There was no apple left to pick. They are not quite ripe enough yet, we were told. What doesn’t mean any good to your bank account, delights your tired bones. Those 2 days off I will use to travel a little, I told myself and gathered information on what the area offers.
Many would go straight to a travel guide or the internet, but New Zealand teaches otherwise. I asked a native, who by the way is our merciful supervisor and whose Maori roots reach back to the very beginnings of Aotearoa. His culture is all about the environment and the historic backgrounds. He proposed Mahia as destination, next to many others. It is a peninsula on the northern end of the Hawkes Bay coastal line.
He had spent his childhood there and his ancestors set foot on New Zealand grounds in that place, too. So far, so promising… 😊
My flatmates confirmed the place as a popular (amongst Kiwis, not so much tourists) holiday destination and thus I packed my sleeping bag and camera and went.
In New Zealand you can’t go above 100 kph. For Germans, this sounds like punishment, but if you look closely, it is well justified: The Highways (outside of bigger cities) are at best compared to our country roads (Roads named L123 in Germany) and for 90% not to be mastered on (allowed) top speed. The corners always carry recommended speeds, so that you don’t miscalculate. For tourists, this is very helpful. 😉
Enjoying the Grand Liberty, I stopped at every place I deemed to fit my wellbeing and shot my pictures. First stop was Lake Tutira.
Lakeside House
The Mohaka Viadukt (built 1936, now a railway bridge), standing 95 meters tall, is the biggest structure of its category in all of Australasia.
In the forest it smelled like goats and I even saw some from afar. So, next to the State Highway 2 there are some Goats in the woods. Good to know.
In Mahia I checked in at a, thanks to the off-season very cheap, Holiday Park and parked my car in one of the few spaces looking towards the sea. A Holiday Park basically is a Hostel without rooms, as you carry your own housing (car, tent, caravan).
But arriving was only part of my plan…
That’s how I picture a welcome.
I relocated myself, so I could get a clear lookout west. Because even though the sun rises north down here, it still sets west…
By the way, that’s me minus the beard. 😉
Clouds can project shadows upon the underside of other clouds.
After having dismissed the sun properly, I drove back and spent my first night inside the car. It was quite cold, but some things you can’t miss in life… 😀
It wasn’t hard then, to interrupt the sleep and go some way to see the sun rise. The good thing about this peninsula is that you have a clear view of the sea, both to the east and to the west. Let me tell you, it is so worth it! Get out of bed, go to a nice place and watch this overwhelming spectacle of nature. Whether you press the shutter release of the camera, or someone else close to you, is up to you. 😊
Finally, the sun announces itself…
…and the sky burns.
New Zealand is getting the light. Even only the change from dark to bright is majestical.
I went this and that way on the peninsula, before making my way home.
Even though some sights are looking pretty in the picture; when you stand in that place, it is much more beautiful…
Tadaa! Again, something for the first time: My first portion fish and chips. One of the nation’s signature dishes… 😊
My supervisor did also mention the ‘White Pine Bush’, which I only passed on the way there. This time I stopped and immersed myself (a passionate fan of Tarzan) in the realms of the jungle.
Again, just next to the highway, the ‘White Pine Bush’-retreat is a stunning contrast to its environment. It was being made fit for tourists, but you feel not less embraced by nature…
Jungle vines are real! 😀 Pity I didn’t bring my loincloth, otherwise I would have swung away on one of those vines and would disappear into the thicket for some days and would hunt leopards, looked for gorillas and only lived off fruit and termites… 😀
The roots of those Kahitea trees are massive.
I better get the laundry in now, later it is a baking dish with some tomato sauce out of a jar (fell into my shopping basket), chicken breast and pasta. 😊
Tomorrow I am back at work and it is the everyday life again… But soon. Soon the last apple will be picked and a whole new chapter will begin…
