The view of Mt. Taranaki from Lake Mangamahoe:
Exiting a trail at Lake Mangamahoe:
We drove around the lake a bit until we found a sheltered area, then settled in for lunch. The swans and Canada geese were all over us, waiting for us to share our lunch. I threw a few bits of bread but the rest of my lunch went into my mouth.
Christine packing up the remains of our picnic lunch:
After Lake Mangamahoe we drove to Puke Ariki Museum in downtown New Plymouth. We grabbed a wheelchair for Mom and had a great time looking at the exhibits. One of the highlights was a movie about the development of Mt. Taranaki. It has grown and collapsed about four times. The most recent eruption was only 250 years ago! I’d hate to think of the destruction if it erupted again.
After Puke Ariki I was started to get a headache so we quickly toured another lake, dropped in on Karen and Brad, picked up a few groceries, then went back home. Christine and Peter were going out that night so Mom and I settled in for a night of TV and leftovers, which was terrific.
On Sunday morning Christine took us on a tour of their property. Smudge the cat came along for most of the trip, but kept hanging back waiting for Jay the dog to join us. Unfortunately Jay was run over a few days ago. Back at the house Smudge settled in by Jay’s house, convinced he would be around shortly.
Mom and the baby chickens that Peter rescued:
Just before 10am we loaded our luggage into Christine’s car and said goodbye to Peter who had been outside since 7:00am, trying to finish a deck before the rain set in. Christine then drove us to the airport where we picked up our rental car. Christine was almost in tears as we left. I’m glad she didn’t cry, because I would have been right there with her.
We drove cautiously along Highway 3 for the next four hours. We passed through the gorgeous Mt. Messenger scenic area, with tricky switchback turns on roads perched hundreds of feet above steep gorges. We also passed through the hilly farmland of the Waikato region, but the land got flatter the closer we got to Hamilton.
I managed to drive directly to our motel without an error. Well – correction, I cut across a lane of traffic to get to a turning lane when I realized I was going down the wrong road, but luckily no one was behind me when I did that and all was well.
The motel is right by a park, and just blocks from the main street and the Hamilton River. Our room is huge, with a king-sized bed and a small twin bed. Mom insisted on taking the twin bed, leaving me to roam around the king-sized bed last night – and roam I did!
We drove downtown and had a wander about. Mom bought a trekking stick at a MEC-like store to help her keep her balance when her leg gives out. We also stopped at an Internet café to check email, and learned that my Uncle Jim died on the 24th. I am sad about his passing but he had been in such poor health for so long that I’m glad he is free from the physical pain, emotional turmoil, and mental confusion.
We drove back to the hotel and hung out until 6pm when we drove over to the Hamilton River where we boarded the MV Waipa Delta, a replica of an 1800s paddle boat that used to work the river. It was a nice boat, with more formal dining on the main deck and a bar and jukebox on the upper deck. Dinner was “stone grill” meat and vegetables. Basically, they heat a piece of stone for hours and hours, then put meat and vegetables on it and bring it to your table. You turn the meat and vegetables until they are cooked to your liking. We both ordered the mixed platter of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken. I thought there would be small pieces of meat, but to my great surprise there were four normal portions of meat on the stone. It reminded me of the meat-fests at the Brazillian restaurant Samba in Vancouver. The beef, pork, and lamb were excellent but I overcooked my chicken and didn’t finish that.
Me, enjoying a glass of New Zealand wine and my stone grill dinner:
The food was just part of the fun. There was a Santa look-alike playing oldies with a beat machine as back-up. He mumbled his way through the lyrics so Mom and I played a game of “guess that song” based on the music. Mom did quite well.
A shot from the MV Waipa Delta:
There was also a large group there celebrating a wedding anniversary. One of the grandkids was quite precocious in a nice way, requesting songs that Santa couldn’t play and asking the staff all sorts of questions. The staff turned on the jukebox for him and from then on we had modern music upstairs and oldies downstairs.
You couldn’t see much out of the windows but if you went outside the lights from the boat illuminated the riverside. The river was flat but had a strong current. I asked the staff how they navigated and it was purely by sight, even at night. We passed under a couple of illuminated bridges and at one point lights from a building on shore created fascinating patterns on the water that were quite mesmerizing.
We waddled off the boat at 10pm and drove back to the motel, where we collapsed into bed. It was our first full day and night of travelling since we fell ill. We congratulated ourselves then fell into a much-deserved sleep.
This morning I woke early with a headache from my sinus infection, which still hasn’t cleared up. It’s annoying because I’m not sick enough to warrant a trip to the doctor, but at the same time it’s a consistent, daily problem that is just plain annoying.
We’re off to Whangarei, north of Auckland, today. It’s raining heavily there at the moment but hopefully it will clear a bit so we can enjoy 90 Mile Beach and Cape Reinga. Wish me luck on the road!
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