November 8, 2008

So, we didn't make it Paihia on the 6th. We made it to Opua. This tiny little sleepy town on the beach looking out to the East. We found a little market and the man made us fish and chips for dinner. We asked him where would be a good place to sleep that might be free and he said 'well, you're not supposed to sleep on the beach, but no one will ever care really.' So, we meandered our way down the beach. And too my surprise there were these two vans...and we knew them! When we had bought our van in Auckland, there was a car inspection stand and there were two women buying a van and having their inspection right before us. I saw them again in Shakespeare park at the Wharehouse. I saw them again when we went snorkeling in Goat Island. Then we saw them again when we stopped at a little bay near Tutukaka. And we actually introduced ourselves to Eva and Ana. And another girl they had met along the way, Fabian. Turns out we were all travelling the same route at about the same speed. We all talked about our vans and it turns out-ours is by far the best for the best deal. So, they went on their way and we said "oh, well, maybe we'll see you up on the road somewhere, we're all heading up to Russell today." But then we decided to pull off early into this little sleepy town and-oh my word-they had done the same!

But the roads we took were different...ours was ridiculous! We have planned to not take the highway, or the secondary highway, we are taking the gravel roads the whole way! yes, decaying roads at all. It's been a  bit scary, but the scenery is absolutely unreal!

So, we pulled over and they had met a group of young girls who were from that town. They were so funny!  They were Maori descendants and spoke both English and Maori and were fabulous singers! But they tried to be so ghetto and idolized Bob Marley, T.I., and really any famous black rapper who claimed to be a 'thug'. They were so funny and we had a really great time talking to them, learning about their culture, laughing, singing, it was really nice. We exchanged e-mails and everything. 

The next morning, we woke up to the fresh sea breeze and an awesome sunrise!  I can't even explain the beauty we've seen. And we had back the car up, so we opened the back and continued to sleep as the sun rose in the east and the breeze filled our car. 

When we got up and about we had breakfast at the same market. Ham and cheese sandwiches, ham and pineapple sandwiches, steak and egg sandwiches. It was delicious. Eva and Ana joined us for tea and coffee and we taught Ana how to play Shithead with us. (Did I mention Eva and Ana are French? So sometimes it's really funny to hear the things that come out of their mouths. They are pretty good at English, but lack some.) They then left and we sat around a bit more before getting dressed and freshened up...did I mention no showers???--  I walked over to a man chopping some wood next to a big canoe type thing and asked if he was building a boat. My mistake...it's not a boat...it's a haka. Kind of like the Maori version of a canoe. he said he was making it so the young people could go out and surf and collect food like the old people used to do. And when they come back, they will all build a bigger one together. He was making it from two trees. The longer front of the boat was made from a young tree and the back of the boat where the young people will sit on or stand to surf was made from a stronger older tree. I found that so incredibly symbolic and absolutely loved it. 

When we got back to the van we had a note from Eva and Ana said "Just in case" with their phone number. Fabian's van was still there..she was still sleeping. Apparently Fabian and Eva were up until 4am drinking 2 bottles of rum and gin and a lot of beer. 

So, we left her alone and went on our way up to Russell. But not without first going down a southern peninsula to Helena Bay and up another northern peninsula to Rawhiti. Finally we made it to Russell and went to the top of the hill to the flagpole that was constantly chopped down when the British were trying to take the land over and create treaties with the Maori people. There was a view of the entire Bay of Islands up there. It was fabulous! So we sat and talked and watched the sun get lower. 

Then we went to the pub to try and get something to eat...and ran onto Fabian!

She was getting some coffee and nursing her severe hangover. She said that she was going to meet the other two just north of Paihia and we should come along. But we said we wanted to eat first, but would maybe meet them up there. So, we grabbed a Spiced Lamb pizza (basically lamb kebab in the form of a pizza) and some beers and sat out on the beach and ate. When we got back to the car, there was a note on our car. "Just in case.  It'd be great to travel together for a few days-Fabian" with her number. We're already making friends. :)

So, we meandered down to a little town just below Paihia and took a car ferry across to Opua and headed up to Paihia. The plan was to park somewhere in Opua Forest, but we went up and down the highway and couldn't find the darn turn off and it was full on night, so we decided to find a place in town to park. We found a camper parking lot that was a simple pay meter, so we parked there. I tried to find a place to pay, but it wouldn't take my card, so we gave up. 

It was cold and ridiculously uncomfortable. 

So we woke up at 7:30am to go pee and luckily I spotted the parking guy started to check for payments, so we jumped in and hi-tailed it outta there...wooohoooo and other free night of sleeping.

So, we decided that we wanted a real shower and a real bed and since ari and I were going to have a date night, we were going to get a hotel room somwehere and mitch was going to go off on his own. But in looking for hotels, we found a room that looks out over the bay of islands, with a little patio. One bedroom with a separate living room with a bed and a kitchenette. NZ$125. Divided by three...heck yea!

We get to shower lots and do laundry, and cook, and look out on the ocean, and sleep in real beds, and get some privacy from one another. We are so excited!

Tonight ari and i are booked on the dinner cruise. unfortunately, yesterday's nice weather has blown over and we're back to rain, but I think it'll still be a nice night! 

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!

xoxo

Alissa