Well Hot Water Beach lived up to it's name, we dug a hole in the sand and the hole filled with hot water, actually it was bloody boiling in some places and we spent a good three hours lazing in our own private volcanic pool. It wasn't quite as private as it sounds as there were actually about 100 other people lounging in their own equally private hot water pools but there you go. After our soak we found a campsite down a long winding track, the track went on forever and soon turned into an unsealed road and then we crossed a river and by this time I was getting flashbacks to Nicaragua, but eventually we pulled up in the Coromandel national forest and paid a pittance to stay in a lovely forest. The only downside were the showers, I had hoped for a nice shower to wash off the mountains of sand which had accumulated in my pants in our private hot water pool, but showering in a forest is never fun and so I decided that a few strategically placed wet wipes would suffice.
The next day was great, a really unplanned brilliant day. We got up and did some French and then walked into the forest along a stream, passing old gold mine tunnels on the way. We wandered down to the stream and paddled out, jumping on the rocks and building a damn in the middle with all the huge boulders. After this we drove into town and went to the supermarket buying fresh bread, ham, cheese and avocados for a delicious sandwich and then headed off to find another camp site. The main sites are all very expensive this weekend as it's New Zealands national day on Sunday but we managed to find another site off the beaten track where there were no other campers so we had the whole place to ourselves. We unpacked and cleaned out the van and made a lovely stir fry with loads of fresh veggies, got the washing done, read books, played cards and generally had a nice relaxing evening (I even managed to get that much needed shower). Then I updated the blog and booked our final nights accommodation in Auckland at the Travel Lodge yippee!!
I also thought some more about the trip, sometimes I lose sight of what we are doing and slip back into not doing the things I want to do (for example I'm really mad that I didn't ride the advanced Luge in Rotarua, I mean when will I ever get the chance to do that again). So I have decided to lighten up again and make the most of each moment, I'm not sure when I stopped doing that, I think it was around Napier, maybe that's what I needed to do then after the manicness of Central America, but it seems like such a waste. Anyway I feel like I have woken up again to the spirit of what we are doing and the spirit of adventure. Enjoying the freedom and I realised yesterday that I actually really like travelling (even in a small van with two smelly boys).
So today we are heading out of the Coromandel I think and moving towards the Bay of Islands, we need to be in Auckland to pick up Will's friend Tom and his girlfriend Claire who are arriving and travelling with us for the last week of the NZ leg. So I invite you all to embrace your day today and perhaps do something a little off the wall to also embrace the spirit of adventure - please let me know what you did.
ps. In the forest I had a dream that I met Laurence Delaglio (is that how you spell it?) and then another dream in which my Dad was due to have lunch in Gold Brick House with Joe Cocker but cancelled it because he thought he was too fat (my dad not Joe) so instead myself and Debra Wren went and met him and Debbie was wearing a wedding dress, make of that what you will!!
I don't have the words! I'm so damn proud of you it makes me want to cry!!
ReplyDeletexxxx Mum
Carpe diem? We most certainly will, I said to your mother in the car on the way over to Hull, where we had been invited to do a spot of Scuba diving in the North Sea. We were responding to an invite from the Department of Marine Biology at the University. Mum wrestled for much of the morning with an octopus on the sea bed whilst I did a spot of shark fencing, a sport which some find unfair because the shark doesn't get a sword. However, I should point out that the beast still has its teeth. But you know how I am with water sports, so after lopping off several dorsal and pectoral fins to prove my worth, I suddenly found myself bored. Anyway, it was getting close to lunchtime, so I hauled your mother out of the sea, a move with which she was non too pleased as she had just mastered a back flip manoevre on old eight legs. I drove on to Beverly, a town that I had been intending to visit for 40 years, in search of the Goldbrick House Hotel. We discovered it in a side street down by the cathedral, and I have to say on entry one felt the unease of all four decades of piled up dust. The reception desk was stuck away in a dingy corner lit by a single bulb from a tassled shade, hung lopsidedly from ceiling. I asked the old man at the desk if he had a guest called Joe Cocker staying there and he asked me who wants to know. When I mentioned my name he flicked away the lone spider which dangled from the tassled shade and said that I was about 40 years too late. Then he sank his arm into the letter rack behind and brought forth an envelope that had accumulated so much dust that if spread on the cat would have turned her into a feline bomb. He handed it over and I blew off the dirt to reveal that it was intended for Fatbas Morris. Inside was a missive from Joe, 'Recommend the winkle soup for slimmers.' We had lunch. He wasn't wrong; the winkle soup was delicious. Mum went back for seconds. We must have just missed you, because a wedding party was arriving at the hotel as we set off back home. On the outskirts of Scunthorpe we popped into the bordello for a quick G&T. It was whilst we were watching the girls going about their business that I thought what a strange day it had been - different, but hardly interesting enough to ink into one's diary. Well that was a day your mother and I might easily forget, I thought when we arrived home. Hope others will write of something a little more off the wall for you.
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Dad
Just another mundane day in the life of Stephanie and Geps Morris, to be honest Dad it was hardly worth writing down. Next time could you please be a little more creative, honestly, it's embarassing! x
ReplyDeleteOh my! Perhaps this is my future you're dreaming about hahaha!! I actually tipped my head back and laughed out loud!! Loads of love and many hugs xxxxxx
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