Ryan & U'i's Pacific Odyssey: NZ Day 5

May 10

Day – Drive North, Whangarei (Abby Caves), Kawakawa, Bay of Islands (Rua)

Night – Paihia (Olive Grove Holiday Park)

After leaving Waipu, we headed through Whangarei and took a pit stop to search for the Abby Caves. The hike to the caves was very nice, through some rolling pasture land and various forests, however, the caves required a dry suit or a high tolerance to being cold and wet. We peered in as far as you could see and headed back to the vans. There are many more caves to see.

We stopped in a little town called Kawakawa to buy some fresh roadside produce and checkout the town's tourist attraction. A funky, artsy public bathroom made from oddly shaped ceramic tiles and glass ornaments. It was unique, and we'll leave it at that.

Onward to the Bay of Islands, a photogenic cluster of islands plunked into the middle of a large bay - a pretty good name I suppose. Again it reminded us of the Peugeot Sound and Seattle. The town strip was quaint and offered a number of tourist shops and cafe's with a fisherman's appeal. In the back of one of the informational exhibits, we found a number of beautiful pieces of native artwork. Elaborate wood carvings, gorgeous paintings, fine quality artifacts. We met a man, who later turned out to be the author of the art, named Rua. He was a middle aged Maori man who works on one of the local boat when not touring with his artwork. He, like most Maori men, was strong, well built with chiseled features, a distinctly Polynesian nose, and a gentle demeanor. When he spoke, it was soft but powerful and it made you listen. I pegged him in his early 60's, but he was as fit and able as a 20 year old. As we chatted, we learned that he will be crew on one of the Waka (traditional double hulled navigating canoes, or wa'a in Hawaiian) that will be making its way from NZ to Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti and up to Hawai'i, as part of a Pacific Islander unification, a way of sharing one's mana'o with fellow ocean loving men and women from around Polynesia. He will be flying to Fiji soon to make the passage over to Tahiti. He was also a surfer, and a good one from what we could gather from his humble stories. As darkness crept on us, we bid Aloha and headed home for the night, the Olive Grove Campervan park.