Tuesday Evening, Part I

Sunday found our party driving south to Christchurch. Rain spoiled any plans we might have made to stop along the way, so it was a fairly efficient trip. We left Murchison around 10, only stopping once for soup at Waikari tea rooms in Waikari. We arrived in Christchurch in the late afternoon and unpacked the Landcruiser to return to the rental company.

Buda and Nada live in a lovely home of their own design in a quiet Christchurch suburb. Nada made a dinner of stuffed peppers and a creamy cauliflower soup with brazil nuts, both of which were delicious. Later, we had crêpes for dessert.

Ljuba and I decided to hit the town and experience the hustle and bustle of Christchurch’s nightlife. It turns out there’s none to be had, at least on a Sunday night, so we went to bed instead.

After a large breakfast on Monday, we drove Nada into town to pick up her car from the shop, then ran some errands at the mall. We strolled around downtown and had lunch at the Honey Pot Café, which was delicious. Ljuba was excited to show me Hagley Park, a large tract of land in the center of the city with enormous trees. We sat on the bank of a small river watching a riveting duck drama unfold, then climbed the most excellent Camperdown Elm ever. I felt like I was in Avatar.

That evening, we sat down for an Orthodox Christmas dinner at home. Buda sang a song while Ljuba, Nada, and I turned a round loaf of bread in our hands between us. When the song was finished, each of us tore off a chunk. Baked within the loaf were a coin, a twig, a bean, and a kernel of corn. Each represented good fortune of one kind or another for the year ahead. There was chicken soup with homemade noodles. There was flekicesa kupusom, a kind of noodle casserole with pickled cabbage. There were roasted potatoes, roasted red peppers (or capsicum as they’re called here) with homegrown garlic, homemade yogurt, venison in cream sauce, and gibanica. Dessert was sour cherries rolled in filo dough. Everything was beautiful and delicious.

After dinner I requested a song from Buda, as I’d not yet heard him play guitar. He set up in the living room with Ljuba on the violin, and Nada joined in singing Serbian folk songs. The musicality of this family always impresses me, and tonight was no exception. It was clear they’d all grown up singing and playing, and I have to admit some envy for their ability to launch into song at any time.

After some frenetic packing and planning, Ljuba and I hit the hay. The next day was the start of our South Island tour.

Sunday Morning

We’re heading south toward Christchurch on the last day of our trip.

Saturday morning we left Abbey Court in search of some limestone caves in the hills above town. They turned out to be only accessible by guided tour, so we decided to find our own caves. We found a hiking track down the road a ways and were about to set out when we realized we’d forgotten the camera battery at the hotel. Ljuba and I decided to go back for it, leaving Buda and Nada to hike in the interim.

The trip to Motueka and back took an hour and a half, after which we picked up Buda and Nada and continued our drive north. Lunch was at the Whole Meal Cafe in Takaka.

The road into Abel Tasman park was unpaved and narrow, winding up the sides of the hills though thick tree ferns. With no guard rails and a precipitous drop a short foot from our left tires, it was a white-knuckle ride. We made it to Totaranui, however, and pulled into the parking lot of a surprisingly developed campground abutting a beach of golden sand. Ljuba and I walked down the shore a ways and up a river estuary, where we saw a small shark less than a foot in length. Eventually the flies grew too irritating, so we climbed in the car and left.

A few hours later we stopped for dinner at a motown-themed pizza place, then drove to Murchison and the Kiwi Motel.

Friday Night

Thursday night we went out for Chinese and had a rollicking dinner discussion on the state of gay marriage in US law. Ljuba and I tried hard to muster the will to go out again, but ended up spending the evening in our room. Plans to wake up early were foiled by alarm-related technical difficulties, but we managed to get out of our room on time anyway. In the rush to pack stuff up I mistakenly chugged a glass of soapy water which made my stomach an angry stomach well into the afternoon. The ferry to the South Island was boarding at 9:30.

After a dockside breakfast of croissants which Nada had foraged that morning, Ljuba and I sat in the car while his parents took a stroll. An older Kiwi man struck up a conversation though a passenger-side window, informing us that he was on his way to a deer auction in the South. Turns out he operates a “hunting” reserve, where he releases hand-raised red deer for American tourists to shoot with a gun. We were frequently referred to as “you stupid Yanks”. He was well-intentioned and oblivious, but I wasn’t a fan of this man.

Eventually we made it onto the ferry and departed Wellington. Ljuba and I roamed about the decks for a bit and played computer games in the galley until we reached Picton. We had lunch at Rumba, which was just OK, and took off toward Manukau. Stopping in Nelson, Ljuba bought trunks (togs if you’re Kiwi) and I a singlet which I thought looked like a 20’s beach costume. Stripes!

Buda and Nada dropped us off at the beach and went to find a grocery store, which later turned out to take much longer than expected. The beach was too windy and sandy, so we frolicked on an adjacent playground instead. It was full of deliciously dangerous apparatuses designed to break and maim, and we had a great time.

Dinner in Nelson was at Amigo’s, which is the first Mexican place I’ve seen in the country. It was tasty, but pretty obvious that there wasn’t a single Mexican within 100km. The rice was Spanish, the enchilada was a corny burrito, and the tomato sauce had a distinctly Italian flair. Regardless, it was pretty delicious stuff.

We’re now spending the night at the freakishly immaculate Abbey Court Motel, whose sign bears an image of the Virgin Mary above the phrase “The Divine Stay”. Despite my initial misgivings, the proprietors seem very friendly. This marks the third place where we’ve received apologies for Ljuba and I having to share a double bed instead of sleeping in separate twins.

Thursday Afternoon

After lunch on Tuesday we set off to find a beach. Failing in this pursuit, we decided instead to take a detour to Mount Taranaki, an extinct volcanic peak in the Taranaki District. We stopped for a hike through the forest, which was wonderful. The mountain rises above the flat farmlands, capped with snow and wreathed in cloud. Its flanks are covered by a dense verdant forest which echoes with the sounds of birds I’ve never heard before. I fell behind to take photos as we went. Weaving through wizened moss-shrouded trees and primordial stands of fern, it was clear the path we were following was crafted with care to disturb the landscape as little as possible. I felt as though we’d strayed into some strange dark fairytale.

We hiked for an hour before returning to the car.

Ljuba called ahead to our Bed & Breakfast in Wanganui, but the proprietor informed us that he’d expected us the previous night. After some arguing it became clear that he was not going to budge on his position, so we decided to head on to Wellington. We stopped for dinner at the Red Flame Thai restaurant in Wanganui, and drove the remaining few hours south to Wellington.

We’re lodging at Wellywood, a five-story zebra-painted hostel in the heart of the city. We have two private rooms with bathrooms and comfortable beds, and there’s free wifi in the enormous 4th floor lounge. The city itself is very clean; I haven’t smelled pee even one time. Everyone seems young and alternative, and I haven’t seen anyone who seems especially destitute. It’s incredibly windy. There are unicycles. There are unicycles everywhere. Later we discovered that this was due to Unicon, the unicycle convention, which was hosted in Wellington first week of January.

Wednesday morning Ljuba and I walked around town a bit and had lunch at Floriditas. The place was beautiful and hip, as many Kiwi establishments seem to be. It struck a compromise between modern paisley and white-bricked 30’s hospital ward. I had zucchini strips with mint and lemon, and Ljuba had some kind of pearl barley chicken dish.

Wellington is home to Weta Workshop, a special effects company with which I’ve been enamored for some time, and I discovered that they have a small gift shop/mini museum on the premises in Miramar, about 10 minutes from our hostel. We dropped in around 4 and spent an hour browsing through their books, miniatures, and original movie props. They have a friendly Sheepadoodle named Hendrix who milled around diverting attention from the works of art on the shelves. It was beautiful and I want to work there.

After leaving Weta, we returned to Wellywood and changed for church. December 7th is orthodox Christmas, so we were attending a Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve service. The main room of the church is large and open, with portraits of saints lining the walls and a large wooden façade on the rear wall. I lit two candles, one for Pam and one for Ben. Father Ljubo led the service, attended by four alter boys. I didn’t really understand much as the liturgy was delivered in Serbian with snatches of Serbian-accented Kiwi English. There was a lot of chanting and censer-swinging.

After the service, we adjourned to a side building for some bread and hard alcohol. I quickly found a shot of Rakija pressed in my hand, only to have it replaced after I dutifully downed it. After Rakija we were served warm sweetened Rakija.

Dinner was at Osteria del Toro, a gorgeous new Italian place right outside the door of our hostel. The food was delicious and there was a surplus of staff attending us.

Tuesday Afternoon

After unpacking at Seaview, Ljuba and I went out on the beach to go swimming. The black sand is extremely fine, almost like powder, and glinted in the late evening sun. I think the color is a result of the high iron content in the sand. Not sure about that one. Ljuba gamely plunged into the surf, and I followed soon after.

Dinner was at The Cove, which was the only place open in tiny Mokau. The cashier was ridiculously voluble and smiling from ear to ear. The food was takeaway, so we took it back to the cabin at Seaside. After dinner I fetched my laptop and showed Ljuba’s parents the video Chelsey made for Christmas. This seemed the perfect opportunity to give them my Christmas gift, a book of photos from Duluth. We paged through it, and I explained particulars.

Our camper/caravan didn’t come with bedding. We had two small blankets, but even so it was a chilly night.

I woke at 7:30 and walked on the beach for an hour, then we met at the cabin for breakfast. We were packed and ready to leave around 10, and drove south to Three Sisters Beach. The Sisters are large stone monoliths a few hundred meters offshore. Access to the beach is along a river estuary, and we hadn’t realized that the path was submerged at high tide. Ljuba and I decided to slog across the swiftly submerging sands and across the river mouth, now flowing upstream with the rising sea. The current was strong, though we managed to walk most of the way across in waters up to our waists. Toward the far side, however, it became too deep and we had to swim across the flow.

Climbing up on the far bank, we looked back to see Buda and Nada waving at us from what seemed a great distance. Making our way across the driftwood-strewn sand, we could make out two of the three sisters across the waves. They were inaccessible, but the excitement of the crossing was more than worth the trip. We waded out in the surf and around the rock cliffs on the far side of the beach, where we discovered a series of shallow caves carved out by years of waves. The next fifteen minutes were spent dashing around the mouth of each cave when the water receded between waves. Eventually we deemed it prudent to turn back, as we weren’t sure how far the tide would rise.

We returned to the lip of the river, though it was wider and more turbulent than before. Wading into the waves, we quickly lost our footing and struck out for the other side. Luck was with us, and we emerged alive.

We drove into Waitara in search of a restaurant, but apparently it’s not a restaurant town. The few places which we did find were closed, as we’d arrived at the outlandish time of 1pm on a Tuesday. Casting aside our plans of a sit-down meal, we raided a local supermarket for supplies. Driving back up highway 3, we took a random side road which happened to end with a table by the sea. Our Landcruiser has a tent on the roof rack, so we folded it out over the table to provide shade and shelter from the wind.

Monday Evening

We’ve just arrived at the Seaview Holiday Park, a seaside motor lodge in Mokau. Buda had originally reserved two cabins, but one was unavailable so they put us in a caravan instead. I love it! It’s an old trailer camper from four decades ago, though it looks newly restored. We’re stationed just off the edge of the Tasman Sea, and I’m looking forward to falling asleep to the sound of the surf.

Our kayaking plans for this morning in Taupo were rained out, so we decided to go soak in the mineral pools at AC Baths instead. We reserved two private rooms, where we spent 45 minutes in a sulfurous hot tub. Afterward, Ljuba and I rode the water slides (though we didn’t have passes), went in the sauna, and swam in the pool. It’s a great complex, and only cost $14.

For lunch, we ate at Mr. India, an authentic Indian place in Taupo’s city center. It was good, though the dishes tended to be too sweet for my taste. Amazing samosas. After a quick pit stop for Internet and coffee, we were back on the road.

I developed a miserable headache and almost lost my lunch a few times on the drive west to the coast. After a quick nap I felt much better. The countryside was beautiful; very bucolic but at the same time kind of wild. New Zealand has this pastoral grandeur thing going on.

Sunday Morning

Yesterday was Coromandel Day. Our plan initially was to circumnavigate the peninsula anti-clockwise, but a car accident blocked route 25 heading eastward. We drove north instead and reversed our itinerary. The first stop was at New Chums Beach, which had been billed as one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

Arriving at Whangapoua, we found an estuary blocking our progress up the beach. We were told to seek the Rubber Ferry, who turned out to be a young woman paddling a dinghy back and forth across the stream. She had arrived earlier that morning to help her niece and nephew across, and had had a steady stream of passengers since. Nada gave her some money for her kind assistance.

Past the sexy Aussies and up the beach a ways, we clambered over a few hundred meters of rocks and took a path through the forest to the secluded New Chums Beach, a crescent of white sand maybe a mile long. The water was cold and blue, and filled with small globules of clear jelly which we decided were fish eggs.

Ljuba and I walked to the end of the beach, where I got scraped up a bit by a falling rock when I tried to climb. We swam back around the point and past the rocks to the beach. The consensus was that New Chums Beach was lovely, but a questionable contender when it came to world-class beaches.

We ate a quick lunch in Whitianga at Snapper Jack’s takeaway. Back on the road, we drove to Hot Water Beach. Natural hot springs seep up under the sand here, and the beach was quite crowded with scantily-clad prospectors mining for hot water.

Down the road a bit was the path to Cathedral Cove. It was a 40-minute vista-filled walk along the coast, ending in a series of majestic rock formations on a sandy shore. Apparently a scene from one of the Narnia movies was filmed here.

We ate dinner in Tairua at a place called Manaia. The town’s three restaurants were slammed by holiday crowds, so it was a bit of a wait before we could order. I had an impromptu veggie pasta, Ljuba had beer-battered fish, and Buda and Nada had pan-fried catch of the day.