Day 2

The lack of sleep and jet lag made us all sleep in. When we did get up we realized we really were camping. We set up a table and chairs outside and ate our chocolate cereal outside bundled in jackets. While the weather cast had predicted clear, hot days, the dark grey clouds overhead suggested otherwise. We showered and did our camping chores. The kids and I also visited the Butterfly garden on site. It was an overpriced tourist attraction. But if you ignored the fact that your wallet had been raped, it was a nice distraction. We learned that butterflies have a life span of two weeks and that some varieties eat rotten fruit instead of nectar.

We didn’t get on the road until after noon. A little late for the day planned, but this was vacation…. We drove east up SH 25, where the scenery turned from suburbs to rugged coastline. It was strange to stare out at the Pacific and know that the next land was Hawaii. Despite being hungry, we decided to drive all the way to our first activity, the Waiau Waterworks. The sky was looking ominous and soon it was pouring rain. We decided lunch before entering would be wise. But Austin decided that a ham sandwich on bread with butter was too exotic for him and threw a fit. So Austin and I sat in the campervan while dad and Ally toured the park. When Ally and dad came back excited about their adventure, Ally took me on a tour. The park is quintessential New Zealand to us --whacky, whimsical, eccentric, green and open and would never exist in litigious USA.

The park is a bit hard to describe. It’s a beautiful piece of property that has a gorgeous swimming creek running along side it. The park feature homemade creations using water. There were fountains that could be moved, waterwheels and bicycle water pumps, The place is whimsical and wacky, but a place we loved and could have spent all day there. A trail takes you past all kinds of homemade projects from a clock made with plywood and waterbottels to ziplines (flying foxes) and merry-go-round-like bicycles that went up in the air. Austin pulled it together at the end so we let him go to the park. That combined with a late start made us a bit worried about reaching our next stop before bedtime. But the rain dampened the next few pits stops. From the Waterworks we continued down the 309 road, a winding gravel road that cuts through the peninsula. Steven was worried as we didn’t see another car for a long time and he thought I was a bit crazy. Our first pit stop was Waiau Waterfall. It’s a short trail down to a scenic waterfall and swimming hole. It’s a great place to stand under a fall. But since it was raining and cool we just enjoyed climbing over the rocks and taking photos. If it wasn’t raining the water would have been crystal clear. Our second pit stop was a Kauri tree walk. I picked it because it was short and yet we got to see the great trees up close. Kauri trees are huge, but there are very few left as they were logged for lumber, especially for making Brittish ship building.

After we left the 309, we drove on to Hahei to check in. We loved this holiday park. It was right near the ocean in a small town. (About 4 shops small.) After checking in we drove out to a restaurant called Eggscentric Café. We decided to pass the wineries, a macadamia orchard, honey farm, and fruit stands as it was getting dark and we were hungry. The café looked sort of like a sprawling house filled with art. As we walked in there was a guy carving sculptures out of logs outside. All around the yard of the café were rope swings, tire swings, sand box and pieces of art. We grabbed a table and ordered while the kids could run around. This was also the place I had seen a rope swing on the beach in a web photo. So Steven and Austin walked to the beach across the street and sure enough there was a rope swing on a gorgeous little bay. We all went back and forth several times.

One of the reasons we wanted to eat at this café was that they had live music on Sunday nights. I asked the waitress and she said the band couldn’t make it, but that Dave would be playing later. I assumed “Dave” was the owner or chef. So I wasn’t surprised when a young guy started playing the piano and singing with a friend on a guitar. This guy was spectacular! Ally fell instantly in love and I wanted to fly him out to American Idol. We stayed until they shut the restaurant. As the singer was leaving, I asked him what his story was. Turns out he wasn’t “Dave”. His name was Will Martin, a native New Zealander, who is now a recording artist in London and travels the world on tour! He is actually a classical singer, but was just there for dinner and had fun playing rock and pop songs for the crowd! Check out his website at www.willmartin.net