carter & linda blog: NZ - OTAMURE BAY DAY 1

we start with a morning yoga on the beach followed by a hike over to the next bay…..the trail to the beach is pretty simple and the bay is quiet and very beautiful….the crazy combination of lush farm hills and golden beaches is a peculiar but charming contrast…..the trail is dense with vegetation, flowers and insanely beautiful trees….the water is turquoise and we have an entire beach to ourselves - this is a pretty big beach!…….we all swim (Linda is now NZ christened) and take in the beauty then head back down to the camp beach…….after some more beach time at the camp site, Linda and I leave Cathy behind and go to pick up Jess…..we pick up some more camp supplies (the foam mattresses are too hard for the girls and we are out of food) then drive back into Auckland on the wrong side of the road and find the airport and Jessica - her flight is over an hour late……the drive back to the camp will mean windy dark roads this time but the time flies by in the excitement of catching up with Jess - we haven't seen her for over a year…..the camp manager has given me the combination to the fence so that we can come in late but I try unlocking the wrong fence….after about 10 minutes of fumbling in the dark, the camp manager comes out and takes me to the right fence…..jet lag or maybe just plain Carter lag??….we bring a sub to Cathy who has dined on granola bars and oranges for most of the day…..we are all together now in New Zealand……we take our camp chairs over to the ridge to catch up and watch the big moon on Otamure Bay…..a little teal duck circles our chairs over and over - very peculiar and somehow ceremonial……the waves make great background music…..sleep comes easy….

!!!WARNING!!! - all "maid" references in this blog are derived from Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado (Three Little Maids From School Are We)! I can assure you that we all shared in the travel chores equally and might I say happily!

gum trees everywhere...clinging to the hillside...