Great Barrier Island-Lemon and Paeroa Blog

Wheels - a stroke of luck

As I have mentioned, this was my first international trip. It was also to a location that had only a peep-hole into the inner workings of the place. Planning is a bit difficult, especially since we were flying standby and were not even sure we would get there. I saw on the Island website that there was continuous transportation in these little shuttles and assumed we would use those; though I was not aware of how you catch them or what the schedule was. I was hoping to figure it out, or as a last resort ask a local.

We were walking up road from where we were staying past Gooseberry Flat toward another little town that I can't recall the name of. It was a long, but pretty walk. When we arrived I saw two things that struck my interest. First, there was the smallest library you could ever imagine. I love libraries and this little one simply stole my heart. It was the size of a tool shed and had quite a number of books for its size. The "librarian" was the sweetest old lady. I spoke with her for a bit, but my wife had an extended conversation with her. Poor lady. Her adult son had recently drowned on the other side of the island while swimming. There was a serious undertow that caught him.

The next thing that caught my attention was a small car rental place called Great Barrier Island Rental Cars (what else). My boys and I walked over and asked the gentleman if he had any available. We were informed that he only had a convertible. What tough luck :). The price was right and we could drop it off at the airstrip when we left since the next renter was landing there. We would not need to take the shuttle again. I filled out the papers, paid, and drove the cute little car over to where my wife was still talking with the librarian. She was thrilled and hopped in as we took off back to the lodge.

Now there was one catch: the steering wheel was on the right side and you drove on the left side (opposite of the US). As I casually turned into the right lane I soon found myself facing a car coming right at me. I remembered at the last I was supposed to be on the other side and lost the game of chicken by darting over to where I was supposed to be.

So it was back to the lodge where the bakery would have fresh goods. Among other items, I decided to try something called a "potato top". It was a small pastry with a meat and vegetable filling topped with mashed potatoes. I liked it and got a few more during my stay. With full stomachs and a sharp set of wheels, we were ready to plan our day and take off - on the correct side of the road this time.

posted by All_I_Can_Stands @ 9:04 PM 0 comments

Awakening in another country on an island

I awoke before the rest of my family the next morning. It was my first time off the continent of North America and the first time I awoke on an island. I stepped outside to a beautiful lush green view of a morning with dew all around. There was the thumping sound of the generator that I was still new to. I walked around the lodge area and immediately saw that planned or not, the grounds had quite a number of interesting plants that I had never seen before. While I do not recall the exact timing on my trip of each photo, I did take a number of pictures of the trees, bushes and flowers that struck my fancy. I hope to add these pictures over time.

I was close enough to the beach to hear the ocean waves and I took a quick walk over to the beach in Tryphena. I must say it is not a beautiful beach, yet it was still nice to look at for this mid-American man. Off to the right there is a nice distant view where tall grasses meet the sea. After looking at the beach for a few minutes I walked back toward the lodge and noticed a small shop area next to the lodge. It only had a small store, a bakery/cafe and a gift shop. The store was open and I flew in to investigate what unique food items they might have. The thought of something that can't be gotten in America was exciting. Most of the items in this category were in the candy and drink section. I selected a ginger beer and a peachie drink and brought them back to our room. As the family was starting to stir, I opened the drinks and we all got a taste. My oldest and I were quite fond of that peachie drink and wish we had brought some back.

After telling them of the store next door, we went back together to take another look. As the bakery was expecting a shipment an hour later, we also reinspected the beach. My youngest found some rocks to climb around on. We then decided to walk up the road for a bit to explore. We found a cemetery in Gooseberry Flat which was surrounded by lush green foliage and had some interesting markers. We then got back on the road and determined to walk even farther. My next post will tell what this road led to.

posted by All_I_Can_Stands @ 8:37 PM 0 comments