This past weekend I went with Louise… Kris’s niece, Jane’s cousin took me to the beach, Ohope, to visit her family. They have a house right on the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It was just two hours away from Poronui.
When we arrived, we wasted no time to kick our flip-flops off and walk the sandy beach. The sun was beating down, but it was still cool and breezy. Perfect weather. When we met up with the family, they made dinner (nice) and we played pictionary for the night. They have a little one year old, so I played tea party and ate Marmite sandwiches. For those of you who have never had Marmite, now is not a good time to start. It is a beefy tasting paste that people in European countries, Aussies and Kiwis have grown up on. And meat pies. It taste like beefy nutella. Hudson’s know what I mean. Sorry Inge!
That morning, we got up early to set the line out in the ocean for fish. I was so excited about this. We set the rod in the sand, baited twenty or so hooks with squid and then the cousins, set out the other end by Kayaks a mile into the ocean. We left it there for two hours while we swam and played on the beach a bit. When we brought it in. We were hoping for some snapper, trout or shark, but what we got was one angry sting-ray. It fought and fought, but we got it back into the ocean.. No fish though. The day before they got a few. It was cool to see all the residents do this. I think it is a cool way to live.
Later we took a tour of the town. We went to a few little places and then went to several lookout points. Amazing to see the beach from so many angles. We also took a mini Maori tour. If I haven’t mentioned, the Maori Indians are quite prominent in New Zealand and the founders of this culture. On both beaches I have visited, the names, statues and culture is painted all over the cities.
We stayed two days and then got up really early to get back for round two of a crazy-busy week. Again I am cooking at the lodge and Owner’s cottage. Both places are so different to cook for, equally fun, but a challenge to do both at once. I have loved our guests. We have had quite a few families…which has been great to see and a nice reminder of home. As the season is changing, I am experiencing more new foods to play with and getting pretty routine in my job. I have stared walking to work every day, About 4 ½ miles. I take Kris’s dog with me and we have a ball. I enjoy the fact that there are no animals that will jump out and eat me on the way to work. That’s about it for now. Miss you guys.
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