Too Much to See, Too Little Time

From the Bay of Islands we drove a north-western loop round to the beautiful scenery of the west coast and stopped for a scrumptious fish burger from a cafe that didn't sell any soft drinks as they were available at the service station next door - what a wonderfully community-minded business plan! Munching it down in the beautiful environs of Omepere, I suffered once again the biggest frustration of travelling - the more you see, the more you realise there is to be seen. Here, green wooded slopes sweep down to a vivid blue inlet which is backed against huge slopes of Golden sand - apparently a favourite spot for sandboarding, where you hurtle down the slopes and in to the water (amazing!), but unfortunately we didn't have the time to stop and give it a go. Continuing cross country to rejoin Highway 1 for our journey back to Auckland, we drove through endless remote little homesteads set in stunning surroundings and marvelled, not for the last time, at how unpopulated New Zealand is.

Back in Auckland our returned hosts whipped up a fabulous meal, reminding all three of us how much we missed home cooking, and spent the evening entertaining us with stories of their travels and giving us hints and tips for our onward journey.

written by

Alex Kent on December 2, 2007 from Omapere, New Zealand

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

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