Very disconcerting, watching the passengers disembarking from the little twin prop airliner, from our observation deck vantage point. The Nelson airport is tiny and the airliner is tiny, we're only about 50 feet away. It was clearly Kaytea's plane--no doubt about that. But which one was Kaytea? Sure it had been at least a year since we'd seen her, and I heard she was ill for a bit. But had her appearance changed that dramatically that I couldn't even recognize her. And was she too shy to look up and wave? No and No.
The somewhat unwilling clerk for Air New Zealand finally told us that a Catherine M. had been booked but not boarded her flight. "From Auckland?" No, from San Francisco. Shit.
I began the laborious process of kicking myself, for not checking e-mail before we spent 2 hours driving over the hill. Not that we could have anyway--the cafes don't open that early. Okay, so I kicked myself for not getting a cel phone weeks ago. 20 minutes later we were checking our email at the Internet Outpost in Nelson. Sure enough, there was an Urgent!!! from my sister. Kaytea's passport had a glitch and they wouldn't let her board the plane! Poor Kaytea! What a drag. All packed, all psyched up, at the airport ready to go. Fortunately she's not on a "no fly list" and not enroute to Guantanamo Bay. Could be worse.
So she'll miss Golden Bay and our little beach house. Which is too bad, but not catastrophic. We're cramming in some last minute sightseeing that we'd been saving up to do with Kaytea and gearing up for full on sightseeing mode. We'll be zooming down to Christchurch to pick her up and staying for a few days, then whale watching in Kaikura--where sperm whales live year round. Maybe the Waitomo Caves and a few days on the Coromandel Penninsula.
We really have had some amazing times here. Yesterday we went to Pu Pu springs, the clearest fresh water springs in the world we're told. They sure were clear. Divers come to enjoy the reef like grotto and the amazing visability. It was lovely.
We've seen wonderful trees and rock formations. Our sea kayaking took us out to a little island (which Eden calls 'skull island') which had an amazing nesting colony of big rare sea birds. That was like something from a Nova special. We got to see seals too, up close and personal. We hung out for a time on a deserted beach, accessible only from the water, with the signature golden sands. This was our farthest point and while we were there the bay, which had been mirror like, began sending waves our way. Small waves. I pushed Krista and Eden's kayak off and by the time India and I were out and turned around they were far ahead. With the two of us paddling I figured we'd catch up in a few moments. We paddled like mad but somehow they kept their lead. I mean, Eden was not adding to their momentum in any way, and we were working non stop.
Turns out that Krista was terrified by the waves and the thought of being caught out with Eden in dangerous conditions (most unlikely!). Somehow her adreneline rush gave her super human strength!! We still laugh about that. The kayak guy actually gave us a partial refund for our 'full day' rental, we got back so soon. Oh well, it was great.
The cafes are great. Nothing like 'em back home. Really yummy food in every town and really good coffee. And lots of cute cafe workers too!
And the traffic roundabouts. Gotta mention them. Once you get the hang of 'em they really work great.
I'm ready to start being a bit more outgoing in meeting folks, what with my hearing somewhat restored. It's about time we made some friends in this Country.
Love and Hugs
Rob
ps we did finally get a phone! If you are dying to call us for some strange reason, let me know and I'll send you the number!
Okay. Sorry to drag you through all that.
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