Magical Mangawhai

One of my coworkers has a bach in Mangawhai and we were lucky enough to be invited up for a weekend at the beach. On Friday we were given half the day off so that we could take advantage of the full weekend. It was a sunny afternoon and we followed my coworker North on some back roads through rolling, green hills covered with sheep and cattle. It was some of the most beautiful country we have seen in New Zealand and reminded us of the postcards that are available in the souvenir shops.

At the end of our drive we were greeted by a rustic bach and that incredible, relaxing feeling that you can only get when you are in a quiet, small town where time seems to slow down. We spent the evening taking a walk down to the nearby estuary, drinking beer in front of a pine tree bonfire and enjoying the good company. The weather forecast had been for showers, but it was an incredibly clear night so we spent some time trying to find familiar constellations. It was the first time that we had noticed that nothing in the night sky was quite where we remember it being. Even the moon looked different, but it was hard for us to describe exactly what the difference was.

The next morning was spent wandering around the Mangawhai Saturday Market. It was a small market with a nice variety of products from puppies to organic vegetables. Across the road from the Market was the chocolate factory and whine shop where we picked up the essentials for the rest of the weekend. By the time we got back to the bach it was time for a cup of tea with freshly baked scones. After tea we went on a Tuatua (a New Zealand shellfish) hunt. We went north from Mangawhai through Mangawhai Heads and Langs Beach to just outside of Waipu. Unfortunately we turned out to be pretty bad hunters and at the end of the day we had 99 left to catch on our daily limit of 100.

After the shellfish debacle Jenni decided that she would stay home while I went out to try my luck at surfcasting. My coworker was reeling in the Kahawai one after the other, but I kept reeling in an empty hook. On the last cast of the day I caught a nice Kahawai. After fishing we went to a lovely dinner at the local restaurant, Bennetts, and another long evening around the fire. Even though it had been a busy day we felt totally relaxed and peaceful.

The success my coworker and I had with the surfcasting enticed our wives to join us the next morning, but unfortunately the luck of the previous day did not carry over. We left the beach without any more fish, but we did get some pictures of the beauty of the area. A New Zealand winter day on the beach reminded Jenni and me of summer days on the Oregon or Alaskan coast. After giving up on the fishing we ventured out to Te Arai point to take in the ocean views and look at the incredible collection of shells that get deposited there. When we returned to the bach we ate the fish that had been caught the previous day and then took our time packing for the drive back. The drive home took us through emerald green hills that were dripping in sunshine and had lambs cavorting about on them. The view made country life seem very appealing.

We returned to the farm just in time for the coldest winter storm of the year to hit. Yesterday it snowed in the Auckland CBD for the first time since 1939. None of it stuck, but it was still quite an event. We did have a brief snow shower on the farm, but most of what fell was graupel.

Happy Anniversary

Sharing this trip with Jenni has reinforced how important she is to me and I am looking forward to many more years with her. We did loose a day this year with our travels, but it has still been an incredible year of marriage.

I love you Jenni.

The All Blacks

The All Blacks are New Zealand's national rugby team. On Saturday night we went into Auckland to watch them play the Wallabies (Australia’s national team). The match was part of the Tri Nations tournament which includes South Africa in addition to New Zealand and Australia. The Rugby World Cup is being hosted in New Zealand starting in September, but we decided to go to this match instead because the price of the World Cup tickets is much higher. We read up on rugby rules before we went to the game, but there were still a lot of things that we did not understand.

We got into Auckland early on Saturday and walked around the Mt. Eden and Kingsland sections of Auckland before having our pre-match meal at a local alehouse with some good beer. Mt. Eden is an old part of town that has not experienced much redevelopment so most of the houses were original homes and had a lot of character which made walking interesting. The match was held at Eden Park, New Zealand’s largest stadium, and there was a modern rugby record crowd of just over 50,000. The large crowd made it easy to get into the game even though we didn’t understand all of the details.

After the match we tried to join the crowds at the local bars, but the queues were so long that we ended up having a late-night burger and going back to our hostel to fall asleep. The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast at a local coffee shop in Mt. Eden Village before heading back to the farm.

The All Blacks won 30-14.

An Introduction to New Zealand Beer

Over last weekend we went north to an international/midwinter party hosted by the family we stayed with near Ruawai. On our first visit to Ruawai, we traveled north up highway 16 to Wellsford before getting back onto highway 1. This time we started in Auckland and drove directly up highway 1. There were several places that we wanted to stop along the way, but because we did not have a lot of time to spare our only stop was in the town of Warkworth.

Warkworth is the type of town that you read about in New Zealand travel guides and dream of visiting. It has that wonderful small town atmosphere that makes everyone slow down and wave at you, a lovely boardwalk that runs along the river flowing next to the main street, a well stocked kitchen store, two bakeries, a few coffee shops, countless cafés (okay not countless, but way more than you would think a town of that size could have) and a chocolate shop. All of that is within a two-block radius that you can walk in just a few minutes. The visitor center volunteers told us about even more activities spread throughout the outskirts of Warkworth, but our desire for a meal kept us from walking the 5 blocks to participate. We found a café in a back alley called Tahi that was perfect for us. Tahi served brunch until 2:30 in the afternoon and its beer selection consisted of a wide variety of New Zealand craft (micro) brews. The bartender was polite to a fault and took the time to talk to us about the types of beer that we liked and helped us to make our selections. We ended up with a couple of wonderful beers and some great advice about how to explore the rest of the New Zealand craft brew scene. Here’s a hint for anyone else who wants to give it a try: www.beertourist.co.nz. Jenni had an incredible Spanish Omelet that was so light it seemed to float and I had a delicious hash with succulent sausage and perfectly poached eggs. We could add a few more superlatives to our description, but the real point is that if you happen to be driving through Warkworth make sure you stop and visit Tahi.

After such a lovely brunch the rest of our trip passed quickly and we arrived in Ruawai ready for a party. It was good to see the family we had stayed with again and meet their interesting group of friends. Everyone brought an international dish and those who had the clothes dressed to match the dish that they brought. We brought japchae (잡채) and apple pie and there was a large assortment of wonderful dishes to sample. The japchae was a much bigger hit than the apple pie so we have made plans to purchase a lot of sweet potato noodles to spread japchae around New Zealand. We spent the night after the party and in the morning Jenni slept in and helped clean up while I got another morning on the ranch.

Our drive back to Waimauku was uneventful and it was good to see our host family again. The rain has let up for now and the weather has been amazing for the last few days. It is forecast to be good for the rest of the week which is wonderful news because it means the kids can play outside and the new house foundation can be prepared without getting too wet. The days are also getting longer and we have started to see daffodils which makes us feel like spring must be close.