from an email dated Mar. 13, 2005
“Between hikes our exercise consists of snorkeling – now that we have proper equipment it is all coming back quickly. I learned to scuba dive in high school in the early 60s, but it has been decades since I practiced those skills and WOW! The technology has really changed!
Anouk is a certified dive instructor and keeps a sharp eye on us, so we are in good hands with our refresher diving lessons. We will probably buy scuba tanks before the trip is over. It’s the end of the season here so maybe we’ll get some good buys. Definitely we will want dive gear when we voyage to the South Pacific this summer.
For our last day on Great Barrier, we rented a car and drove around to the east coast of the island which is exposed to the Pacific and definitely not cruiser friendly. I was the designated driver and it was a bit of a challenge. For starters, in New Zealand they drive on the opposite side of the road, as they do in the UK. I was constantly getting into the car on the wrong side and switching on the windshield wipers when I meant to activate the turn signal.
Today’s drive took us along sinuous mountain roads with lots of blind curves. The narrow roads weren’t wide enough to accommodate two cars so there was always a rush of adrenalin when we met oncoming traffic. Single-lane bridges were especially nerve-racking. The locals have a protocol for sharing them, but to us foreigners it felt more like a game of chicken.
We toured a couple of pleasant seaside towns, found a nice café for lunch, and then spent the afternoon at a bucolic beach where sheep lingered in the shade of picnic tables, and we had to wade through an estuary to get to the sand beach proper. With only one other person on the entire shoreline, we were free to enjoy the spectacular scenery and the solitude. And when it was time to leave, there was even a small shack and shower for rinsing off and changing clothes.”
To be continued…
