Holidays Become Me: Sun, Surf, Sand & Sudoku

Above: Tolaga Bay - campground on the left of pic. Taken from the top of a cliff on the way to Cook's Cove

Left: My first surf injury

27th December
We were out of the house at 6:57am having (being the organised bunnies we are) packed the car the night before. No brekky, just straight onto the Southern Motorway and out of Auckland. About 45 mins later, pause...rewind...The day yesterday was Boxing Day Sales so we were straight into the buzz of bargain hunters to get our camping gear - air mattress, butane stove, foldup chairs etc. I found some cute little rubber cloggy things - purple - and got 'em for $35 reduced from $70 - well, Dave got 'em for me! Pause...fast forward...About 45 mins later we stopped in the simple grounds of a big old white church in the Bombay hills for brekky. Lunch was by a river in the Waioeka gorge and we had a quick walk and freshen up at the river. It was spectacular with its small stones and ry wood bordering the clear water curving off into the distance. At 4:15pm, and many toilet stops later, we arrived at Tolaga Bay Holiday Park having come through Opotiki and Gisborne. It's gorgeous here. A little bay with sandy coloured cliffs dropping to the ocean and a skyline of cliff, sharp yet not jagged, against a clear blue sky. There's a 660m wharf and our tent is a 2 minute walk from the ocean. After spending some time figuring out how to put up our new, incredibly snazzy tent, we unloaded our gear and blew up our air mattress and headed to the beach for a swim. The water was so clear and not too cold and baby waves were gently breaking. Wild black billy goats could be seen on the steep cliff face. The swim invoked hunger so our first dinner was cooked on our new, one burner cooker. It was delicious. Before long, daylight left us and went to bed and we did the same.

28th December
I awoke this morning after a 10 hour sleep with the gentle crashing rhythm of waves breaking and the melodic patterns of birds twittering. I finally got up and, on feeling hunger panging in my belly, made French Toast with cinnamon, sugar and banana for brekky - YUM!. We went for a swim then packed lunch and took off on a hike to Cook's Cove and back. It was a 5.8km round trip. On the way there it was mainly straight up hills through farmland, with the occasional great view of Tolaga Bay. Then a descent through Puriri forest and around a point, over lots of rocks by the ocean to the edge of the cove where we sat, feet dangling above waves crashing, and ate lunch. Some billy goats were above us, curiously looking on. I was sweating when we got back so we went for another swim and sunbaked. I tried numerous times to body surf like I could as a kid but was foiled on every attempt. Determined to get it before we leave and hoping to try surfing with a surfboard tomorrow. Read my book ("Life Is So Good" - highly recommended, true story written by a 103 year old black american who learnt to read after he was 80) and then Dave cooked steak for dinner. We also went into the township of Tolaga after our swim and got massive icecreams in cones for $1. The town is tiny and very cruisy - one fish and chip shop, 2 cafes, a lotto shop, 2 general stores - with a post office in one of them, a little op shop and a bizarre little gift shop. After dinner we went for a walk on the beach in the dusk light. The tide was low and the clouds were being reflected in the remnants of shallows. The sea looked mauve and there was the occasional dead tree sticking up sideways out of the shallows, brought to the ocean in the November floods. I found 2 shells - one was orange and apparently called Devil's toenail (that's what Dave said), the other was a lovely oily coloured purple mussel shell. We played board games til bedtime.

29th December
I woke up grabbed a surfboard - which I was sure said Mr. Woodgee on it so have called it that ever since - despite discovering it said Mt Woodgee...and Dave took me for my first surfing lesson. I managed to finally balance on my tummy on the board and had some paddling practice. I caught 1 wave. It was awesome fun. I tried to practice sitting on the board, looking out to sea for the next set like surfers do - but fell in each attempt. I've got a massive bruise and lump on my right calf from where I hit the board - or the board hit me - and a bruise just below my ribs from jumping onto the board to paddle - my first surfing injuries. We had brekky then took off for a drive further around the cape. We stopped in Tokemaru for a quick look-see and we looked and saw a massive "Jesus Saves" sign, painted in white on an old farm house roof and a dinky old truck - so old, the front was rounded and cartoon-like. It was outside a big brick building (also very old) saying "The New Zealand Shipping Coy Ltd". There was even an old bank building that was a bank no longer. It felt like were on a movie set of an old seaside western! We kept driving and had lunch at Waipero Bay - which was stunning with azure waters and mudrock cliffs surrounding. We also had a sleep on the beach there. It was a hot day so we headed back to seek solace from the rays and chilled in the tent for a while. I busied myself reading the newspaper and developed a sudden Sudoku addiction which lasted the rest of the evening - excluding dinner and a walk out on the long wharf.

30th Dece,ber
Woke up and went surfing. Had heaps better balance and caught the first wave I paddled for and got up on my knees. Also managed tosit on the board without falling off. Had cereal and toast for brekky while puzzling away at Sudoku. Then off we went to Anaura Bay which was incredibly picturesquwith small islands out to sea and lots of freedom campers. We attempted to snorkel to fiund some pawah (abalone) but the knife fell outts Dave's pocket and we couldn't see the bottom - even at knee-deep cos the watre was mudddy from the hills around. As we drove to Anaura Bay we saw corn fields planted in fields right up to the sand dunes and cows grazing in paddocks beside the ebach. We saw one of the local Rasta Maori too - there's a tribe of them in these parts! So, adfter trying out my new snorkelling set Dave gave me for xmas, we lay in the sun. I played Sudoku and Dave read. Then we went back to the car for a picnic - we'd parked in the freedom camping zone. Then headed off and found Anaura Campgroung with a cafe truck - Pete's Palace that had shade and tables and chairs outside "with real coffee". We spent a couple of hours there while Dave read and drank coffee and I did Sudoku . It was a relief to get out of the sun for a bit. Then, off to Gisborne for supplies. Gisborne was 50km away and packed with tourists - there's a NYE event there. We got what we needed and got out. Stopped at Wainui for a swim and then came back to camp for dinner, showers and Sudoku.

Last day of the year
Awoke and went surfing without Dave for the first time. I was straight in while he was out jogging. I caught the first wave I paddled for and was straight up on me knees. It was awesome. Back in for pached eggs and baked beans on toast. Then a touch of Sudoku and off to the beach races at Kaiaua Beach - 15 mins drive away. There were people and horses everywhere. On the way there we stopped at Tolaga Bay township (we're staying 3km outta town) and found a $5 fill-a-bag opshop. I found a tshirt for Dave and one for me and a skirt - got the lot for $2. Anyway, we were early for the beach races so we parked the car, geared up and went surfing. There was an offshore wind so the waves were nice but they were bra=eaking faster than I was used to. Still, had a good surf and a lush sunbake then a picnic under the shade near the car. It was time for the first rae so we headed down the beach and watched a couple of 600m horse races. It was awesome but very hot so after a couple of hours, an icy pole and 1 bet which we won nothing on, we headed back to camp to find shade and chill out. Spent the rest of the day with Sudoku - got totally stuck on one though so read my book, napped and then went for a walk on the beach just before dusk while Dave was asleep. It was beautiful, very still - the water was glassy and the tide was in.Dinner followed by 2 games of chess (1 all) and a couple of card games. Then we went over to the beachwhere there were a few people and fires scattered along. We went past everyone and made our own fire. We toasted marshamllows and chatted til midnihgt when people let off fireworks that lit up the cliffs around the bay. A truly special way to spend NYE.

First day of 2006
After playing Sudoku in bed for a while - cos the waves were tiny at Tolaga Bay, we had some brekky and went to Anaura Bay to do a bush walk. It went along a stream in temperate rainforest and then up through ap ineforest and back down to the road. It was very peaceful in there and very pretty. We had lunch at Pete's Palace then headed to Kaiawa Beach to see if we could find Dave's cuff that e got for xmas and loved heaps but lost. We didn't find it but there were some decent waves. Dave was straight in there and although it took me a while to get over myself and my fear and get into the waves that were bigger than the others i'd been out in, I got in there too. I don't have any resmebalnce of a duckdiving technique down so I had a major struggle trying to get out past the break. I managed to catch one wave before it broke and got up on my knees and caught the white water a couple of times after that. It was exhausting and resulted in many more bruises and aching arms so, back to camp for sausages and sleep (although the sleep part turned into Sudoku for me). At 7:30 we went back to Kaiawa to check the waves, hoping the onshore wind had dropped and the breaks weren't as messy but the swell had dropped so we left and decided to grab dinner at the cafe in Tolaga Bay. We got there 4 mins before they closed and had crumbed fish and chips and salad - for $12.50 - bargain. Back to camp for Sudoku and sleep with a lots of bruises and =a big smile on my face.

2nd January
Woke up, had a swim, packed up and hit the road. Dave had a surf at Kaiawa (waves too big for me) and I watched and tried to learn! We headed right around East Cape and ended up driing all the way back toAuckland cos we couldn't find anywhere with vacancies on our way back and wanted to be near the beach or home. Stopped for a look in Ruatoria which was pretty void of people, full of churches and apparatnly a lot of Rastas. East Cape (eastern most poiint of NZ) was rugged, wild, windy and beautiful. There were massive sand dunes that were covered in grass and tea tree. We stopped to get petrol at Te Aroroa (eastern most town). The pump was sitting ona concrete slab all by itself and then a man from over the road at the store came over to attend to us. He was putting the petrol in and Dave was walking over the road to pay and the guy got on a walkie talkie and radioed in to the shop the amount Dave was getting! Had lunch in a cafe at Te Arora and icecreams at Ohope and got home at about half 10.

I had a ball and can't wait to go surfing again, camping again and just getting out of the city again. Love to everyone...