Dolphins!

Day 157 – Paihia, New Zealand

I have had quite a few adventures in the last few days!

Yesterday, while staying with friends of the family, I went for a walk with one of the friends and the three dogs. The weather was absolutely beautiful, clear skies, green fields, muddy lanes, barbed wire, it was dreamlike.

The farm

The dogs treed a possum (they were barking at the right tree, ah!).

Possum

Speaking of possum, there is a line of clothing made with possum wool. I saw that today.

Their garden has two lemon trees covered in ripe fruits, and I made lemonade. The fruits can be considered as organic, so a simple brushing of the skin to get any dirt off and I had beautiful material to work with.

Lemon tree – I’m told possums eat lemons… probably to avoid scurvy?

I’m told that the lemonade was a success -I left before I could do more than sample to still warm result-, so I intend to continue in that direction next time I see them. I won’t say much about my stay with them because it’s not only my story to tell, but I spend a wonderful few days with them.

If any reader wants to send me lemon recipe, please do not hesitate.

Then at the end of the afternoon, I took the bus to Auckland, where I spend the night before leaving this morning to Paihia.

I wrote yesterday that the Wi-Fi was expensive at the hostel, well, that wasn’t the only problem. My bed was creaky, and as I was on the top bunk, I’m sorry for the woman on the bottom bunk. I tried to avoid moving, but I slept poorly, and I couldn’t stay still hours on end.

Two-third of the other occupants went to bed late, talking in their regular voice and sending the torchlight dancing everywhere. A German woman cut herself deeply on a razor blade and needed a band-aid, and maybe finally left to get stitches (my German is not as good as it used to be).

I understand that rules must be set firmly, especially in big hostel with many rooms and a big turnover, but the endless signs laying out rules were forbidding. All in all, my stay wasn’t warm.

(Since I stayed literally less than 12 hours in it, it’s okay. And the bathroom was very clean and the water hot, though it took me a few minutes to figure out its working.)

So I took a bus early this morning, was dropped at Paihia, found my hostel quickly, and went back out to get my afternoon cruise in the Bay of Islands organized (I booked it but got the option to reschedule it they couldn’t guarantee that we could go through the hole due to the weather).

I went on the cruise anyway, and we saw dolphins! A pod was frolicking on the waves and we went alongside for a short while, and they put a display for us. There were a few calves as well, jumping in tandem with their mother.

Bay of Islands – Dolphins

We saw a schooner and went closer to say hi.

Bay of Islands – Schooner

Farther out in the Bay, the waves were stronger, the sky darker, and we went to “the hole in the rock” (pictured above): there is a natural tunnel in one of the rocky islands. The highlight of the cruise is to go through it. But the tunnel is relatively narrow, and in case a adverse weather (waves and or wind), the boat won’t go through. (Fair enough, nobody wants to go for a long swim back ashore.)

We got a few ray of sun on the way back, with the sea taking turquoise hue and the islands becoming green and leafy. We were dropped back at the wharf in good time. It is warmer here (I am quite a bit to the North compared to Auckland, and here, you go North to get warm), the sun is more or less shining.

It rescheduled tomorrow’s day trip to Monday. I don’t need to push it, the weather forecast is not that good, and there are a few bush walks that look tempting around here.

I am now 12 hours before France! Wouhou!