Week 8 Omaha River Retreat

After the school holidays it was a time for rest and relaxation and a time to recharge our batteries! We spent the weekend just enjoying life here in our beautiful surroundings. The weather was good and I spent time, on Saturday and Sunday, sitting down by the wharf reading my book. I usually take the short but steep path down there and return the longer way by the estuary and then a short walk through the natural bush before rejoining the path up to the barn.
I went shopping, to New World in Warkworth, on Monday morning. After 15 years of shopping in Leclerc in France it feels quite a treat to have access to things that I miss when we are there. Sliced bread, pies, bacon, cheddar cheese and golden syrup to name but a few! We are though missing the various duck products and the free range, maize fed chickens that we get back home.

By Tuesday I was feeling revitalised and in the afternoon we went to Ti Point, about a kilometre away as the crow flies but a few more by road. We had never been here before despite its proximity to our home and we were pleased to find such a beautiful place. We left the car at the end of the road, by the boat ramp, and followed the footpath signs. It was an interesting walk at times along the side of the ocean and at times climbing up the hill into the bush, taking care on the narrow and slippery path and watching our for the roots of the huge and ancient Pohutakawa trees. We turned back after an hour or so and retraced our steps always looking out at splendid views to the ocean, the estuary and the harbour of Whangateau (pronounced Fong a tea ow!)

On Wednesday I managed to persuade Nigel to go for a horse ride on Pakhiri Beach.http://www.horseride-nz.co.nz/index.html The long beach and the white sand dunes are so beautiful and much easier to explore on horseback even on just a short one hour ride. Although Nigel rode as a child he hasn't done much riding since. A short ride on Chippie back in Devon and the last time in Ariege when Galaxy soon decided that she had had enough of him and dumped him on the ground! It's an interesting drive to Pakhiri, the first bit after the village of Leigh climbs steeply up the hills on a tar sealed road. Then the drive down to the beach is on a steep gravel road where there is much evidence of landslips.
As we were waiting to be allotted our mounts we chatted to Lee and Jackie and Lee's daughter Annika who had come up from Auckland. They were very pleasant and as they had forgotten their camera I took photos for them and will e mail them to them later in the week. Nigle was allotted Phantom but after 5 minutes or so he was asked to change to Missy a solid looking bay mare. I was given Pinky, aptly named as she had a pink nose and was a very light strawberry roan -more grey than chestnut. Eventually everyone was mounted and we set off towards the beach fording a river and riding through the dunes. There was only a couple and there dog on the beach which stretches for miles. The sea was pretty rough and the waves were pounding the beach as we walked along, in single file at the water's edge. After half an hour we left the beach and rode up into the dunes. We then split up into 2 groups, the walkers and the "canterers". They don't normally canter on the beach as the horses tend to race each other but on the dunes it is easy to stay on the paths in single file. It was just Lee, Jackie, Annika and I who went with the canter group but, sadly, Annika wasn't very confident and soon asked to stop so we had to walk back the rest of the way. Back at the stables I was reunited with Nigel who had enjoyed his ride but had been somewhat hindered by the person in front of him who had difficulty stopping his horse from grazing as he went along.
 I dismounted and Pinkie was lead away but then our guide came back with her and said would I like to go, with her, for a canter along the beach to make up for the lack of one in the dunes. So I mounted again and set off once more for the beach. Pinkie, although looking quite unprepossessing, had been a good forward going ride and as we neared the beach I felt that she was looking forward to having a canter. The guide, a really friendly, chatty girl from Auckland, said just get on the hard sand and let her go, if you want to stop steer her towards the dunes. She had barely finished speaking when Pinkie, displaying an unsuspected turn of hoof, took off like a bat out of hell along the beach. There's not much one can do at a time like that apart from enjoy the speed and the freedom of the sand stretching out in front of one. All too soon I saw the entry to the dunes looming up ahead of us and by standing up in the stirrups and heaving with all my might I managed to turn her towards the softer sand of the dunes which soon slowed her down. The couple with the dog that we had seen previously were lying at the edge of the beach and seemed somewhat shocked to see this aged woman hurtling towards them at such a speed!I haven't been that fast, on horseback, since my hunting days! We made our way, back through the dunes, more sedately to the stables where Nigel was waiting with some trepidation and was pleased to see me arrive unscathed. The adrenalin was still coursing through me and I was so pleased that I had been able to cope with the thrill of the headlong gallop.
I had planned, the next day, to ride out with Rachel but, perhaps fortuitously, she called to say that she wasn't feeling well and could we delay our ride until next week. Although I would have gone had she been OK I felt that bearing in mind the state of my bones after the previous day that it was a good thing to delay our ride. Nigel and I went into Warkworth to take Jill's car for it's warrant (MOT) and had a walk around the town and by the river before having a big breakfast at the Kowhai Dairy which is fast becoming one of our favourite haunts for a brunch in town.
On Friday afternoon we went to the Matakana Cinema to see "The Exotic Marigold Hotel" a film which we both enjoyed before going into Warkworth to pick up the car. Rob called in for a couple of hours on his way home from work, a good end to our week.
More photos on https://picasaweb.google.com/104448180741806380792

Weeks 6 and 7 Omaha River Retreat. Easter Holidays.

The day after we got home from our trip, Thursday 5th April, I drove into Auckland to pick up Danni and Jonny as well as Danni's friend Keri who was to stay 2 nights with us. It's a 70 km drive to their house the first part of which is through Matakana to Puhoi amd some beautiful scenery. Then through the Puhoi tunnel and onto the motorway direction Auckland. A connection then to another motorway to Waitakere which I left as we got close to their home. It's a relatively easy drive as long as one times it right and doesn't hit it at the rush hour.
Back home the girls were happy to be together so Jonny was somewhat left out but Rob came to pick him up later to take him back to his and Julie's until Saturday morning. I took the girls riding on Friday which they both enjoyed as did I. Rob came to pick up Keri early on Saturday morning to drop her back home and brought Jonny back. Danni wanted to go back with Keri for the day but as Rob wouldn't be able to pick her up later she had to stay here. Not a happy bunny! We wenr to a car boot sale in Point Wella and then on to the Matakana Country Park and Danni was soon back to normal again.
It was Easter weekend and Rob and Julie stayed over Saturday and Sunday nights. I organised an Easter Egg hunt for Danni and Jonny on Sunday morning, thankfully the weather was good as it turned out to be for all the school holidays. Danni seemed quiet and it seemed that she had texted her mum to say that she wanted to go back home. So it was arranged that her mum and step dad would pick her up in Matakana in the early afternoon. I said to her that I quite understood that she wanted to spend some of her holidays at home with her friends and we parted with a hug and arranged to see her again next week.
I had bought a nice piece of beef from our local butcher and Rob took charge of the roast potatoes and vegetables so we soon had our evening meal underway. I made Yorkshire puddings which went down well despite the lack of proper Yorkshire pudding tins.

For the next week, Monday to Monday, Jonny was here on his own and Rob called in most nights to see him. Rob had a day off on the Tuesday and Jonny and I went out fishing with him. Poor Nigel had to stay home as the boat isn't big enough for 4 people to fish, it will be his turn next time. The tide was at 11am so we were on the water for about 9.30 and stayed out until about mid day. I caught the first fish, a good size snapper but as it was the first fish it had to go back. A shame as although we caught a lot of snapper we only ended up with 7 that were big enough to keep. We also caught 7 Kowhai all good sized fish but we put 5 of them back as we didn't need them. Back at the boat ramp I tried to get off the boat to hold it whilst Rob went to get the car and trailer. Tried being the operative word as I ended up falling in! I am not as agile as I think I am! Thankfully it was shallow water and I landed gently, the only casualty being my camera which was in my pocket. I didn't have a change of clothes with me but I draped myself in a towel when we got back to Rob's and put my clothes in the dryer whilst Rob sorted out the fish.
I brought 1 Kowhai home, it's a fish that isn't very popular for eating and most people smoke it. I was keen to try it unsmoked so I stuffed it with herbs, onion and lemon juice and baked it in foil in the oven. I can't see why it's not a popular fish as we all, Jonny included,, thought that it was delicious. Next day we had snapper for lunch and kowhai again for dinner so we were pretty fished out!

It was good having Jonny here on his own for a while as he tends to be over shadowed by Danni when they are together. I got him into a bit of a routine, laptop game time whilst I was cooking dinner and then shower and bed with a dvd to watch after dinner. Important as by that time of day I was needing to have a bit of a rest!! We spent an hour or so most days down by the estuary where he was happy to spend a lot of time playing by the water and throwing stones into the water. Nigel took him down as well and, until he messed up his line, did some fishing with him. We went to the cinema in Matakana to see Dr Seuss' The Lorax and one day Nigel and Jonny went to Sheep World whilst I went for a ride. On Sunday Nigel and I took Jonny to the Mini Golf at Point Wells which he thoroughly enjoyed and then went for a walk on the beach at Omaha.

Jonny and I went to pick up Danni on Monday afternoon and Rob came in in the evening to see them both. On Tuesday I took them both to the mini golf and country park again.

Wednesday was a horsey day. Whilst I was here last year I had contacted Rachel the daughter of an old friend of my friend Titch. Maureen, Titch's friend, died some years ago and Titch had asked me if I could find Rachel for her as she had lost contact with her. I found her living only a few miles from Rob and Julie and we had visited her before we left. Coincidentally it turned out that Danni and Meg had been good friends, at primary school, when Danni lived up here. I had contacted Rachel to say that we were here again and she asked us over so that Danni and Meg could meet up again. Since last year Rachel, Meg and son Ben have moved to a new home 22 kms from Warkworth. We arrived about 11am and after a chat and a cup of tea had a look around the new property. Rachel has a beautiful house surrounded by 22 acres of land, a much nicer property than the previous one. They have several horses and Ben the son plays polocrosse for a team in Auckland, he was away though on a hunting trip to Rotorua hoping to shoot a stag! Meg isn't riding at the moment as she has had a nasty fall and lost her confidence so she looked after Jonny whilst Rachel, Danni and I went out for a ride. I rode Opera Rose a beautiful and well behaved ex TB racehorse which is Bens spare horse for the polocrosse. After lunch Danni tacked up Phoebe, the pony she had ridden earlier, and rode her for a while in the paddock. Even Jonny mounted Phoebe for a short time and although he said that he didn't enjoy it he had a big smile on his face! Rachel has invited me to go over when ever I want to help her exercise the horses so I shall be only too happy to do so!
Thursday morning we went to the cinema to see Hugo and Friday I took them back to Auckland.
A hectic and busy couple of weeks so I am now looking forward to some rest and relaxation to recharge my batteries!

A Magical Mystery Tour.

On Saturday 31st March we went away for 5 days with Rob and Julie. We had visited South Island on our trip last year and were looking forward to seeing the southern part of North Island. After packing our bags and ensuring that all was safe here we drove over to Rob and Julie's and after putting everything in Rob's car we left on our tour.We drove down to Auckland and stayed on state highway 1 until we got to the Redout Road turnoff. The plan was not to travel on too many major roads and see more less touristy places. We climbed up for a while and stopped at the top of the hill to take in the view of Auckland from the South. We had a good view of the "City of Sails" and could see the sky tower and the CBD in the distance as well as the Hauraki Gulf. There were a lot of new houses being built up there but once we went down the hill the countryside changed into what reminded me of English parkland. There were many large houses set well back from the road surrounded by  lush paddocks and trees. It seemed to be a good area for horse breeding as we passed several studs as well as a lot of dairy farms. We passed through the small town of Clevedon and then approached the coast where we could see across to the Coromandel Peninsula and the town of Thames.We drove down the pacific coast highway, passing a lake which was home to many black swans, along a stretch of coast known as the seabird coast to Kaiaua Bay where we stopped to admire the sceenery. The beach was made entirely of shells and just further down the beach there were lots of camper vans apparently belonging to bird watchers. http://travelingnewzealand.blogspot.co.nz/2010/12/seabird-coast.html

       

                                                          Lunch time.

We stopped for lunch at the Bay View Hotel in Kaiaua formerly called the Last Resort. A huge pub with a nice garden where we had our lunch and a beer along with a crowd of motorbikers. The pub itself appears to have been renovated many years ago and has a very art deco look. There were many photos on the walls of times gone by in this rural part of the country. One of them was of a meet of the local hunt taken, I suspect back in the 1950's.
Back on the road again and we drove through Miranda and shortly afterwards left the coast and drove across the Hauraki plains http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauraki_Plains. It was the first time, since we left Les Landes, that we had seen such an expanse of flat lands. We drove through the small town of Tahuma and by about 4pm we reached our destination for the day of Te Aroha.http://tearohanz.co.nz/index.
We booked in at the Te Aroha motel and after settling in went for a stroll around the domain.
"Pick up a guide from i-SITE and stroll around the charming Edwardian Domain. Walk back in time to the late nineteenth century when the medical benefits from bathing, as well as drinking the waters from geothermal springs were highly regarded. The route shown is a suggested walk and has information on key buildings and facilities in the Domain, the most prominent of which is the old Cadman bath house. The individual baths and porcelain toilets were of a very high quality and reflected the level of comfort provided in the building. Today this grand old bath house is home to the Museum."
Sadly the museum was not open but the beautifully restored Edwardian buildings were magnificent. From the terrace of the museum we looked down onto 3 well kept bowling greens and the town and to the side of us was a bandstand. Then we came across a warm spring running into a footbath so took the time to sit there and soak our feet for a while. We then went up the hill to the geyser but we were out of luck and didn't see it "performing" although we could hear it gurgling away. Julie and I booked a session at the mineral spa.The water was very warm and incredibly soft and we both felt invigorated by the time our half hour was up.

                                                                  Te Aroha

We had our evening meal, a huge roast dinner, at the pub over the road before strolling up the main street of this beautiful little town.

Sunday was Rob's birthday, the first time for many a year that we had spent it together. We had breakfast sitting high above the town in the Domain Cottage cafe before leaving for the next leg of our trip. I shall remember our trip to this jewel of a town for the rest of my life, a very special place.
We left at 10am and were once again in good grazing country with lots of horses and dairy cattle in the fields. We passed through the small town of Matamata and at one point as I was looking out of the side window I felt Rob braking violently. I looked out of the windscreen and saw a large hawk flying off to the side of the car and another one missing the windscreen by a hairs breadth and soaring away over the car. A close shave! I wanted to see Rotorua and was warned that after Te Aroha that we would find it very commercial and touristy which it was. Because of the shortage of time we weren't able to see a lot of the town but we did visit the Government Gardens which house the old bath house a truly magnificent building which is now the town museum.
http://www.newzealand.com/int/article/government-gardens/

                                                            Rotorua

                                                   Old Bath House at Rotorua

                                                       Geyser at Rotorua

                                                        Old Bath House at Rotorua

It's quite awe inspiring to see the hot steam coming from the geysers and makes one aware of the power beneath our feet.

                                                            Kerosene Creek

                                                           Bathing Beauties!

We left Rotorua and made a stop at Kerosene Creek which lies in the bush about 6kms along a gravel road. It's well known locally but is well off the tourist track. Despite it's name it is a magical place - a hot spring (40FC) running down the river bed with several small waterfalls. There were about 20 or so people lying in the creek as we walked along and after a while Julie and I sneaked into the bush to change into our cossies. The "boys" weren't interested in partaking of the waters but we were eager to give it a try. The river bed was quite rocky but we managed to get in and immerse ourselves in the beautiful warm, clear water. We spent half an hour or so indulging ourselves before getting out, drying and changing before hitting the road again.
We drove the 80 kms to Lake Taupo passing through the Thermal Area and  Golden Springs passing many huge dairy farms. Just 10 minutes or so before we arrived at the lake we visited Huka Falls. The Huka Falls are the largest falls on the Waikato River. They are the most visited natural attraction in New Zealand!

                                                                  Huka Falls

At the Huka Falls, the Waikato River which is normally 100m wide, is squeezed through a 20 metre wide gorge and over a 20m drop.
Every second up to 220,000 litres of water gushes through the gorge and shoots out over 8 metres beyond to create a beautful blue/green pool.The name Huka is the Maori word for 'foam', which is appropriate as the falling water and rapids certainly resembles foam, especially under flooding conditions.The Waikato River, normally up to 100 metres wide, abruptly narrows to just 15 metres as it crosses a hard volcanic ledge. This of course causes a huge volume of water to collide together, forming a spectacular visual feast of powerful falls and rapids.
Around 220,000 litres per second of pours over the cliff face, and then rushes under a pedestrian bridge (great photo opportunity here!) The water then bursts out of its rapids, over the 11 metre falls, and back into the Waikato River. The Waikato river is one of New Zealand's longest rivers and it drains Lake Taupo - the largest freshwater lake in all of Australasia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Taupo

                                                            Lake Taupo

We strolled along the shore of the lake and gathered pumice and marvelled at the vast area of water before leaving for the last leg of the day. We drove further that we had intended but eventually stopped in the small town of Taumaruni http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumarunui The town was formed around the railway and is now a centre of agriculture in the area. It doesn't have a lot of charm but is notable for being either the end or the beginning of the "Forgotten World Highway". We found a motel, not the best but acceptable and then had a good meal at a Thai restaurant. I had the most amazing starter, prawns and mushrooms in cocnut milk, a real taste sensation. Afterwards N and I partook of a spa bath at the motel before we crashed out for the night.

                                                                    Wangamamoma pub

                                                     Views of the Forgotten World Highway

                                                  First sight of Mount Taranaki
On Monday we had an early start, 8.15, to drive the Forgotten World Highway. Shortly after we left Taumarunui Rob noticed a sign saying no petrol for 150 kms so he quickly and thankfully turned back to fill up the car. I don't know how to describe the next 150 kms of stunning scenery and amazing views. It was a once in a lifetime experience driving this road which took us through an ever changing landscape and over 4 saddles the last one of which gave us our first view of Mount Taranaki. We stopped for brunch at the Wangamamoma pub which was the only hint of civilisation on our route. Please take time to view this video <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PbU4O-s2hKE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> which will give you some idea of the scenery and look at this link http://www.taranaki.info/visit/theme.php/page/forgotten-world-highway to give you more information about this memorable drive. Rob loved driving the road and for him it will be a lifetime memory of a wonderful 150kms.

                                                           Glockenspiel at Stratford.

We ended the drive at the small town of Stratford where we stopped to have a snack and a look at the town which is named after the famous William with streets being named after his characters, Bizarrely it houses New Zealands only glockenspielclock tower which plays the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet three times a day. The spoken words are provided via external loudspeakers and we were lucky enough to hear and see it "perform" at 1pm!
We had had our first view of Mount Taranaki(or Mount Egmont) as we drove down the road to Stratford and it was now to be in view (unless shrouded in the clouds) for the next couple of days. The 2518-metre-high mountain is one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones in the world. There is a secondary cone, Fanthams Peak (Maori Panitahi), 1,966 metres (6,450 ft), on the south side.
Because of its resemblance to Mount Fuji Taranaki provided the backdrop for the movie The Last Samurai.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Taranaki
It is certainly an  imposing sight, made more so by the fact that the surrounding land is relatively flat. We drove through Eltham and on to Hawera where we stopped for a wander around the small but busy town.http://www.windwand.co.nz/hawera.htm Hawera is also home to the largest dairy factory complex in the world, "Whareroa",which has its own gas-fired powerplant. The complex is owned by Fonterra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonterra, the company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$19.87 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.
We than drove  onto Surf Highway 45 and stopped for a walk on the beach at Ohawe, a large windswept beach. There was lots of interesting looking driftwood lying on the shore but sadly we had to resist the temptation to collect any due to lack of space in the car! Then it was time to drive a short way on the surf highway to the home of Rhonda, Julie's cousin where we were staying for 2 nights. We had met Rhonda and her 2 daughters Alesha and Sasha last year when they had visited Julie whilst we were here. It was good to see them all again and to meet Rhonda's mother Wendy. Crystel, the older daughter is at boarding school so we have not been able to meet her. Rhonda lives and works (very hard) on a dairy farm milking and caring for the herd. There is an amazing view from the kitchen sink of Mount Taranaki who was hiding his head in the clouds the next morning.

On Tuesday morning we drove into New Plymouth where we had booked a ride out on a charter boat. There was a very good cafe by the harbour where we had a good breakfast before embarking on our boat. Nigel decided to stay on land after a copious breakfast of pancakes, berries and maple syrup as he wasn't sure that it would stay down if he went to sea! Caddies Charters is famous in the area as he runs trips out to his crayfish pots on a "retired" English lifeboat. The boat was built in Cowes IOW before serving as lifeboat in Bridlington on the Yorkshire coast, a place that I know well. The boat was then brought over to Christchursh where it put in several more years service before Caddy bought it. Sadly the tide wasn't high enough to launch it from the shed so we had to board from the jetty. We had a good cruise out of the harbour and past the breakwater into the open sea and around the Sugar Loaf Islands, home to many seals. We were out of luck with the crayfish as all three pots were empty. Caddy was a character, very entertaining, the hour flew by and we were back on dry land.

We then visited Pukekura Park in the centre of the city, one of the premier botanical gardens of NZ. A beautiful place to wander around and admire all the flowers and trees. Then on into the city centre before leaving again for our second night with Rhonda and family.
Wednesday was a long day, we were driving back home as Rob wanted to be back before Thursday and the Easter traffic out of Auckland. We drove up the west coast to Awakino then headed inland and up to Kumi,Pirongia,Whatawata, Taupiri,Meremere,Pokeno and up through Auckland and home. A long day and we did stop several times but difficult now to remember where. Changing scenery all the way from the blustery west coast, volcanic landscape and back into dairy country before the suburbs of Auckland were upon us.
So many memorable occasions, such spectacular scenery, it really was a magical, mystery tour thanks to Julie our route planner and Rob who drove so well. Our best stop had to be Te Aroha, such a beautiful, well preserved piece of history. Memorable too were the huge herds of dairy cows some of Jersy cattle. Best drive was the Forgotten World Highway and best ever out of this world experience had to be submerging myself in Kerosene Creek! I can't pick out the best bit of scenery, there was so much of it and it was so varied that it would be impossible to do so. And lastly a big thankyou to the weather which was perfect for travelling and sightseeing, not too hot, not too cold and not raining!
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