Up bright and early to catch the ferry from Okiato to Opua as we have said we will be at the cycle repair shop in KeriKeri by 09:00. We arrived at the ferry just before 08:00 to see it just leaving for Opua but no worries it will be back in 10 mins. Another stunningly beautiful morning with full sun and a clear blue sky. The drive down to the ferry was lovely and so was the crossing.
Note the Christmas trees on the masts of the ferries.
Once on the other side the road was very good and we sped north through Pahia and on to our destination, even having time to fill up with diesel on the way. Hunter Cycles were open and working away when we arrived just before 9 and Chris and his (much younger) boss were absolutely charming, very knowledgable and downright efficient. Within 20 minutes, the bike was repaired, road tested and returned so that it was working better than ever. A quick phone call to Natural High to approve the cost and we were on our way. Fantastic service and we were delighted that we had chosen to use Hunter Cycles to repair the bike.
A footnote here on older people working here in NZ. One of the lady ferry attendants was clearly of retirement age and we had the impression that she had returned to work in a new role. The same was true of Chris at Hunter Cycles; again well into retirement age but was effectively learning a new trade. Already very expert he did however refer to his younger boss ( and owner of the business?) on several occasions just to check he was right. In both cases they were charming, good humoured and very professional.
A coffee and cake was partaken and then the next job was to visit the New World supermarket nearby to replenish our provisions; particularly since many stores will be closed on Christmas Day and some on Boxing Day.
New World was very busy as one would expect on Christmas Eve but after about 10 minutes I began to feel like Theresa May. Now that has stopped you in your tracks hasn't it?
Let me explain; our illustrious PM is well known to have ongoing problems with our Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in keeping Boris "on message". I fully sympathised with Mrs May since keeping the LLW on message in a supermarket ( or for that case any shop) is impossible. In spite of having a reasonably well thought out shopping list, the LLW continued to disappear down aisles, seemingly at random, and reappearing with something neither of us had thought about! Definitely not on message. I may rename her Boris for a few days but on the other hand that might be a step too far.
Having more than replenished supplies we had a look around the KeriKeri inlet and then decided to head for the west coast. The drive up the east coast was awesome ( I believe that is the first use of the famous Kiwi superlative this holiday) and in particular Doubtless Bay was gorgeous. Apparently Captain Cook sailed by here in 1769 and unable to enter as a result of very bad weather, he noted in his journal that this was "doubtless a bay".
A quick detour through the village of Mangorui at the southern end of the bay and then back to the main highway.
We stopped for a quick but delicious sandwich lunch (courtesy of the LLW) at Cable Bay within Doubtless and then headed for the west coast.
Arriving at the west coast we firstly headed for Waipapakauri Beach where there was a camp site. This is towards the southern end of the famous 90 mile beach and as you can see the beach and sea were quite amazing. However, the camp site was deemed too remote and not quite up to standard so we drove on to the local metropolis Kaitaia.
To our great surprise the local information office was still open at 15:00 in Kaitaia and a very helpful lady quickly booked us in to a camp site at the very southern end of 90 mile beach at Ahipara. A 10 minute drive and were there and what a wonderful site it is. Our pitch is surrounded by Agapanthus, Bougainvillea and Canna Lilies; just terrific.
The newly repaired bike was quickly deployed and we decided to emulate the 4x4s and the many coach trips in riding along the sands of 90 mile beach. As you can see the LLW was quickly into her stride but unfortunately had forgotten that the very strong wind was from the south west and heading north with the wind behind her was very soon miles away. Ray tried to warn her that it was much harder cycling south against the wind but too late she was gone! eventually she returned, fairly exhausted and decreed that it was time for Christmas Eve dinner.
At New World we had purchased two good looking T-Bone steaks and a good bottle of NZ Pinot Noir and soon we were dining in our lovely outdoor dining room (with bikes in the background). Yet another wonderful day in this beautiful country.
As a footnote, we have noticed on this trip that the formerly ubiquitous "no problems" has been largely replaced by "you are very welcome". I may be old fashioned but this seems to me to be much more appropriate and more pleasant.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas
Note the Christmas trees on the masts of the ferries.
A footnote here on older people working here in NZ. One of the lady ferry attendants was clearly of retirement age and we had the impression that she had returned to work in a new role. The same was true of Chris at Hunter Cycles; again well into retirement age but was effectively learning a new trade. Already very expert he did however refer to his younger boss ( and owner of the business?) on several occasions just to check he was right. In both cases they were charming, good humoured and very professional.
A coffee and cake was partaken and then the next job was to visit the New World supermarket nearby to replenish our provisions; particularly since many stores will be closed on Christmas Day and some on Boxing Day.
New World was very busy as one would expect on Christmas Eve but after about 10 minutes I began to feel like Theresa May. Now that has stopped you in your tracks hasn't it?
Let me explain; our illustrious PM is well known to have ongoing problems with our Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in keeping Boris "on message". I fully sympathised with Mrs May since keeping the LLW on message in a supermarket ( or for that case any shop) is impossible. In spite of having a reasonably well thought out shopping list, the LLW continued to disappear down aisles, seemingly at random, and reappearing with something neither of us had thought about! Definitely not on message. I may rename her Boris for a few days but on the other hand that might be a step too far.
Having more than replenished supplies we had a look around the KeriKeri inlet and then decided to head for the west coast. The drive up the east coast was awesome ( I believe that is the first use of the famous Kiwi superlative this holiday) and in particular Doubtless Bay was gorgeous. Apparently Captain Cook sailed by here in 1769 and unable to enter as a result of very bad weather, he noted in his journal that this was "doubtless a bay".
A quick detour through the village of Mangorui at the southern end of the bay and then back to the main highway.
Arriving at the west coast we firstly headed for Waipapakauri Beach where there was a camp site. This is towards the southern end of the famous 90 mile beach and as you can see the beach and sea were quite amazing. However, the camp site was deemed too remote and not quite up to standard so we drove on to the local metropolis Kaitaia.
To our great surprise the local information office was still open at 15:00 in Kaitaia and a very helpful lady quickly booked us in to a camp site at the very southern end of 90 mile beach at Ahipara. A 10 minute drive and were there and what a wonderful site it is. Our pitch is surrounded by Agapanthus, Bougainvillea and Canna Lilies; just terrific.
The newly repaired bike was quickly deployed and we decided to emulate the 4x4s and the many coach trips in riding along the sands of 90 mile beach. As you can see the LLW was quickly into her stride but unfortunately had forgotten that the very strong wind was from the south west and heading north with the wind behind her was very soon miles away. Ray tried to warn her that it was much harder cycling south against the wind but too late she was gone! eventually she returned, fairly exhausted and decreed that it was time for Christmas Eve dinner.
At New World we had purchased two good looking T-Bone steaks and a good bottle of NZ Pinot Noir and soon we were dining in our lovely outdoor dining room (with bikes in the background). Yet another wonderful day in this beautiful country.
As a footnote, we have noticed on this trip that the formerly ubiquitous "no problems" has been largely replaced by "you are very welcome". I may be old fashioned but this seems to me to be much more appropriate and more pleasant.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas
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