(Barely) Working Title: How to retire in your twenties
We awoke to a challenge. The camping gods had betrayed us. The discovery that we were all but out of cooking gas (and therefore the means to make tea!) could not have come at a worse time. This particular stretch of the East Cape is one of the most remote parts of a relatively under-populated island. As a result, filling stations are few and far between so we were forced to shelve our slow and steady strategy for this leg of the tour and make to fateful decision to head straight to Opotiki.
This near four hour drive covers an area that is known for being scenic and peaceful. If I’m being honest, we both found it rather infuriating. The day started off well enough with a visit to St Mary's Church in Tikitiki- a plain affair from the exterior, but venture inside and you will find an intricately carved Māori treasure trove. It's beautiful!
Unfortunately, this also marked the end of any points of interest along the remainder of this grueling part of our tour. The result was a full day of driving on a sickeningly bland road with zero opportunity for breaks. We stopped once, at Waihau (Why?! How?!) Bay for a horrendous coffee (warm milk) and no veggie food, before reluctantly continuing. The area is famous as it’s the filming location of hit kiwi movie, “Boy”, directed by Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark and many others but that's my favourite). The film is definitely worth a watch and comes across like a budget Wes Anderson production. Don't make a special trip to visit the set though.
We finally made it to Opotiki and did what we needed to do before having a nap and heading to an Irish bar. We caught the Friday night Super Rugby and sat by a fire, where beer and Bailey's helped to numb the day's woes. Unexpectedly, we had chosen to stay at a particularly grotty campsite fully of kiwifruit pickers. A bit gross, but a few people actually spoke to us! The next day, however, would bring a repeat of that same journey as we made our way back towards the eastern-most point of this land.
Lewis George
81 chapters
16 Apr 2020
The Long and Winding Road
May 17, 2019
|
East Cape, Opotiki
We awoke to a challenge. The camping gods had betrayed us. The discovery that we were all but out of cooking gas (and therefore the means to make tea!) could not have come at a worse time. This particular stretch of the East Cape is one of the most remote parts of a relatively under-populated island. As a result, filling stations are few and far between so we were forced to shelve our slow and steady strategy for this leg of the tour and make to fateful decision to head straight to Opotiki.
This near four hour drive covers an area that is known for being scenic and peaceful. If I’m being honest, we both found it rather infuriating. The day started off well enough with a visit to St Mary's Church in Tikitiki- a plain affair from the exterior, but venture inside and you will find an intricately carved Māori treasure trove. It's beautiful!
Unfortunately, this also marked the end of any points of interest along the remainder of this grueling part of our tour. The result was a full day of driving on a sickeningly bland road with zero opportunity for breaks. We stopped once, at Waihau (Why?! How?!) Bay for a horrendous coffee (warm milk) and no veggie food, before reluctantly continuing. The area is famous as it’s the filming location of hit kiwi movie, “Boy”, directed by Taika Waititi (Eagle vs Shark and many others but that's my favourite). The film is definitely worth a watch and comes across like a budget Wes Anderson production. Don't make a special trip to visit the set though.
We finally made it to Opotiki and did what we needed to do before having a nap and heading to an Irish bar. We caught the Friday night Super Rugby and sat by a fire, where beer and Bailey's helped to numb the day's woes. Unexpectedly, we had chosen to stay at a particularly grotty campsite fully of kiwifruit pickers. A bit gross, but a few people actually spoke to us! The next day, however, would bring a repeat of that same journey as we made our way back towards the eastern-most point of this land.
1.
The first trip: Miranda to Thames
2.
Land of the Long, White Cloud
3.
Backyard Exploring
4.
Hit the Road, Jack
5.
Under the Weather
6.
The Road of Death?
7.
An Eel called "Eel"
8.
Descent into the Black Abyss...
9.
Everybody's Going Surfing...
10.
Living in a van: is this the real life?
11.
Out with the Old and in with the New (Plymouth)
12.
Walk this Way
13.
The Great Taranaki
14.
The "Forgotten" Highway
15.
Chronicle + Art = Article
16.
Derby Day
17.
Mission Accomplished: Come on you Nix!
18.
The post-Phoenix hangover
19.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
20.
Whanganui 2 - This Time it’s Personal
21.
Tui-many puns and Hastings
22.
The Giant Among Us & Bell Rock
23.
Acoustics, Art & A Bloody Cold Sea
24.
Napier Calling
25.
Bridget Jones' Diary - Cheese, Chocolate, Wine
26.
Land and Sea
27.
Mahia-hee, Mahia-hu...
28.
The Gisborne Identity
29.
East Cape Escape
30.
The Long and Winding Road
31.
More or Less Pork.
32.
The Land of the Rising Sun
33.
Hikurangi: Reaching New Heights
34.
Stingray, Stingray!
35.
Bay of Plenty (of Surprises)
36.
Future Reflections
37.
Birthday Part 1 - Going Off Pissed
38.
Birthday Part 2 - Going En Piste
39.
Mid-Winter Christmas
40.
I Get Knocked Down (But I Get Up Again)
41.
Job Hunting: I Need a Dollar, Dollar
42.
Busy Earnin'
43.
Hoppy Daze
44.
Making a House a Home
45.
What to expect when you’re expecting
46.
Bright Lights, Big City
47.
Feeling Each and Every Mile
48.
What to export when you're exporting
49.
Waipapa Marae: An Unexpected Welcome
50.
Tane of the Sky Father
51.
The Boy Most Likely To
52.
Go Rooster!
53.
Friday 13th
54.
Mild Orange, Heavy Chest
55.
Champions of the World
56.
Wild, Wild West (Auckland)
57.
Team Zlatan Heineken
58.
Great Expectations
59.
Un petit rendezvous
60.
Duck Island (sans canards)
61.
It’s Coming Home?
62.
Culture, init?
63.
Sue’s Turtle Garden
64.
New Caledonia - It’s a Rollercoaster (metaphorically)
65.
It’s gone abroad...
66.
Future Me Hates Me
67.
“You can’t beat Wellington on a sunny day”
68.
Te Papa Tongarewa: New Zealand’s Treasure Chest
69.
Island in the Sun
70.
Wine on Waiheke
71.
I'm Dreaming of a Really Sunny and Warm as Hell Christmas
72.
A Visitor!
73.
New Year, New Zealand
74.
Worm-tomo
75.
A Vicious Cycle
76.
Tongario 2.0: This time it's actually visible
77.
Wow Nature, you furry
78.
Whakarewarewa: Living Māori Vilage
79.
Ain't No Mountain...
80.
Hot Rodders & Hotter Weather
81.
North Shore, Not Sure
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