GBI days 5&6: "following the stream" and Blind Bay

17Jun08
GBI day 5

Slept in this morning - relishing our cozy room before heading out for a hike. We stopped in the local grocery store in Tryphena, the Stonewall Store, and were impressed by the selection it had for such a small and remote store.

Our hike for the day was near Whangaparapara harbour, a roundtrip circuit on the Withey´s and Pack tracks that should have taken 2.5 hours, but turned into a 4.5 hour excursion! The hike started out innocently enough following an old logging track through wonderful lush rain forest.





Tree ferns upon tree ferns and nikau palms and fungi everywhere.



However, about halfway in we got to a section coyly described in the brochure as ¨following the stream¨ - which in reality meant crossing back and forth over the stream FOUR times. Each time taking off our boots and socks, wading across, and sticking our wet feet back into the socks and shoes just to walk for five minutes before repeating again.



(this stream was bridged - the one's we were crossing were 2-3 times wider.)

Wouldn't have been so bad if we'd been prepared – oh well. Plus our topo map and track description didn't agree and so we wasted a lot of time looking for the proper trail intersection. Other than that, it was a lovely hike :)



On our way back to the car as we walked across a pasture we suddenly noticed a man standing on the road watching us. As we approached he turned out to be none other than the aforementioned Laconic Man! When we got within earshot he said, “looks like you've been sticking to the roads” - haha. Justin said, “what are you doing here” and he said “I live here” gesturing to the house nearby. It's a small world on a small island with only 700 year-round residents!

So back to our cozy B&B for some reheated Rogan Josh (curry) that we had to ammend with a ton more cayenne and cumin.

photoset


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18Jun08
GBI day 6

This morning Justin agreed to go to the store for ingredients if I would cook up pancakes – so we feasted on pancakes, thick bacon, and REAL maple syrup. We felt like kings.

It was a windy and wet day, so we didn't plan to do much. We had a nice chat with our hosts and they recommended Blind Bay. So we drove to Blind Bay – first to the wharf where it was so windy we could almost fly, and then to the beach which was much more protected. There were some huge and ancient trees right on the beach and three very happy looking horses keeping a close watch on us (I guess we looked suspicious!) We ate lunch on the beach and had a nice walk and even saw several dolphins swimming by.







Then we headed back to the Manuka Lodge and took it easy for the rest of the day.