Rangitaiki River mouth tonight...Opotiki last night
Short but full day yesterday. Got to Opotiki just after noon. First real town in 10 days. OMG. OMG. What to do first. How about lunch and a charge up? Ok. I agree. (See how easy it is when you travel alone? No one ever disagrees with you or gives you any grief:))
Met Ann and Peter (at least I think her name was Ann...I didn't write it down so I'm feeling sheepish). A couple from Hamilton on holiday over here and biking around for the day.
I go inside to order and plug in and meet Del and Tony who had seen me on the road earlier. Brief conversation. Plug in phones. I go outside to eat with Ann and Peter. As Del is leaving, she stops by and offers a shower and laundry and gives me her address in town. Yippee! Laundry was most exciting as it had also been 10 days since the clothes had been washed...and I wear the same, exactly the same, clothes every dirty, sweaty day. Can't rinse them out because they won't dry overnight.
I then do my town chores of uploading some blog posts at the library, sending a postcard, groceries, and scouting through the outdoor store. All the while having little chats with folks.
Is it comfortable? Yes
How's it on the hills? Slow but easy.
Where ya from? Upstate NY...not the city.
Where have you come from? Hard to answer. I usually say Wellington.
Over and over and over and over. Feel like I should have a sheet to hand out, but I'd miss the energy exchange.
So later in the afternoon I show up at Del's. This is the house she grew up in! Her mom died last fall and she's been here for 6 months winding everything down and getting the house on the market. She and Tony live in Australia now...he's an Ozzie. She took me up to this domain or park with ancient trees, the puriri (if I remembered right). Over 2000 years old. Burial trees for the Maori. They'd put their dead ones bones in the large cavities at the base of the tree. Sacred space. Felt it too. I think I know more NZ trees than American. My head is spinning with knowledge. I can recognize the puhutikowa (didn't say I could spell them)... It's the red blossom tree at Xmas. They are enormous up here on the coast. And the ponga. It's the palm that the NZ emblem if a palm frond is from. I need a picture of that.
Invited to dinner, of course I said yes. But I'll camp in the yard and declined the offer of a bed. I love sleeping in my tent. Dinner was gourmet! Portobello mushrooms with an onion and something else topping, then grilled pork chops with orange, sweet potato spinach feta salad, and leeks and zucchini. Everything was mmmwwaa! My kind of food! And fresh stewed apples, blueberries, and yogurt dessert! I was in heaven!
Lots of talking and laughing...wine does that to me. After breakfast I hit the road and so did they, off for a beach hike with friends.
I knew there were hills on today's route. Every day's route. And I don't mind them at all. Just pedal and rest and pedal and rest. Kinda like I hike up hills:). I always get to the top. I have to say the one out of Ohope was a crank! Wooweee! Ohope had the longest empty beach I've seen. Had lunch down there with a sandwich Del made from the leftover salads. Yum! There was sun and wind and haze and islands in the distance. Pretty spot. Upscale homes. Back in modern NZ. East coast is a pleasant memory.
Tonight's view of the river mouth:
Earlier I heard ducks quacking. Very different from the usually sheep baaing or cows mooing.
In 2 days I'll be in Tauranga visiting Liz, Moa's sister-in-law, who I met at Christmas. A few days off the bike will feel good. Then I'm headed to the Coromandel Peninsula. More beaches, poor me.
NZ is oceans and beaches and ragged hills and mountains and volcanoes and bush and sheep and cows. Yup. That about sums it up. And trucks and campervans:)
Love you all!! And thanks for the wonderful notes of love and support. This blog is such a great way to stay connected. Thanks for making it a two way street.
To sleep to the sounds of the ocean...ahhhh!
Full moon from down under.
Blissful BagLady
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