Ryan & U'i's Pacific Odyssey: NZ Day 7

May 12

Day – Matauri Beach, Hike up to Rainbow Warrior Memorial

Night – Taupo Bay Holiday Park

Once again we woke to a sunny morning with blue skies and crisp air. Taking advantage of the weather, we stretched a rope from van to tree and hung out all of our belongings that had become damp during the previous 24 hours. It was a lazy day of frisbee and beachcombing.

We decided to hike the mountain just north of the bay and followed a well worn path up the muddy slope. At the top we were awarded some brilliant views of the coast, as well as a large monument in honor of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship attacked by terrorism while trying to protest French testing of nuclear arms near Tahiti.

Back in the vans, we pushed on north through the countless scenic detour loops that hug the coast and wind through the valleys. Our next stop was Taupo Bay Holiday Park. There was no one home when we pulled in, and we weren't sure what the rates were. We flipped a coin. Heads we move on and drive another hour or two in search of the nearest DOC campsite, tails we stay. We flipped tails and backed into a power spot.

That night, a camp representative came by to say hi. Her name was Charlotte, and she was watching the facility while the owners were away for a couple of days. The power in Taupo Bay valley went out shortly after dark, and in a search for bathroom facilities in the dark, I struck up a conversation with Charlotte and her husband Kevin, who arrived to keep her company. They owned a home the next street over, originally built in 1949 down south, they had it cut into 3 sections and trucked all the way up to rural Taupo. It was cheaper than building a new home, and they really liked keeping the nostalgia and history that goes along with a old house. Over the last couple of years they had been renovating and restoring it. They invited us over to see it the following day. We turned in for the night, nursing our sand fly wounds.