Saturday 8th November Election day in NZ. Victory to National Party. Farmers delighted. Lady PM resigns as leader of Labour. We agonise over whether we should go on a boat trip around the islands but decide to save the boating for Milford Sound in South Island. Marilyn admits that she cannot see a thing with her present spectacles and buys a new pair of double the strength. She can now see that she has been holding the map upside down and there is every hope that we will be able to have a whole day's drive without an argument. Will now try to persuade her to trade in her ear trumpet for a proper deaf aid. Get on the road early and head for Mangonui where we are told by Richard that there is the best Fish & Chips shop in NZ if not the world. Our route involves taking a 10 minute ferry ride which links the Russell peninsular to the mainland and saves a long drive around the old Russell road. On the way to the ferry we find an oyster farm with a closed sign outside but this does not deter your faithful scribe from having a good nose around which brings out the boss' wife who is very friendly and gives me all the low down. The oysters are in trays laid out right accross the top of the bay. They are regenerated from the natural fall of spat (seed oyster) from the main stock which is being fattened. The spat settles on trays laid out for the purpose and this is later shaken out into the keep trays where it grows into marketable size oyster. Nice little business. The ferry is a floating bridge type vessel with very sophisticated propulsion unit. 2 engines driving two propeller units - one at each end and off set from the centre line. The whole propeller untis turn through 360 degrees so that the helmsman has complete contol and can turn the vessel on a sixpence. I climb up to the bridge and have a good chat with the skipper as we make the crossing, We get to Mangorui by lunchtime and the fish shop lives up to it's reputation. M has Snapper and chips and declares it to be very good. I have crayfish (lobster) salad - all washed down with a nice Sauvignon Blanc. Continue west about round the top of North Island but skip a visit to 90 mile beach - the peninsular that runs North to the top of NZ at Cape Reinga. As we drive South we pass through almost mountainous country which is very thickly wooded and windy roads and very steep. Very little traffic. At one spot we come accross a dead Possom in the road and a very large bird (Eagle size) pecking at the carcass but before we have a chance to pull up and identify the bird - would you believe it - another car comes the other way a drives the bird away.
A very striking feature of the countryside where there are streams/rivers is the prolific growth of Airum Lillies everywhere. Keep driving until late afternoon and when we get to Dargaville we try to find a B & B. Stop at one but there is nobody at home and since Dargaville tooks a bit of a dump we decide to press on to the the next place where the book tells us there is a B & B. Find it at Matakohe where June Weber welcomes us to her "Homestay"(not a B & B). I put her in her very late 70's (Husband, a retired dairy farmer, died in March)and she reminded me very much of my Grandmother - same shape and features and tough personality with good sence of humour. "Now you will have a drink won't you and what would you like for supper?" G & T for M (now there's a surprise) and beer for me. Later -"Now you will have another one won't you?" "Did a bird ever fly on one wing?" says I. Over dinner we learn that her daughter lives in Southsea and grandaughter lives in Cosham of all places. Later I am invited to inspect her late husband's workshop only to discover that many of his wood turning tools were purchased from CRM in Waterlooville where I buy my woodworking tools. As I've said often before "Its a small world!" She is a dear old lady and tells us a remakable story of how 28 years ago a sperm whale was washed up dead on the beach near their farm. They went to inspect what was left of the carcass and found on the beach a large lump of evil smelling substance which they suspected might be of some value. Together they hauled it up the beach and covered it up to conceal it until they could get back to the spot with a boat. A couple of days later they recovered it and after contacting several perfumiers who were not interested they found one who suspected that it might be of value despite the fact that most perfumiers now use synthetics. He sent a sample to Chanel who said they wished to buy it (it was of course the genuine article - ambergris) and offered a figure which exceeded their wildest dreams. I'm not sure of the exact figure but net they received something like £75,000. (it may have been NZ$) but it was enough to build a house and on top of that they invested it at first in Premium bonds (NZ equivilent) and won a further $50,000. Now that's what I call lucky. To cap it all the bill for drinks dinner bed and full english breakfast was NZ$100. and she would not let me go without taking a piece of Kouri wood to turn into a bowl.