river

For many years now a friend of mine has been trying to get me up north to stay at her farm cottage, but it’s never happened for many reasons. But this Xmas break we picked a date and stuck to it and it actually happened.

Selena picked me up in her brand new car and we headed north. Our first stop was at the Eutopia Cafe which I have driven past many times and always thought I should stop in because it looks so cool and very different. So I was really happy to be stopping there for coffee after all these years.

My joy didn’t last long, as they didn’t have any Covid check in QR codes displayed anywhere and there was no hand sanitizer anywhere and no soap in the toilet. Luckily I always have some with me and I asked for their QR code. They were quite rude about it and gave me a look that said: “this is not Auckland – we don’t have Covid”. So we didn’t stay there to drink our coffee, we took it back to the car and drunk it on the way. Turns out a week later somebody with Covid visited that cafe and it became one of the locations of interest!

In the past when I have asked Selena where her cottage is she has always said somewhere north of Whangarei, so I thought we were headed for a place near Whangarei. So when she asked me how hungry I was and would I be ok till we got to Russell because there is a nice hotel there she wanted to go to for lunch, I was very surprised but very happy to be going there for lunch. I have been to Paihia but never Russell and I had an Irish flatmate in Japan whose claim to fame was that she’d worked at the “Duke“. Which is a famous hotel in Russell and one of the earliest hotels in New Zealand apparently.

When we made it to Paihia we had a bit of a drive round to see how much it’s changed since I was there back in the early 90s. Then we headed for the car ferry that takes you from Paihia to Russell. We drove on to the pier after a really short wait up the road and then the pier MOVED! Well not really but I thought it did – turned out what I thought was the pier was actually the car ferry. Guess I was expecting something big like the Cook Strait ferry or maybe even the Devonport ferry. But this thing was more like a floating platform that moved. I was hoping to get out and move around maybe even get a drink or something – but nope – we were trapped in the car! For a whole 10 minutes LOL.

After a really great lunch in the grand old Duke of Marlborough we strolled around Russell, bought some supplies for the cottage and headed for the farm.

We took a slight detour to see one of Selena’s favourite spots where there is a house tucked in to the hillside and for some reason made me think of Hollywood and Marilyn Monroe.

Finally we made it to the farm – what a stunning place. Nobody around for miles, lots of land for cows to stroll around and a view of the ocean. So peaceful and so quiet, it was going to be very hard to leave this place.

Shortly after arriving we grabbed a few drinks and went for a stroll down to a small river that runs through Selena’s land – she called it a stroll, I’d call it a trek across dangerous terrain and wilderness. While seated by said river and enjoying the nature I saw a random cow appear out of nowhere and as I tried to remain calm it got closer and closer. Eventually I exclaimed: “COW”, which Selena thought was hilarious, because she couldn’t see the cow approaching from behind her. Till I yelled out: “There’s a COW headed for your river”. I thought I was safe on my side of the river but apparently the river didn’t make any difference to the cow and it crossed over in order to get a closer look at us which is when I took off very quickly up the steepest bit of terrain I could find knowing it couldn’t follow me. I had no idea though that this was a mountain climbing cow and the hill meant nothing to it. Selena tried her best to shoo it back to where it belongs – turns out the herd of cows don’t belong to her and had somehow broken through the boundary fence, probably lured over by the smell and sound of naive Auckland city folk (and alcohol).

That’s the cow that chased me – it didn’t want to face me once it saw the camera and we weren’t on good enough speaking terms to ask for it to pose for a photo.

The rest of my time on the farm was awesome, Selena even lit a fire for me and scared off a few curious possums. The cottage was wonderful – filled with books, plants and beautiful old furniture – and each piece had a fascinating story of where it had come from and what its history was.

Thank you Selena for a wonderful trip.

Day one – Thursday 20 December – train to Wellington

What an awesome start to our trip – the taxi driver didn’t charge us for the ride from home to the train station as a thank you for previous business and xmas gift. We arrived nice and early and checking in to the Northern Explorer train was fast and easy. The train was very comfortable with loads of room, huge windows, plugs for charging devices, comfortable dining car with great food and my favourite beer.

The train ride took just under 11 hours and apart from the first bit from Auckland to Hamilton the weather was great. The best scenery of the trip was definitely Mt Ruapehu.

We stayed in the Ibis hotel and after dinner we had a few beers in Dad’s hotel room.

Day two – Friday 21 December – Wellington to Picton

We did breakfast in the hotel and then said goodbye, Dad and Paula flew to Nelson and I stayed on to catch the ferry. I went on the cable car and loved the lights they’ve added to the tunnels. Weather ok and great views at the top.

Click the last pic to view the video.

I ran in to a couple of people I know from work so we did a quick coffee and catch up in David Jones. Then I collected my bag from the hotel and headed for the ferry terminal.

I chose to go on the Bluebridge Ferry rather than the InterIslander coz it was about $10 cheaper and they had Airpoints. BIG MISTAKE! As soon as I got on the ferry I would’ve paid anything to get off it and on to the other ferry (the Interislander). The whole thing smelt like a public toilet everywhere. I went outside for some fresh air and hopefully find a good seat, but it worse. On the right side of the boat were vents that made the air smell like old stale warm fat. On the left side were the vents that I guess went straight to the toilets coz that side smelt like poohs. Neither side was a good option. So I got myself a private cabin where I could escape the screaming children and horrible smells. The cabin had its own toilet and shower and a bed – very cool and it was the best $30 I’ve spent in ages. Before I headed indoors tho I did see a pod of dolphins – very cool, but very hard to photograph.

The scenery through the sounds was beautiful but I just couldn’t stomach the smells.

Getting off the boat was quite an ordeal too. The directions for the walking people (people without cars) was not very clear and I got lost trying to find my way out. Then once I was reunited with the other walkers we were herded like sheep on to a bus and shuttled to the terminal to wait for our bags. Then I was on my own with no signs to show me the way to get to the town and there are NO TAXIS in Picton. So I walked along the main road which was not the right way to go I found out the next day!

Day three – Saturday 22 December – Picton to Nelson

Awesome weather in Picton, actually managed to get too much sun just wandering around in the morning and sitting in the shade by the stunning waterfront, while waiting for the bus to Nelson.

While waiting for the bus to kill some time and get out of the sun I paid $25 to see the Picton Aquarium. Wow what a waste of money, it was awful and actually gave me the creeps.

After filling in enough time I went to the bus stop to wait for the bus, unfortunately I was waiting at the wrong stop and 10 minutes before the bus was due to depart I wondered why it hadn’t even turned up and why am I the only one waiting for a bus. So I went in to the info centre next to the bus stop and asked if I was in the right place – I wasn’t!!! A quick two minute dash to the correct stop and luckily the bus hadn’t left. But the bus was overbooked and they needed two buses so there was some confusion and a 20 minute hold up. The bus trip was great and I’d definitely do that again. Beautiful scenery, loads of famous vineyards.

Then at long last I’d made it to Nelson and Dad and Paula were there to meet me at the bus station. Short ride to my Aunt’s home and a beer!

Day four – Sunday 23 December – Nelson

This morning my cousins Janine and Stephanie turned up for a coffee and a quick reunion catch up. Then my Aunty and Ken took me on a little pilgrimage around Nelson to revisit the three houses I’d stayed in when we came to visit at Xmas time back in the 70s 80s & 81. It was hard to photograph the houses from the car so here’s an old pic I took back in 1980 of the house we stayed in that Xmas.

After lunch at the McDonald’s cousin Stephanie worked at for her first job, we went to the Nelson Cathedral to see the Xmas Tree display.

After dinner the old photo albums came out so Paula could see what I looked like as a Page Boy at my Aunt’s wedding back in the 60s.

Me as a page boy.

It was a great evening filled with stories and so many memories.

Day five – Monday 24 December – Te Waikoropupu Springs

I remembered as a kid the whole family went for a really long drive to see the Pupu Springs and it was the most beautiful crystal clear water I had ever seen – but that was all I remember of that trip, so Dad and Paula took me on the long drive out to Takaka where the springs are. The drive up the mountains was spectacular and the long journey was well worth it, when we walked round a corner in the bush track and saw the stunning water bubbling up from the ground.

Click the last pic to watch the video.
On the way out to the springs we stopped in Motueka for lunch and I was amused by the name of the shop across the road.

Day six – Tuesday 25 December – Christmas Day

Lovely Xmas day. Presents and breakfast then getting ready for the cousins who turned up for the big xmas dinner at lunch time. We had a secret Santa before food and it was one of the few times I’ve seen a Secret Santa activity go well (something usually goes wrong) – everyone seemed happy with their gifts and everyone got one!
The following two pics are not from Xmas Day , but most days there were fantastic sunsets seen from my Aunt’s balcony.

Day seven – Wednesday 26 December – Mapua and Kaiteretere Beach

Today Dad, Paula and I drove out to Mapua a little wharf town with a maritime museum full of interesting facts about the area. The best thing I learnt was how Cable Bay got its name and that it only took 12 days to lay the cable between Australia and New Zealand back in the 1800s.

From there we drove on to Kaiteretere a very popular beach with golden sand.

Day eight – Thursday 27 December – Last Day in Nelson

This morning we had a visit from my Uncle Ray who I hadn’t seen since I was 21, great catch up and many more memories. After that Dad, Paula and Tarnie went in to town to check out the shops and have lunch. After lunch we had a drive out to the Maitai Valley River spot where we spent many days swimming back in 1980. I didn’t take any photos coz there was nowhere practical to stop, and the river bed was all brown and not as stunning as I remembered it. But at least we found it. So here’s an old pic of my Uncle Ray and Dad standing by our favourite Maitai river spot in 1980.

Our very last stop before heading home was at the very beautiful Queen’s Gardens (to use the loo).