Winding down from Whakatane

Dotterel Point was sooo beautiful that we stayed another night: the only campervan in the car park, though several cars had been and gone with dog walkers or surfers. One man had visited three times, surfing twice, in the course of 8 hours.

We had stayed in many, many lovely spots, but where else could you watch rolling surf pounding the beach and then, turning around, gaze at the calm waters of a shallow harbour only a hundred metres or so behind us?

We were still only half an hour’s drive from Whakatane, so we decided to go back for Sunday morning church.

Good decision. We visited LibertyLife, a church with Presbyterian roots and a Pentecostal outlook. Good music, powerful testimonies, encouragement to carry on living the Christian life: it felt REAL.  And we were, just a little, out of our comfort zone – a type of service we are not used to – no bad thing.

Still, it was exciting to hear about all the many things the church was involved in, but what impressed us most was the calm and personal welcome. |Mike Davies spoke to us as we make our way out, introducing us to others, sharing a little about his life; then, too, Kelvin Deal approached: it was exciting to hear about what God is doing through this vibrant church of, perhaps, a hundred plus people.  And we – complete strangers – were even invited to lunch. (Which would have been lovely, but we had many miles to go before our sleep, so, regretfully, we declined.)

So we made our way back north, towards Auckland. Our destination was, again, Ray’s Rest, a freedom site next to a wetland bird sanctuary, of RAMSAR importance. But first, we had to endure the most severe hailstorm we have seen since leaving Kenya. Fortunately, we were stationary at the time, because the hail piled up on the windscreen like snow and left the roads covered in white.

It was an interesting challenge afterwards to negotiate the Karangahake Gorge...

And so, here we are, back, in Ray’s Rest. Auckland tomorrow, and the end of ‘camping’ adventures. But looking forward to Yet More Wedding Planning – caterers have submitted their quote and everything is go...

Just negotiating on the bride price now. We’ve asked to be paid in sheep, not goats; have the offer of some Herefords instead, but, actually, it would really have to be Guernseys....

Dawn at Rotorua...Dusk at Dotterell point

My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being.

Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!

I WILL give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples’ I WILL sing praises to you AMONG THE NATIONS.                                                                                                                                                                Psalm 108

Dawn at Hot Water Beach, Rotorua. Unwittingly, we had chosen a campsite next to the historic Maori village and the lakeside. The dawn over the lake was heralded by black swans and red-billed gulls, with the odd scaup, shag and puheko.

Then off to Dotterell Point, a long spit of land sheltering one of the many little harbours which make up the Bay of Plenty coastline.  Plenty of dotterels – a flock of banded dotterels and several pairs of New Zealand dotterel.

And, apparently, the Variable Oystercatcher – which has seemed ubiquitous to us as we have journeyed down North Island’s east coast – is a rare species....

An added bonus: we’d been here just a few minutes when a young seal lolloped painfully across the grass in front of us. He kept stopping, lifting his head, before dragging himself into the dunes.  He looked thin...

....but we were pleased to see that he had taken himself off by the next morning. Another beach walk, sand stretching further than the eye could see...another sunrise...surfers already out at the break, having walked across the shallow estuary at low tide, then out on the sandbanks.

After days of intermittent rain, the sun shone brightly in a clear sky, glinting on the puddles. A Caspian Tern (taranui, an uncommon native gull – though found frequently along the east coast) flew in to the end of the spit. It seemed as if everything breathed a sigh of relief after the windy wet storms...

Exercise....Excitement...

Up with - actually, some hours before - the sunrise at Cathedral Cove. It had rain-spattered intermittently throughout the night, after a clear moonlit start.

Aka, noisy in a campervan. Dawn was worth getting up for - but, of course, it ALWAYS is. The new day reminds that God's mercies are new every morning.

This trip is SUCH a privilege. I am very mindful of so many who can only dream of undertaking such travel - moving freely about from one place to another, stopping at whim whenever the fancy takes us, choosing wonderful 'camping' places in the spur of the moment...

I feel rather like Toad of Toad Hall: "`There you are!' cried the Toad, straddling and expanding himself...`There's real life for you, embodied in that little cart. The open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs! Camps, villages, towns, cities! Here to-day, up and off to somewhere else to-morrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that's always changing!"
Spoilt, so appreciating every minute, every turn of the road, every new glimpse of amazing natural scenery...

So, off to Hot Water Beach.  Within two hours of low tide, it is possible to dig a large hole in the beach just above the water line. Hot springs bubble up through the sand, almost scalding until they mix with the cooler sea water.

We set to work. First exercise of the day, digging our hole. A metal colander and bowl proved to be the perfect implements for the job.

It was amazing, sitting in warm water in the middle of NZ winter. The equivalent of the end of January in Europe. There were quite a few people on the beach... can't imagine it in summer!

Then we explored a former mining settlement in Broken Hills before ending up for the night freedom camping in Pauanui: a purpose built holiday resort, full of opulent homes. Here in winter, it had an eerie, deserted air. Pauanui, according to Lonely Planet, is "an upmarket refugee camp for over-wealthy Aucklanders – the kind who jet in and park their private planes by their grandiose beach houses before knocking out a round of golf... "

Dolphins in the harbour

Campsite at Pauanui

Yet, within minutes of arriving, we saw a stunning rainbow and a pod of dolphins playing near the harbour. This is a haven for the lovely New Zealand dotterell...and countless oyster catchers.