Thursday 27th
September
Okay, so it was my Birthday. No
need for any fuss, it’s not a big one after all. Let’s just get it done. Another important milestone though. Today is exactly TWO YEARS since I did my
last day’s work for the Police. That’s madness. How can it be that long
already? I feel like I’ve been away for a month, tops!
I’ve been doing a little
part-time work at the SPCA contact centre the last week or two for ACTUAL money
(not a lot of course, it is a charity after all!). And so, today would be no
different, apart from the fact that I took in a bag of cookies to treat
everyone as a small celebration of the passing of another year on planet
Earth. As soon as the office found out,
they sent someone out to get extra supplies – not only a Birthday cake but an
entire lunch of fish and chips and extra chocolate treats. Ah, bless ‘em, they
looked after me well and I ate far too much:
The day wasn’t finished
there. Simon and I went out for drinks
in Pukekohe. We tried out a pub called The Longkeeper first, which we’ve been
meaning to do for some time. It was alright. I had a cocktail but we didn’t
feel much ambience in the place so we moved on. Back to our most regular eating
spot it seems, the Lonestar, because the bar has a nice atmosphere, but mostly
because they’d sent me a $20 voucher for my Birthday! I went for a light dinner
after my earlier feast, with a cheeky mule cocktail on the side. We didn’t burn
the midnight oil too late, it was a school night after all.
Saturday 29th September–
Boat trip to Little barrier Island
As I am working every other
weekend now that gives Simon alternate weekends of ‘me time’ and ‘Ruth
time’! This is a ‘Ruth time’ weekend
and, as it was my Birthday, I got to choose what we were doing. In an echo of our travelling days, we headed
to bookme.co.nz to see what deals we could snap up. A perfect one – an all day
trip from Sandspit to Little Barrier Island. Little Barrier was this country’s
first nature reserve, established in 1896 and has the reputation of being the
most intact ecosystem in New Zealand and one of the most important reserves of
its kind in the world. Approximately 40 species of rare or endangered birds, 14
reptile and 2 bat species, and more than 400 native plants flourish in this
pest-free sanctuary. Among many success stories, the beautiful hihi/stichbird,
which would have been extinct if not for this island, thrive and are able to be
translocated to other pest-free island sanctuaries. Unlike Tiritiri, it is hard
to get access to the island, being further away from the mainland and also
needing to secure an individual permit from DOC to visit.
Today, we would not be setting
foot on the island, but would circumnavigate the whole of Little Barrier with
Gulf Eco-tours. And, thanks to bookme, we were both going at a reduced rate,
essentially $70 each for the whole trip, including lunch.
We drove about an hour and a
half to reach Sandspit where we parked up and joined the other nine people on
the boat. A nice small number. I made
myself comfortable in full geek-mode in the stern of the boat, binoculars and
camera at hand (right).
We were treated
to a beautiful sunny day. On the way out
into the Hauraki Gulf we cruised past Tawharanui Regional Park and Kawau
Island, one of the largest islands in the gulf and a popular tourist spot for
bird spotting and also wallabies! Yes, that’s right, wallabies were introduced
here between 1860 and 1870 and four species remain here. I’ve heard it’s another good spot to go
volunteering – add it to the list!
As usual, both Simon and I were
scanning the horizon for any evidence of whales or dolphins. But it was one of
the other passengers on the deck upstairs that spotted a pair of whales. I can’t recall what species our captain said
they were, but we took a slight detour to watch them for 15-minutes or so:
Then it was on to our first
views of Little Barrier:
It was
very rugged with steep cliffs the majority of the way around the island.
The water was crystal clear and
also teeming with jellyfish. There
were many seabirds around the periphery - gannets, shags, petrels and terns for
example.
 |
| Fur Seal |
 |
| Pied cormorant |
As we circumnavigated the island, we popped our heads into any
caves and coves to see what we could find.
The captain had just moored the boat to stop for lunch when dolphins were
spotted heading our way. A pod of bottlenose dolphins joined us and played
around the bow for a significant amount of time.
The boat was tied off again and we had the
opportunity to have a swim or a paddle.
A stiff breeze had stirred up and with the amount of jellyfish we’d seen
around us it wasn’t the most tempting offer!
 |
| Wrapping up against the cold |
 | ||
| A view of Great Barrier Island - On the list of volunteering options |
Apparently, there is a family that live on
the island and look after it at the moment, with the kids being schooled
on-line. Talk about a remote lifestyle?!
 |
| Leaving Little Barrier in our wake.... |
On the way back I attempted to get
a good photo or two of the petrels that were skimming the water on either side
of us:
We were hoping to spot some of the local Orca population on our
return trip, but we’d seen so much already so we weren’t overly disappointed
when they failed to make an appearance.
We had been due to get back to the harbour at 330pm but it was nearer
430pm instead. Our guide was more than happy to extend the day to make it a
thoroughly enjoyable experience for everyone on board.
We drove home and Si disappeared
to the supermarket, apparently to do some important prep for something
happening tomorrow.
Sunday 30th September
– My Birthday BBQs (yes, more than one!)
Last night the clocks went
forward an hour for Daylight saving – it’s officially the start of summer here!
Another milestone for you – it’s
two years since we completed the sale of our house and became officially
homeless. I loved that place but I don’t
regret moving on. Look at everything we’ve done with our time since then!
Si and I were having a relaxing
morning when, from outside, we heard a very loud engine throbbing. What on Earth?! Then it dawned on us – it was
the unmistakable sound of a V8 outside our window. The Kellas’s had also had a busy day
yesterday - purchasing Colin the 1977 Dodge Aspen station waggon. 
It’s
been a dream of Huihana’s to own a V8 muscle car for years. We were chauffeur-driven to their place in
the new wheels where Steve had gone on ahead to start prepping for BBQ number
one – Breakfast of bacon and egg rolls before kick off in the All Blacks versus
Pumas rugby in Buenos Aires. After a brief pause at half-time for BBQ
number two – extremely tender pork fillet – the Abs went on to win 35-17. A
great start to the day.
For a change I enjoyed a tipple
or two as a Birthday treat in the sunshine (left). Other visitors came
and went. We spent the rest of the day outside, playing cards before one final
BBQ (to keep us going) of salmon and steak before it was Birthday cake time. I have to say a huge thank you to
Steve and Huihana who are supreme hosts and especially Steve for making said
cake. We stayed until 730pm having
exhausted all of the hours of sunshine that day.
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