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Monday, March 5, 2012

Orere Point

I have observed that the water vortex in a draining sink or a bathtub rotates in a counterclockwise motion but cannot visualize what happens at home so will have to wait a few more days to complete this experiment. I can tell you however, that in the northern hemisphere if the left side is dark then the moon is waxing. In the southern hemisphere a waxing moon is dark on the right side. I look forward to observing the moon from somewhere along the equator someday. If the moon orbits the earth every 27 days why are full moons 29 1/2 days apart? I have to say, gazing up into the night sky and speculating on celestaial brain-teasers is infinitely more interesting than watching the bathtub drain. However, the purpose of this blog is not to try and sort out these puzzles, rather it is to describe our travels through this amazing country so I'd best get back on task. I am still days behind and our days remaining are drawing short. So, where was I? Oh yes, I was in Dargaville, a small town in the Northlands, known as the kumara capital of NZ which would probably make it the kumara capital of the world. Kumara is the Maori word for sweet potato and in many of the grocery stores the kumara section rivals that of the potato.
A kumara processing plant in Dargaville

You can choose from yellow, orange or red flesh and we have found all to be delicious. They boil in half the time of a regular potato and are dryer and a little more textured than the sweet potatoes or yams we get at home. Another food product that we have been enjoying is avocado. This is avocado season and we are in an avocado growing region. At the roadside stands one can buy 10 huge, perfectly ripe avocados for $5.00. At the office at the place we are currently staying (Papamoa Beach) they have two large baskets on the counter full of avocados and we are encouraged to help ourselves for free, which we do. It was explained that these avocados are 'windfall' and therefore not suitable for sale. A local farmer is a friend of the owner and in season delivers crates of them and so if the proprietor did not give them away they would rot. Needless to say we are only too happy to help avoid this waste. It is something like zucchini season at home - never leave your car unlocked or you will return to find a few in your back seat. I digress. The day I intend to recount was Tuesday Feb 28th. It was essentially a longish travel day wherein we departed from the Northland back through Auckland and towards the Coromandel peninsula. Enroute and still north of Auckland we were in need of a break and noticed a sign advertising a sheep show as well as a shop and so decided to stop to have a look. We left perhaps 90 minutes later rich in the knowledge that our loved ones will appreciate our random roadside rest but poorer, hundreds of dollars poorer, in the pocketbook. I will say no more at this point, knowing that some of these loved ones are reading this passage. Back in the car and wanting to avoid the toll road into Auckland ($2.00!) we headed back to Orewa where several days previously we had watched the kite surfers skip across the waves. This day was calmer and we enjoyed fish & chips for lunch. We also stumbled upon a dog shop and even though we had already acquired something for Mitchell there was something 'on sale' that could not be resisted. I will say no more at this point even though Mitch does not know how to read. Orere Point is at the northwest tip of the Firth of Thames and across this bay lies the Coromandel. This was to be a one night stop off and after a long walk on the beach we came back to our cabin and enjoyed barbequed lamb with boiled kumara and a salad. There were no avocados in the salad as the ones we had purchased a few days earlier at a roadside honesty box were still like rocks. Despite this, dinner was delicious.
Two flowers admiring one another
There were four or five ducks that took a great interest in what we were doing and at one point we had to close the door as one of them had come up the steps and stood at the doorstep quacking in a rather polite tone. No doubt he was asking permission to enter but we were not really in the mood for company that night and you all know how difficult it can be to converse with a duck.

1 comment:

  1. So very glad Ericthat you are on the mend. Just love reading your blog. Sounds like you and Julie are having wonderful adventures in Paradise. it is great to not only read where you have been but to also know where you have been and to relive the amazing adventures via ths blog. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Looking forward to some photos in July. :)

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