Tide keeps risin'

Shaking inside as the tide keeps risin'

Shaking inside as the tide keeps risin'

I was up before dawn’s crack thanks to a very early alarm call so that Dmitri and I could go and see the sunrise at a place called New Chums Beach. It seemed an appropriately named place to visit given the nature of my travels and the number of new chums I had amassed so far. The only way to the beach is to cross a wide stream as it flows into the sea, walk along the rocky shoreline and then follow a track up over a hill to the beach. At low tide the stream isn’t very deep, coming up to below the knee. By high tide you are left to swim across. Dmitri had checked the tide times and organised the trip around them. The drive and hike to the beach gave Dmitri and me a chance to chat and get to know each other. He was the quieter one of my two hosts and it was nice to get to know him a little better.

Daybreak at New Chums Beach

We had the beach to ourselves, so we did not get to make any new chums. We contented ourselves with sitting on the beach, watching the gannets diving into the sea after a nice fish for breakfast. Dmitri is a photographer so we chatted for a while about my camera, which I had to admit I did not know how to use to the best of its ability. There are some settings on it that I have never even used. Dmitri talked about things like shutter speed and apertures. I mentally added “photography course” to the list of things that I wanted to do when I was back home after my travels. The early morning light was stunning and there were some big clouds making for some dramatic photos, even with my basic skills. By the time we came to head back the tide was coming in and the trip back over was a decent wade, the cold water just over our knees. There were some people heading the other way, on their way to the beach. Dmitri told me that unless they were prepared to swim back they would be over there for a while.

New Chums Beach

Having arrived back home and had a light lunch I went and had an afternoon nap. The early morning had caught up with me. It was so nice being able to have an afternoon nap. I’d never really been a nap kind of guy before and I knew that it would be a shock when I finally had to work again. Napping in the afternoon is generally frowned upon in an office environment. Post snooze I took advantage of the sunny afternoon to sit out on the deck, enjoying the views (and a glass of wine) while doing some writing and emailing all the people from Gay Stay who had offered me accommodation across New Zealand. David popped up from his office downstairs to let me know that a couple of guests would be arriving at Bayview. He was preparing a few canapés for their arrival and that I would be welcome to join them for a welcome drink.

I was still sat out on the deck when a car pulled in to the drive at the side. A couple of guys got out, I assumed they were David’s expected guests. I looked over the railing and said hello to them. After they had been settled in to their room (I say room, it was bigger than my flat in London) they headed up to the balcony. David introduced me to the pair, Lenny and Roger, who were over from the States on holiday. Over wine and canapés I found out that they had been together for 33 years, which meant they had met some time in the year that I was born. I didn’t point that out to them as I thought it might seem a bit rude. I congratulated them on such a long relationship. I also found out that they lived in Seattle but were originally from Atlanta and Chicago. I told them about my trip and that I had been through all three of those places. They seemed impressed with the things I had seen and done in each of those places. After Roger and Lenny headed out to town for dinner, David cooked dinner for the rest of us. After dinner we settled down to watch a film but I was soon yawning and had to call it an early night.

The next morning I had breakfast with Roger and Lenny, asking them what the rest of their trip held in store. They were spending a couple of weeks travelling New Zealand having already spent a short time in Australia. For me, the day marked the end of my first six months of travelling. I refrained from cracking open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. I spent the morning finalising the whole New Zealand itinerary with David, booking buses and a ferry to get me between all my planned stops. I spent the afternoon out walking round Whitianga and along the beach. In the evening I headed with David, Roger and Lenny across the harbour on the little ferry to visit the Mercury Bay winery, where there was a bit of a party going on. I got to catch up with Gordon and Diana who I had met a few days previously (they still hadn’t finished the Christmas decorations). The vineyard was in a lovely little spot and we got to try some a decent selection of their wines (all were good). After the winery Roger and Lenny went out for dinner and David and I collected Dmitri from the house so we could go out of dinner. I wanted to take them both out to thank them for organising my entire New Zealand itinerary.

Cathedral Cove

They had suggested a place called Mill Road Bistro, which they told me was one of their favourite restaurants in town. They had clearly been a few times as after we had been shown to our table the owner came over to talk to them, bringing with her a complimentary bottle of bubbles. The place was busy and had a nice atmosphere and the starter gave a good insight into the high quality of the food. As we waited for our main course the owner came back over to our table. She apologised that there would be a slight delay in the arrival of our main course. At this point she looked at me and said “Your rump is quite large and it is taking a little longer to cook”. It had been a while since anyone had commented on the size of my rump. My rump, when it arrived, was very tasty.

The following morning was my last in Whitianga and David had booked me on to a boat trip out to Cathedral Cove. Roger and Lenny were also booked on the same trip so after breakfast the three of us headed down to the wharf. On the drive down we drove past a number of houses that were proudly flying All Blacks flags. I was asked what the flags were for and I explained that it was the national rugby team and that New Zealand had just hosted the Rugby World Cup. The next question made me laugh out loud (yes, I actually “lol’d”). A slightly hushed tone was adopted as I was asked “And are they all black?”. After I had stopped laughing I said I thought it was more to do with the colour of the shirts rather than the people in them.

I didn't have to jerk

The boat trip was good fun, the powerboat had a few seats up the front which Roger, Lenny and I sat in giving us great views as we bounced across the waves. I had a small fit of the giggles having put my lifejacket on when I noticed the toggle with “jerk to inflate” written on it. Our captain for the morning gave us a good tour and only once did he mistime our course through the choppy waters, the result being a huge amount of spray coming over the bow and completely soaking us. As we got closer to Cathedral Cove we slowed down so we could get some photos. Cathedral Cove is a massive cave linking two beaches. It was used at the start of the Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian. On our return to the wharf Dmitri was waiting as he wanted to say goodbye to me before I headed off at lunchtime as he would be at work. Roger and Lenny gave me a lift back to Bayview, I wished them safe travels for the rest of their tour and went to pack my case. It was soon time to leave and I took my case out into the hall. I said goodbye to Dot and loaded my case into David’s car as he said he would drop me off at the bus stop. Before I left he gave me a printed and bound itinerary for the rest of my New Zealand trip, complete with details of where I was staying, local attractions and all my travel confirmations. I thanked David yet again for all the assistance he had given me. My New Zealand trip would be infinitely better because of it.

“Shaking inside as the tide keeps risin'” 
Lyrics from In the same boat from the musical Curtains