It's been a little while since I contributed a blog. I wrote one about a week ago - more about relationship strife and the Baryn evolution - but decided no one wanted to read my personal journal entry so I never posted it. TLDR : neither of us felt understood. We cried on a beautiful beach and saved a perfect rock from the shores to remind us to be kinder and supportive whenever we see it on the dashboard. And since then there's been only goodness.
Briefly, after we left the WWOOF farm in Kurow (where I was offered a PA job and Bill was gifted the most perfect kiwi farmer hat) we had a Taryn day and saw fossils and geology and the Narnia set. Beth Dushman - you aren't kidding. The crazy giant penguin fossils and iron ore deposited rocks that make magnetic rings are amazing. I even had a date with 90-year old Burns (that's his first name) who is a wealthy artist, owns the only functioning smelting operation in NZ and volunteers as a docent at the ancient history museum in Duntroon where he runs around with a cane and geeks out on paleontology with other geeks like me. I showed him photos of Cedar Mesa native ruins and we both nearly cried when I told him that our new president might help turn them into oil.
Then we drove to Oamaru where we strolled along ancient Victorian streets and browsed vintage and used book stores before finally settling on that beautiful deserted beach so that we could cry together and appologize.
This is Oamaru Bay.
We started driving south on the coastal route and stopped at Moaraki Boulders - a popular tourist spot to take pictures with incredible ancient sea floor remnants. The boulders are made of hard calcite crystals from millions of years ago. Over time they were covered in sediment which then as the seas receeded became crumbly cliffs. As the cliffs have eroded, they uncover these hard boulders and new ones are still tumbling out as the cliffs continue to erode.
(Don't tell the other tourists but down the road are completely deserted beaches with literally hundreds of these boulders that are hollow on the inside). Bill kindly endorsed my 10/10 excitement and pulled over 3 times to let me see more boulders.
It rained all that afternoon and evening and we kept dry at the Moeraki Tavern. We slept in the forest that night and bathed in a cold stream in the morning. On a recommendation from our Kurow friends, we went to Fleur's Kitchen (anyone else thinking about Harry Potter?) which was absolutely one of the best meals I've ever had. And I'm unreasonably obsessed with food. I've only gained about 5 pounds on this trip so far which I'll call pretty good. Fleurs is in the teeny tiny town of Moeraki. Population maybe 100 if that. Home to a tavern, this restaurant and an RV park and otherwise fishermen and their boats. All of the wooden buildings are suffering from beautiful slow sea air rot that makes them look fragile but important. The bay was dim and cloudy that morning but the complex layers of clouds and sneaky rays of light that made their way to the ocean surface created a pallet of greens and blues and grays that even Home Depot's paint department would be jealous of.
We enjoyed warm espresso and peach coffee cake on the upper balcony while seagulls patiently asked to share. We then had tomato and shellfish stew and a fish sandwich on fresh baked bread. Each bite and each deep yoga breath inhale of sea air was rich and cleansing. Honestly- a meal to remember.
We made it eventually to Dunedin. We perused the botanical gardens and aviary (where the grey parrots know the first verse to Singing in the Rain), saw albatrosses in flight (amazingly graceful giants that sting your heart with awe when you see them wheeling effortlessly in the wind), and even found the only bar with live music on a Wednesday and enjoyed a wide range of local talent at the weekly open mic night. One of the acts, Michael, a regular, played the piano and sang in the same way that Jason Segal does during his rock opera about Dracula at the end of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Jason seriously would have loved it.
Finally, against all recommendations from TLC, we took the scenic coastal route and went chasing waterfalls all the way to Curio Bay. We saw some real good ones! There's a waterfall on the map called Margaret Falls and we really wanted to see it to honor all 4 Margarets in our family but we can't find the trail head. The picture below is of McLeans Falls.
On Saturday morning we woke up at 6:30am and took surfing lessons in Curio Bay. Nick, our instructor, was a "typical kiwi" who surfs big waves, dreams of Mavericks at Halfmoon Bay and stamps his feet in the sand to the beat of the theme song to Lone Ranger whenever the Hectors dolphins swim nearby because he wants them to know it's him.
The lesson was a grand success. Bill improved greatly which made me so proud and also feel so much better about him renting boards on his own in the future. Prior to the lesson whenever Bill would borrow a board and go out to try his luck at surfing it felt like waving goodbye to my untrained loved one as he entered the colleseum for gladiator games. He would just get a severe beating. And then because he's Bill when asked how it was he'd always reply "it's just so great to get out on the water."
But now Bill's timing, stance, balance and success rate are so improved I can see him really learning to surf. We will likely spend a good bit of our Australia time surfing and will also likely stop in Hawaii before we head to mainland USA and will surf there too. Bill will be a practiced avid surfer by the end of our trip!
Because of the weight gain I mentioned earlier, we followed our surfing lesson with a track workout in the wind. Took another bath in the river next to Niagra Falls, New Zealand, and paid $10 for entrance to the 2017 Niagra Falls Cafe Bluegrass Festival.
Niagra used to be a gold mining town, but its since been deserted. In the 1880's, it's cheeky founder noted a small "waterfall" (some large flat rocks with about 3 feet of water pouring over them)in the stream nearby and seeing it's striking resemblance to the American/Canadian falls, named the town after it. Signs next to the town say "The Other Niagra Falls". Theres a town hall, the cafe, and some residual sheep farmers left over but aside from that you could blink and miss the whole town. A population of 10 would be generous. One of the locals plays the guitar and stand up bass and is the organizer. He is very pink from sunburn. Almost Muppet pink. Wears a neon green t-shirt, huge overalls, a cowboy hat and sunglasses and almost never smiles when he's introducing a band or a song.
The festival is on the lawn in the back of the cafe and musicians included there were about 100 attendants total. Mostly all locals from nearby Waikawa where a husband and wife duo are music teachers and have raised "heaps" of musical children. Therefore, almost every child in that town plays music or sings and it shows. The town hosts about 6 of these music and dance festivals per year and most acts are local farmer/fisherman/musicians from somewhere in the rural Catlins. A few folks have wandered down from Dunedin or Invercargill but most are from here.
During the festival it seemed that any one of the locals would jump on stage for a song or two with whoever was playing and then sit down. People: keep your ears out for Locky Hayes - I predict a future star. At 21 he's the son of the music teachers and plays harmonica and guitar and sings beautifully. Plus he's an adorable ginger. Success is inevitable.
Last and so very much not least a Sean Connery look-a-like in a kilt and with a white daisy in his lapel used the 1880 town hall to call Irish dancing for everyone at the festival. Until midnight we stomped and clapped and do-si-do'd in this old barn to Irish folk music with a bunch of local kids in high top converse all stars. It's hard to capture how ridiculously quaint this all was. At one point Sean Connery played Sweet Caroline on his guitar and Bill and I got to explain how you say "Dun Dun Dun" after the verse and the locals loved the Americana of it all. We slept in our van in an old sheep paddock and had two cups of coffee the next morning. Because we earned it!
Sunday - the music continued on the lawn and in the town hall and it was awesome.
In conclusion, I highly recommend the annual Niagra Falls Bluegrass Festival and I'd like to take you all back here next year to enjoy it.
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