was a chill wind. Then it began to rain. Then the fog came in. The next three hours we kayaked merrily in the cold rain (in nothing but our swimsuits and lifejackets). We were terribly merry though, and wound our way around the different islands until we finally came to a point which was closer to the sea and there were many jagged rocks which waves dashed upon and since we couldn't actually see any of the islands around us we opted to head back. Still, it was a grand time. Very beautiful and we didn't mind the cold and rain at all. Of course we couldn't stop paddling without freezing, but this was not a trial (except to my stomach muscles this morning). Our timing was perfect and Jeannine's boat came back right about the same time.

We changed and went to yet another restaurant, a charming but strange place called "Poco Loco" where we had a fabulous seafood meal before heading home. It was another beautiful weekend. Next weekend we're going black water rafting on intertubes through glowworm caves.

Lord of the Rings comes out tomorrow!!!!!! I already have a reserved copy and will be having a viewing party tomorrow!