Here She Is!!

After a few days of being out and about (called a wopwop...or something) we are back into civilization, ie. Internet World!

Now, where were we? Oh yes, the catamaran sail - that was a fantastic experience. The weather was perfect for sailing - crystal clear sea, blue sky, sunshine and enough wind to sail (especially on the return journey) and to hide that fact that our feet were getting burnt!! We sailed out to some islands, had a BBQ lunch and then did some kayaking, and Errin tired her hand at knee-boarding. She did really well, stayed up first time and was hauled around the bay by our cute crew member, Vincent, from Montreal! (We have yet to find the Big Juicy Kiwis at this point....!!). Our retunr sail to the town was really fast due to the sea breeze - I had an almost snooze on the trampoline that was being lifted by the wind, it was fun. The highlight - the dolphins came out to play!! They are incredibly fast as they managed to keep pace with us as we scooted back. Very cool to see. After we got back on shore we decided to move on and stay at the next place, Kerikeri......what a snoozer! We got all showered and changed, ready to have a fun night on the town.....NOTHING! We couldn't find anything that resembled a fun, happening place, so we took our pathetic selves back to the campsite and were in bed before 10pm. How lame is that?

Next morning was the Sunday market in Kerikeri...more exciting than their Saturday night, but not by much. We moved on and headed for Cape Reinga, the most northerly tip of NZ. It was a twisty gravel road for the last 20 km, not much fun to drive, but the view was spectacular and well worth the effort. This is where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. On our way back we stopped in at Te Paki for some sand surfing (I'm still finding sand in places!!). This is also the start of the 90 Mile Beach (which is about 60 miles......another Kiwi fib...). We started on the beginner sand dune, but were such pros that we went straight to the Big One - it took about 15 mins to climb up it, and it was striaght up! A rather daunting view from the top, but off we went, screaming down the hill....well, actually, we did not scream as you would probably get a mouthful of sand as you went. It was a blast, but that meant another long climb up in the hot sun/ sand.....well worth it. This time we decided to go faster (that means keeping your feet out of the sand). Errin beat me down and just as I got to the bottom I could feel the board turning.....off I rolled at breakneck speed, hence the sand everywhere!! It was such a fun experience. That night we stayed at a beach called Te Rarawa - I had to get into the sea to replace the sand with salt. Best sleep of the trip so far that night.

Yesterday was the biggest drive day yet - we came from Te Rarawa to Thames, on the Coromandel Penninsula. 500+km, not much by Canadian standards, but when the roads are windy and hilly, it was a l-o-n-g day. Errin did a great job of navigating and keeping me awake at the wheel. We stopped off to see the Kauri trees - huge trees that are native to NZ but are dying off. Lots of quaint towns, villages on the way and I keep looking for Hobbits.....none spotted, although we have seen a few colourful characters along the way! This leg of the journey was a mixture of BC, Scotland and Hawaii.....very interesting.

And today is laundry day - how exciting is that? Errin is off for a walk as she is not feeling all that well - have to get that girl drunk, then she'll feel more like herself!! We were living on the edge last night as we just pulled over and slept on the side of the road....so, we locked the van and had a knife next to us.......

Hopefully this will publish as there seems to be a bit of a problem with the computer link. Anyway, we are still have a ton of fun, have lots of things planned to do...and we're still best buds!!

Love,

J&E