As chief navigator I managed to tiki tour us all the way around the back of CHB and Tararua. As Clint said it was very wet out Weber and Pongaroa way and the clay soil has this creepy way of oozing across the roads as if it were alive. Got pretty sick of seeing mud and bull rushes! I had actually been wanting to come this way for ages because years ago an old friend of mine Alex Hayes lived out near Alfredton. Somehow I was expecting an Onga Onga type of village instead it was a Sherwood like turnoff (meaning a school and a community hall).
Our campsite at Castlepoint was really well situated. Beautiful view and slightly sheltered from what we were expecting to be a very windy night. Afterall Castlepoint is notorious for its strong winds often over 120km an hour and not unknown to go over 200km. The boardwalk we were both expecting that connected the end of the road with the lighthouse walk is no longer. I guess it is not needed since it looks like the sandy bar is above the tide line. Really windy out at the lighthouse. Sort of hold on to the railing type stuff. Stopped and watched the surfers taking on the waves coming through the gap by Castle Rock. Very impressive.
I always get spoilt by Clint on these trips as he has all his kitchen and cooking stuff sorted out and I just sit back and stare out at the view...
Clint spent the first half of the night pissed off at the flap connector banging and then finally he got up and took it down. I slumbered through all of that because I listen to music and podcasts all night with my earphones on.
I got some great early morning photos the next day. As I got up to take them a muffled voice from the depths of the top bunk said: "It looked better 30 minutes ago". Hehe. I notice he didn't get up though to take these so called better shots.
We had a leisurely drive home on SH2 and Melle was ecstatic to see us since Ana was still in bed. (not surprised).
So another place in NZ gets ticked off my list in my quest to get Clint to see all of the country. In November we will head down south to Karamea, Heaphy and then Golden Bay. We haven't been out to Farewell Spit yet. I will also take Clint over to Pureora in the next few weeks. Such an unsung hero of a Forest Park.
Then next year I will look forward to taking Clint and his Mum and Dad around the top of NZ. My Mum and I did a great road trip around there a couple of years back and Molly and Ana and I went up to visit Tane Mahuta a few years before that. (highlighted by Ana's refusal to get out of the car to see it:-).
So Rakiura and Breaksea Sound are the last two places on my own bucket list - Can't go there in the AdMach!
