Roadtrip!! - Kaitaia, cont'd

The next morning in Kaitaia dawned nice and rainy, of course, but we had plans, and weren't to be derailed. Lee took us into town for breakfast at the restaurant, and then we packed a picnic lunch (OK, we each grabbed a sandwich) and were on our way. First stop was Shipwreck Bay, a bay so named because there is an old battleship shipwrecked there. (Did I already mention a certain lack of creativity in naming practices here?) Generally, all you can see is the boiler pipe sticking out of the sand, but Lee said that once in her lifetime the sands had shifted enough to reveal the boat itself. And then, of course, bury it again.

Second stop was a showroom for carved Kauri trees. Apparently, the Kauri trees are like America's redwoods, giant and now protected. However, there are thousands of tons of felled Kauri that were buried under farmland for thousands of years, after some uncertain cataclysmic event. These trees have been perfectly preserved, and as they're already dead, aren't subject to the conservation efforts. Some farmer eventually realized that the trees might actually be a better source of income than corn (or whatever he was planning on growing), and the thriving ancientKauri income stream was born. The showroom had some cool carvings - apparently, they have chainsaw speed carving competitions - and there was a giantKauri converted into a staircase in the middle of the building, but really it was just a tourist trap, and we bought our hokey souvenirs and were off.

Our goal was to drive up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point in the country, to take in the views. Then, we were going to return via the Ninety Mile Beach*, hopefully close enough to low tide to catch ourselves somepipis (some sort of clam, or clam-like shellfish) for dinner. The drive to the Cape was beautiful, but still rainy, and of course, when we reached the Cape, it was socked in by a thick, thick fog. I still insisted on walking down the path to the lighthouse/sign that marked the northernmost point, and once we arrived, we could see a bit better. If we squinted hard enough, we were even able to see the waves crashing together where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet, which was kind of cool.

As we headed back from the Cape (thankful for Lee the entire way - there was NO CHANCE our van could have made the drive), the weather started to clear a bit, and by the time we reached the sand dunes near the start of the Ninety Mile Beach, it was sunny, if still painfully windy. We girls climbed the dunes (which were giant, and looked like a lot of fun - tourists were sliding down on boogie boards), took a picture, and then quickly ran back down. Lee, the smart one, relaxed in the car and ate her sandwich. Wind and sand are quite a painful combination!

And then, to the beach! Lee was temporarily afraid we'd arrived a bit too late for the pipis, but fortunately she was wrong. We stood calf-deep in the water and twisted our feet around, digging in the sand for little groups of the buggers. The trick is that, once you find one, you can't lift your foot, or it'll burrow away. Of course, this meant bending down to pick them up in concert with incoming waves ... I was soon soaked through, and gave up any semblance of dignity, tucking my skirt around my neck for easiermaneuvering . (Yes, mom, I was wearing my bathing suit.) A couple of tour buses drove by, no doubt amused by the spectacle (Lydia was in the same state of disarray), but at the end, we wound up with quite a catch.

On the way back to Kaitaia, Lee gave each of us a chance behind the wheel. I've never done beach driving before - isn't that illegal in most parts of the US? - so it was kind of an adventure, but I didn't get us killed, and only ran over one rock. (And in my defense, it was after Lydia had parked the car like a foot away, so I never saw it.)

Back in Kaitaia, we stopped for dinner at a fish and chip shop - place your order at the window, it comes back out to you, freshly fried and wrapped in butcher paper. Apparently, the traditional Kiwi method of eating fish in chips requires you to butter a piece of white bread, put the fish and chips inside and fold it into a sandwich. I could pretty much feel my arteries clogging, but I have to admit it was delicious!

And then, it was time for our girls' night out on the town. Lee had promised to take us on a pub crawl showing us all the night spots. First up, of course, was her own restaurant/bar, where there was a rowdy group of men watching a rugby game. We had a drink or two there, and then moved on to a bar one or two doors over, that was totally empty except for the bartender, who was her nephew. (Small towns are STRANGE.) After that, we went to a place called Nero (I think), which is apparently a front for all sorts of drug running operations, but also apparently the place to be on a Friday night. There were maybe 15-20 people in there when we arrived, which forKaitaia I took to be a good turnout. We chatted with a couple of people, including someone that Lee later warned us about ("He's harmless, but, well, kind of a shark."), and then Dave showed up to take us to the final bar. Yes, the final bar - there are four. After a drink there, they made arrangements for us to get home, dropped us back of at Nero, and called it a night.

We stayed out until about 1, when our taxi showed up. Both Lee AND Dave had called him to make the arrangements, and we were his last fare of the night. They'd also arranged with the Nero staff to collect us when it was time to go, so that we didn't make thecabbie wait. The driver knew exactly where to go (which was good, as none of us knew the address), and when we arrived wouldn't let us pay, as it'd already been taken care of. Small town nightlife maybe isn't so exciting as here in the city, but the three of us sure had a good time!

*Interesting fact: New Zealand is of course on the metric system, but apparently that's a fairly recent change - like, within the last 40 years or so. Thus, the older generation still thinks in feet and miles, and there are still remnants of the old system to be found.