Wednesday 21 December 2016

Fishing until sunset last night meant that, as we arrived back to the beach and were carrying our kayaks and fish to our vehicles, we became mosquito fodder!! As soon as we started to remove our kayaking clothes they attacked! Damn it, yet again even more mosquitoes. Perhaps not as bad as Spirits Bay, but still bad!! It was a quick change, followed by slammed doors. Phew, now safely inside, to sit in Cuzzie!! It took us a good while to spray and kill all those that had flown in with the door opening, and Bianca is at the ready with the spray each time anyone comes or goes! All I can say is thank goodness I don’t have an allergic reaction to them, but sadly, others in the camper-van are not quite so lucky. We decided it was easier to rid one vehicle of the nasty insects, so Ev got the mattress on the floor of Cuzzie, while we had the main bed!

All too soon it seemed, I woke when it became light outside. As the others still slept, I checked all the normal morning stuff on my phone (weather, news, etc.). Soon enough, we all needed a morning brew of homemade chai tea and then we had to brace ourselves for the long-drop toilets which also seem to be a haven for the pesky mozzies! After breakfast we got Bianca out for a paddle in Louise with Ev. In the meantime, I stayed sitting in the sun, responding to some messages, relieved that the pesky bugs don’t like sunshine; they prefer lurking around in the shade of the bush and landing on you as soon as you step into the shade!

Bianca and Ev had a great time out on the water, even jumping in and out of the kayaks a few times. The water is much warmer here. We made the most of today, enjoying each other's company, laughing, joking and talking about New Zealand, creating lunch, then sitting in the shade of Cuzzie’s awning, eating lunch on the blanket, getting to know our neighbours and discussing the next few days.

Maitai Bay is extremely pretty, the Pohutukawas are flowering, the beach has beautiful white sand and the water is a beautiful blue. At the moment there are rather a lot of both small and large jellyfish in the water. In some places, the small ones make the water feel like a jelly bath! It seems that they have been blown into these bays due to the easterly winds. All too soon, it was time to pack up and head on up the road. Although, by the time we actually got going, it was well after 5.30pm. Big hugs to Ev, thanks for the fishing tips, you are a real professional when it comes to this art! I’m looking forward to seeing you on the water further down the east coast to paddle for a few kilometres with me. I'll keep watch while you go diving for the crays!

Bianca and I head north, thinking we should have made a stop at a supermarket to grab fresh veggies (I dislike supermarkets immensely!). But luck was with us and we saw a small sign for fresh veggies, so we stopped. There was a huge range of home-grown fresh veggies (amazing!) and the very generous, wonderful owner gave us a few extra goodies as well; fresh, sun-ripened strawberries for Bianca and fresh sweet corn for me, so we drove away smiling.

Up State Highway 1 we head again, hoping to leave the biting insects behind. Well, that was wishful thinking!! We arrive at the last campsite before Spirits Bay as neither of us wish to be terrorised by the mozzies there during the night. We pull into this great little place and chat to these amazingly cool women who run this site. THANK YOU! You have both just made my day, friendly, beautiful women! I have to say, we have adopted your name for us "The Wahine Tour" for the remainder of our trip, go the women! Northland people, you are so generous and have been so great.

Well, Bianca gets out to do a quick boot camp routine that only lasted ten minutes as (you’ve guessed it) the mozzies arrived! Now, as we sit inside Cuzzie, they are trying to enter via the mosquito net we have erected on the back of the camper-van. Fly spray in hand, we aim, yelling "Look out mozzies! We have Raid!" then slam the doors shut!!! I have to laugh, sand flies in the deep south and mozzies in the far north.

My smiles today:
Watching Bianca paddle my white kayak Louise.
A beautiful day, with two equally beautiful people.
Chatting with my dearest and dedicated support crew person, Nat.
A thick cloud of mosquitoes at our door. I’m not sure that even a full can of Raid is going to win this insect war.

My thoughts today:
How to be happy: decide every morning that you are in a good mood. It works!!

Goodnight from The Wahine Tour, way up north, killing mozzies. Red and Bianca.

Ma Te Wa.

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