Today started 2 hours earlier than we had anticipated as we had scheduled a Skype call to Sarah, our daughter at 7.00pm UK time, but our clocks went back an hour last night and we had a senior moment thinking that we would call her at 08.00 our time. In reality, it should have been 06.00! The text from Sarah at 06.15 got us out of bed to turn on the pc and get online. The internet access is not improving in North Island; it remains pretty much the pits as the Skype call kept dropping out every few minutes and it did exactly the same later in the day. As we were up and about we decided to get showered and have breakfast, so we could get out nice and early. Showering was the first bit of nostalgia for the day, as the unit we are in does not have a shower, so it’s back to the communal block. What a letdown; no undergarments of any description, no women and not even a leftover bottle of shower gel. Clearly they are much more refined here in North Island, but hey - there’s tomorrow to go yet!
We set out about 08.30 for a trip down memory lane as the last time I was in Auckland was back in 1975 when I worked on an undersea telephone cable between Auckland and Sydney. We were on our way to Muriwai Beach, which is where the New Zealand end of the cable came ashore, but before doing so I thought we would visit Keumu, the place where we stayed whilst carrying out some land based operations. On the map it looked quite straight forward. However, we had not anticipated the new section of motorway that had clearly just opened, but was not in the map book. It wasn’t even an interesting half hour detour, but eventually we ended up at Keumu. Of course after 36 years the place has changed beyond all recognition. Not that I would have recognised anything anyway, but it was just nice to relive the fond memories I have of the place. What am I saying; the wine from the local vineyard was insipid and it was the one and only time in my life that I have ever ironed a shirt. The upside was that there was a golf course just across the road from the motel. That didn’t help in locating the place we stayed as there are a number of golf courses in Keumu now!!
From here it was a straight run to Muriwai Beach, where the sand is black as opposed to the golden colour just up the coast. The traditional marker for showing a cable runs across the beach and into the sea is a large diamond shape stuck to a high pole at the back of the beach.
We walked the length of the beach, but no such marker was to be found, just the fading memory of what happened here 36 years ago. We returned to the car, drove just a short distance up the road and stopped at the nearest cafe as it was well past morning coffee time. Coffee and banana cake for Maureen and a huge slice of sticky date cake for me soon had us forgetting the disappointment of not finding the spot where the cable came ashore.
Fully refreshed, we were soon heading towards Helensville to complete a circular route that would take us back to Orewa Beach where we sat in the blazing sunshine and had our lunch. As we are going to Sydney on Wednesday and the next two nights are in a hotel, it was necessary to catch up on the washing so we had some clean clothes to start the next leg of the holiday. Whilst the washing was sloshing around in the machines at the laundry, we took a walk along the beach as the campsite is situated right on top of it. The tide was out quite a long way and on the flat compacted sand there was one chap with a land yacht and another with a three wheeled buggy device being towed along by a huge kite.
Out at sea, there were a number of people kite surfing and one chap in particular seemed to be doing the odd bit of aerobatics. We returned to the veranda of the unit and enjoyed afternoon tea in the hot sunshine. That was until just after 3.00pm when huge black clouds suddenly appeared and it poured with rain for an hour. Whilst the sun never shone again for the rest of the day, the temperature remained pleasantly warm. Of course with the clocks going back, it was dark by just a little after 7.00pm.
For our last diner in a motel unit in New Zealand, we decided to push the boat out and go for a slab of steak which cost us all of £4.50. There was enough for Lady GaGa to have made a new costume and still there would still been enough left over to feed a family of four.
We have to return the rental car tomorrow, so that means navigating our way into central Auckland, which we will not do until after the morning rush hour has finished as the standard of driving here is a little to be desired. On the motorway that crosses through the heart of the city drivers will overtake, undertake and if they could drive over the top of you they would do that as well.
What’s left of tomorrow after checking into the hotel and returning the car will be given over to sightseeing in Auckland, as will Tuesday. The weather forecast is not so good for either day, but we’re hoping that it’s clear enough to go up the Sky Tower on one of the days.
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