Paihia to Matai Bay

Though I had a good time at the python conference, I missed spending time with the family. While I was busy being geeky, they were busy exploring Paihia and Russell, and swimming in the ocean and rivers. By the conclusion of the conference on Sunday evening, Carolyn was keeen for a bit of time away from the children (lovely though they are!) so I handled the dinner and bed-time routine. James wanted me to teach him to program so I ended up writing a computer game for the children on the laptop, a 'guess the number' game, with James and Abigail looking over my shoulder.

We decided to stay another day (Monday) in Paihia, even though we were paying for where we parked the caravan. (We are trying to do this trip without spending much on accommodation - the caravan is completely self-contained so we basically just need a spot to park.) It was a relaxing day - the children played on the bikes and in the afternoon we all went to the swimming hole at the 'lilypond' near Haruru Falls. This is a delightful place with a wide cascade about a metre high falling into a deep pool. We played, swam, jumped, and splashed through the afternoon.  Back in the caravan, I was accusing different family members of having made a bad smell, but then a shout from Carolyn brought me quickly to the bathroom where the grey-water tank had filled up so much it was coming out of the shower drain. Oops. My fault of course; as the man I am responsible for taking care of the waste, apparently. Carolyn decided to take off to do the clothes washing at the local landromat with firm instructions for me to 'take care of it'. Fortunately the owner of the RV (recreational vehicle) park where we were staying encourages the dumping of grey water around the plants, so I did some manual transferring of smelly grey water which is time-consuming and somewhat messy. Thankfully it wasn't the black-water tank! I checked its level to make sure that it wouldn't overflow if someone tried to flush the toilet. It was quite full, but not yet at a critical stage; it would last until the scheduled dump stop at Kerikeri the next day.

The cascade at 'the lilypond'

Abigail making her way around the rocks against the current at 'the lilypond'

A cute jellyfish (and a leaf) at the wharf at Opua (near Paihia, where we had warm showers - 4 minutes for a dollar)

We spent the next morning (Tuesday) wandering around the Waitangi grounds. Both Carolyn and I felt quite moved by the history of the place, although the children didn't seem to understand what all the fuss was about. I can understand where they are coming from - I wasn't interested in history when I was a child, but the older I get, the more interesting and important history becomes. After lunch we packed everything up and headed north to Kerikeri, then on to Rainbow falls. The girls were all not feeling very enthusiastic, but James and I crossed the outlet of the large plunge pool and scrambled around the bank to the waterfall itself. There is a huge moss-covered cavern in behind the waterfall that James and I carefully explored. Very damp and slippery. On the way back down I cautioned James about slipping on the way down, and how it was easier to do than on the way up. I then promptly slipped over. It didn't help that I was doing this in my crocs, which have extremely poor grip (It's always easier to pass the blame: It wasn't me, it was the crocs on my feet!). After a short drive we decided to stop in Kaeo, a small and rather run-down looking sort of place. We were allowed to park behind an old shop in a small field of deep grass and weeds. It was a somewhat challenging manouvre, but I am getting quite proficient with reversing the caravan.

Bamboo at Rainbow falls. Can you reach it James?

I need to fill my water bottle! Abigail enjoying Rainbow Falls

James scrambling around the side of the pool to get to Rainbow Falls. It's a bit tricky in places!

Yay! We made it. The girls are a dot in the distance, on the other side of the pool.

Wednesday dawned bright, and we wasted little time in getting ready and leaving Kaeo. We headed north to the Karikari peninsula and the Matai Bay DOC campground. The campground is a lovely place, with fields for camping separated by strips of native bush. We found a sunny but sheltered corner of an empty field and made camp. This turned out to be more involved than normal, because we decided to pitch the tents as well. We have a large 2.5 room family tent and a small 2-person tramping tent. We hadn't used the family tent for quite a while - about 2 years, so there was a bit of umming and ah-ing. I had the situation all under control, of course, but that didn't stop the volumes of advice coming from certain sectors of the family! By the time we finished setting everything up, had a late lunch, and then did some family bible reading, it was already 3pm and we hadn't even been down to the beach. And what a beach it is! We swam, climbed on the rocks, avoided dive-bombing seagulls, and made sandcastle barriers against the incoming tide. By the time we had had dinner, we were all ready for a story and bed. I have been reading aloud the book "Where Lions Roar at Night" (by Rosie Boom) to the family before bed time, so we knocked another couple of chapters off. I have to hide it during the day so the kids don't find it and sneakily read ahead. The girls slept in the large tent, and James in the small tent. It was pleasant to have the caravan to ourselves in the evening for a change.

Nah. You guys are doing it wrong.

Here we go; last pole. Nearly got the big tent up. The small tent is still to be removed from its bag.

The finished campsite. Even got the awning up

The broad sweep of Matai Bay

Go James! Don't let the seagulls get you!

Very industrious. I gave the children a short lecture and demonstration on liquefaction also.

The (nearly) finished product, shortly before the incoming tide erased it.

Now it is Thursday morning. We are all having a slow, peaceful start to the day. James is playing with his lego in the large tent (now that he has room to get the lego out), the girls have been reading books and writing letters.