Three-legged Tramping

Tuesday

We all slept the sleep of the dead last night. As we ate a quick breakfast in our room, one of the motel's resident cats calmly strolled in as if he owned the place. Ro was a bit scared after getting scratched by it yesterday and perched on the coffee table, staring down at the cat devouring a bowl of milk Sherry gave it. As he shaved and showered, Mark was amazed that Sherry didn't kill herself in the shower last night, slipping on the slick stainless steel floor.

Betcha the cat knows every guest gets a free carton of milk (for tea) on check-in

On our way out of Kaitaia, we stopped along the bustling main drag so Sherry could get an elastic knee wrap from the chemist, and Mark could get some cash from the bank. Ro wanted desperately to go with Sherry (figuring his chances of a lolly were better with her), so she let him, soon regretting it. Once Mark was out of earshot, Ro told her he had to poop, so she had to search far and wide on her crutches for a toilet. She also picked up some herbal pills that would supposedly prevent motion sickness, knowing we'd have to drive through the Mangamuka Gorge again.

Never too wounded to do a little shopping

Ro did fine through the gorge, since he was riding in the front seat. Sherry was stretched out across the backseat, and didn't do so hot. Even though Mark took it slow and stopped several times for her to recover, she ended up blowing chunks soon after we left the gorge. She was in abject misery, and missed out on seeing much of the gorgeous pastoral farmland rolling by, with seemingly endless wildflowers along the roadside. She figured her problem was taking her pain pills on an empty stomach, and needed some grease to set things right, so we stopped at the Waterline Cafe in Kohukohu. Sherry had the big bowl of hot chips she was craving, Mark had a roast lamb sandwich, and Ro a margherita pizza.

Ro overlooking the Mangamuka Gorge

Guy stuff

The queen in her backseat throne

As we ate, we enjoyed the view over the river and the perfect summer weather. Ro played with an Indian boy who had a flimsy plastic sword that at some point ended up hitting Ro in the back. Whether it was an accident or on purpose we'll never know, but Ro promptly let the kid's bemused mother know he was not pleased. There was a pier nearby at the War Memorial, with some Maori boys jumping off the top of a shelter at the end. Ro looked at them enviously; he's come a long way in a short while with his swimming, but the prospect of a 4m dive would probably scare him to death. Sherry got to talking with a couple from Wellington on a bicycle tour of the area. She was encouraged by the fact that the man had torn his ACL twice and was now biking without any surgery.

Deep in conversation

Waiting for lunch in the warm sunshine

Cooling off with style

Ro hangin' with the local crowd

We got to the Hokianga Ferry just in time, as it was offloading the last of its cars coming the other way. This was Ro's first ferry ride that we could recall, and he liked the novelty of driving on and off a boat. The ferry dropped us in the little picturesque town of Rawene, but alas, we didn't have time to explore it. Ro and Sherry soon fell asleep as we drove through some truly beautiful countryside towards the coast. Mark stopped briefly to savor the stunning vistas at Opononi and Omapere Beaches, but knew better than to wake up Sherry and Ro prematurely.

Exploring the ferry

Enjoying the ride to Rawene

As Mark checked out the Omapere shoreline...

...Sherry & Ro sawed toothpicks

Wildflowers abounded everywhere

Ro woke up as we reached our destination: the Waipoua Forest. Here stands the only virgin Kauri forest left in the world. After first plying Ro with an ice cream to set his mood right, we walked the short distance into the forest to see the largest Kauri tree in the world, Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest). Then we drove a little ways down the road to a remote dirt parking lot to see the rest of the forest highlights. There was a security guard sitting in a minivan who was there to deter car break-ins, so we had to slip him a $2 coin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathis_australis

The lord's stately crown

Ro trying to get as high as Tane Mahuta

This walk was quite a bit longer than the first, but Sherry was a real trooper. In fact, most of the time, we were waiting for Ro to catch up, not Sherry. She's looking forward to the "Linda Hamilton Terminator arms" all this crutch walking is going to give her. She even improvised pads for the crutch handles by wrapping some of Ro's t-shirts around them with rubber bands. Near the cluster of Kauri trees known as the Four Sisters, we met Donnie and Steph, an American couple. Steph took one look at Sherry and asked, "Surfing injury?" When Sherry explained how she hurt it on the dunes, Donnie exclaimed, "Wow, I didn't know anyone could actually get hurt doing that!" He immediately realized his faux pas, but we all had a good laugh.

This is why women are the ones who give birth

Sherry with her four sisters

Sharing a laugh with fellow Yanks

Sherry started to wear out on the way to Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest), as the path wound downhill far into the woods. She told Mark and Ro to go ahead and she caught up later. A passerby looked at her determinedly struggling along and said, "You're brave!" Although this Kauri wasn't as tall as Tane Mahuta, it was even more impressive because of its girth that rivaled even the biggest California redwoods. When Sherry finally reached it, she collapsed on a bench, her knee swollen and throbbing. On the way back, she figured out that by adjusting her crutches to be longer, she could swing through them instead of shuffling along, halving her number of strides. Once back at the car, she poured herself a congratulatory mug of wine, mostly to take the edge off the pain.

You mean I have to walk BACK, too?

The Hills at Te Matua Ngahere

You're almost there, mummy!

Oh, yeah! Believe it!

The road out of Waipoua Forest heading south was nearly as winding as the Mangamuka Gorge, and Sherry got to sample her wine again, but in a much less pleasant way. We were all famished by the time we reached Dargaville, but the restaurant pickings were pretty slim. A walk-up fish & chip shop called Fast Foods, at a desolate crossroad, looked to be the most popular place around. Sherry was craving more grease to settle her stomach, so we stopped there. While waiting for our food, a couple approached Sherry, telling her they saw her fall on the dunes yesterday and asked how she was doing. They also vividly remembered Ronan, as the woman turned out to be one of the helpful ladies who guided him over to us. "He's hard to forget," admitted Sherry.

Sherry enjoyed the best veggie burger she's ever tasted - no fake hamburger patty, just a bunch of thick-cut veggies with hearty slices of beetroot, pineapple, and a fried egg. Mark had some pretty decent fish & chips, and Ro had a hot dog (i.e. breaded sausage on a stick). It was served with another bit of Kiwiana: a can of Wattie's Tomato Sauce (i.e. ketchup). We ate outside at a picnic table as cars kept coming and going, with seemingly the whole town getting takeaway for dinner.

Mmmm...fried snapper

We continued south as the sun sank towards the horizon. Prior to her injury, Sherry had planned to stop and climb Tokatoka Peak, an ancient volcanic lava core that dominates the landscape between Dargaville and Kaipara Harbour. We figured if we could tire Ro out with a little exercise, he might sleep all the way home, so we stopped despite Sherry's infirmity. Sherry stayed in the car as Mark and Ro headed for the summit. It was akin to climbing a stepladder for twenty minutes. Ro scampered up the steep track, happily hopping over paddock fences and forced to climb on all fours in places. He was in kid heaven, with the dirt covering his clothes to prove it! Around every bend he'd see the path continue sharply upwards and exclaim, "Holy crap!"

We made it, daddy!

Ro stands triumphant

The top of the peak was only a few meters across, with steep drops all around, but the panoramic view over the Wairoa River couldn't be beat. We thought about waiting for the sun to completely set, but feared the trail would be too dark, so we headed down while there was still a hint of light in the cloudy sky. Ro was a little scared climbing down, as his jandals didn't give very sure footing on the slippery dirt, so he mostly rode down the steepest parts on his butt.

Waving to Sherry down below

Sherry's view of Ro & Mark on Tokatoka

Ro is becoming quite the shutterbug

Sunset over the Wairoa River Valley

We stopped at the waterfront in Ruawai for a pit stop, and told Ro he could play on a nearby playground until Sherry had finished her business. Then we cut east across the Northland peninsula towards SH1, passing endless dairy farms and fields of kumara. Ro and Sherry were sound asleep by the time we crossed the Harbour Bridge into Auckland, missing out on the view of the spectacular night skyline. Mark figured there would be a gas station open somewhere between the southern outskirts of the city and home, but he didn't figure it would be as far as Waihi. He nearly ran out of gas in the Karangahake Gorge and coasted into the BP station on fumes.

One last play before sleep

Riverfront in Ruawai, near where the Wairoa joins Kaipara Harbour

Ro had a good four hour sleep by the time we arrived home, so he actually tolerated being woken up pretty well, and fell right back to sleep in his bed. Mark brought a few wheelbarrow loads of stuff up from the car while Sherry set about putting things away, then we set Sherry up on the couch so she could keep her leg elevated. The knee was getting more swollen, and she was glad for a fresh ice pack as she drifted off.