Now that we knew what we were looking for, on the way out of the forest we easily spotted literally hundreds of smaller Kauri trees waiting their turn to be the tallest tree in the forest.
We drove back to the main road. A cluster of ferns caught our eye, so we stopped for a closer look. These were not like any ferns we had ever seen before. The largest was over twenty feet tall. After the camera recorded this believe-it-or-not plant, we gingerly backtracked over the metal road and got back to the paved road.
We told ourselves that it was because we were hypnotized by the scenery or because neither of us were watching where we were going, but now I am sure that the village of Opua colluded with the road to make the car take a wrong turn down to the seaside village. The sun was just setting over the hilltops behind us which gave a warm glow to the rippling water and the dozen sail boats dotting the quiet harbor. As the sun said good-bye for the day, so, too, we had to say good-bye to our 'accidental' find.
By the time we got back to Whangarei, the growls from our empty stomachs put us on the look-out for a restaurant. We said it was too late to go hunting inside the town, but the earlier close calls made us both agree that the Cobb & Co. restaurant by the side of the road was to be our choice for dinner.
The English pub atmosphere inside and the friendly service relaxed us as we recounted the day's events. Janet was content with the chicken dish and I had the roast lamb special. Neither of the portions were too large, so we both had pavlova, a baked meringue, for dessert.
The road back was pitch black and quite deserted for this early an hour. I had some serious doubts about ever finding our B&B because every bend in the road began to look like the one I had tried to memorize to remind me where to turn. Janet's eagle eyes, aided by the desire to get some rest, spotted the large house on the hill, and we both sighed to have the marathon drive end.
Inside we found the Moores relaxing in their living room in front of a roaring fire which made it the warmest room in the house. Tony refueled the fire, and we sat for a few minutes to recap the day's activities with them. Thomas, the cat, made an appearance to get some attention from each of us and to show-off how sharp he was able to get his claws.
As we said good-night, we were too tired to think of what we would do the next day, but a twinkle in Colleen's eye told us that she was already busy planning it for us.
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Chapter 3, April 13: The Kauri Museum and Beach Hike
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It is said that thirteen is an unlucky number. Some people we know would have just pulled the covers over their heads and refused to get out of bed. Today was the thirteenth, but it didn't phase us. Instead we were rewarded with one of the most enjoyable days of the entire trip.
Being our second morning here, our biological clocks had already adjusted fairly well to the new time zone, and we had little trouble getting started. We got ready among a few futile attempts to organize our half-packed-half-unpacked luggage and then followed the aroma of breakfast down to the kitchen. Breakfast tantalized our taste buds as it had the day before, the only difference being that passion fruit jam was substituted by feijoa jam, both were homemade, of course.
This little-known fruit is grown locally and is well liked among New Zealanders. The feijoa is not usually exported since the fruit bruises easily as it drops from the bush and in handling. Expecting the other to go first, we both tried it and found it to have a good taste similar, but not like anything we had eaten before.
Like the previous day, Tony had already left to drive the bus for the local grammar school. This is just another way to supplement their income and make ends meet. Over breakfast, Colleen suggested that we take in the Otamatea Kauri and Pioneer Museum nearby, and then take a walk to their favorite secluded beach. She quickly sketched a map for us to follow and assured us that both were easy to find. This sounded like a good plan to add to the few ideas that we had ourselves. We informed Colleen that we would avail ourselves of the dinner option at their B&B that evening. Our agenda for the day was not as packed as the previous day, so we asked for a tour of the grounds. Colleen was more than happy to forestall her after breakfast clean-up duties for a chance to show-off her gardens and didn't even take the time to put on shoes. Since it could be seen from the breakfast table, the flower garden seemed like a good place to start. Exiting through the rear door at the base of the stairs, we paused for a few moments to greet Tom who had already been out for his morning prowl. Following our noses around the house, directly below our bedroom window, was their herb garden which was modeled after a pattern used in the 14th century. Colleen snapped-up a leaf or blossom from several plants and allowed us to smell and taste the herb or spice that was growing there. All of the seasonings used in their cooking comes from this garden, after all, as Colleen reminded us in a common sense tone, 'That is what it is for'. It was late in the fall season. The garden was a little overgrown, a condition that would have to wait for several months until Spring came in September or October.
Backtracking to the main yard directly behind the house, we saw the rows of shrubs and bushes that formed the borders of the flower beds. In the middle was a fish pond that had been built the year before to accent the gardens. No fish were in residence in the algae covered water. As we walked through a path to the rear of the gardens, we came to this year's project: a redwood gazebo. The base had already been installed, but without the structure being finished, it looked like a small dance floor. We used the raised platform as a perch to view the gardens and the house which now formed a picture postcard backdrop to the scene.
The house and gardens occupied about one acre of land out of the eight they owned. The rest was divided into three paddocks that held their sheep. We hopped a couple of fences to get into the same pen with about forty colored sheep. White sheep are raised for the wool industry so the wool can be dyed to any color. Colleen prefers the brown and gray sheep so she can use these natural colors in her weaving.
To our dismay, the sheep acted quite sheepishly. Despite a lure from a fresh willow tree branch, they would not come any closer to us. One of the sheep was tied-up near the house, so the still barefoot Colleen led the way between the droppings and headed toward him to get our first close encounter with the local sheep population.
Along the last side of the house, we found several citrus and apple trees that the Moore's had planted. This being the warm northern part of New Zealand, citrus did fairly well. Working our way through the orange, lemon, lime, and apple trees, we came to the spot where Marmaduke was waiting for us. He had developed a fungus infection and was being kept out of the sun which would only worsen his condition. Being hand raised from a lamb, he was quite friendly and didn't object to having his picture taken with Janet and Colleen.
Back at the house, we got our things together for the day, packed them in the car, and left the B&B for the Kauri Museum. But first, we headed in the opposite direction through Te Hana to Wellsford to purchase an eyebrow pencil sharpener, more postcards, and stamps. With these missions accomplished, we took a few minutes to visit the local automobile club, the AA. My membership in the Automobile Club of America entitled my to get all the maps anyone could ever need of the country. We even got a map which detailed the metal roads that lead to the beach and replaced the hand-drawn map Colleen had made.
Since we had already gone a few miles south, we continued in that direction to 'Sheep World'. Here, we were told, we could get a first-hand look at the fluffy critters and even see them being shorn. It didn't take us long to realize that place was very commercialized. We were glad to wait for our scheduled farm stay a few days hence to get a better demonstration of sheep ranching.
Backtracking north, we passed the B&B and drove to the road just past the lookout point tea room that we had visited the day before. Turning left, we followed the road signs through several quaint towns that were no more than a few houses, a small grocery store, and a gas station. Most towns appeared to in poor condition, and some even looked abandoned. A few miles through the rolling countryside brought us to the Otamatea Kauri and Pioneer Museum.
This museum was only slightly touristy as it was off the typical tour bus route. Inside we saw full-size, ten foot in diameter cross-sections of a 2000 year old tree with events such as the discovery of America by Columbus, the birth of Christ, etc. marked on the rings of the tree. Numerous examples of the fine Kauri wood were on display as well as the implements and machines that were used in logging the trees. A unique feature of Kauri wood is that if the tree happens to fall in a swamp, it is preserved and does not rot. We saw examples of swamp Kauri that were carbon dated to 100,000 years old.
Downstairs, were the displays of Kauri gum. Ranging up to the size of a basketball, this resin solidifies and drops to the ground near the large trees. The gum is used for making varnishes and was so highly valued that living Kauri trees were slashed to obtain the gum. This usually resulted in killing the tree.
As a result of the logging and gum slashing, few large Kauri trees remain alive today, and those are protected by the government. The smaller ones will eventually grow to the mammoth size, but it will take many hundreds of years.
In the museum lobby there were many objects made from Kauri wood for sale. These were made from the smaller Kauri trees, or those that had died naturally. I just had to have something made out of swamp Kauri and settled on a 34,500 year old salad bowl. Well at least the wood was that old. It had just recently been made into a salad bowl.
Janet took the wheel for the drive to the beach and got her first experience driving on the left hand side of the road. We found the turnoff from the main road just across from the B&B and began to follow Colleen's directions with aid from the AA map. The narrow paved roads turned into metal roads. It didn't take long for us to get into a very rural area of farms dotted with small lakes in every direction. Even here we found every road marked with a AA sign post. We stopped every once in a while to reconnoiter and admire the scenery. This area had several large dairies, and the cows were very close to the road. I tried to get up close to them, but they were as shy as the sheep we had tried to meet earlier that day. We found Tomarata Lake, and, with a little exploring, the beginning of the trail. At first, it was well marked, but then, as we entered the forest, the signs disappeared. There was basically only one way to go, and there were hoof prints from a pair of horses along the path, so we assumed we were on the right track. The path could not have been used too often since we found a spotted red mushroom right in the middle of the path. Janet examined the fungus carefully. We were able to follow our noses and everything was fine until we came to a tee in the path. Janet wanted to go left and I wanted to go right. We went to the left. In a few minutes we came to a fire road which afforded us a good view of the position of the sun which indicated that we should have gone the other way. We backtracked a few hundred yards back to the tee and proceeded on the right path. Along the way we spotted a number of wild rabbits. |
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