Day Six-Serious Beaches

The hostel in Takaka was much nicer than the one in Wellington though I again found myself in a room on the top bunk, with smelly men. Because the rest of the place was clean and friendly I didn’t run away screaming. There were also a wide variety of ages represented. I did ask to be changed to a private room and was informed that a private trailer would be available the next three days. I signed up for it and ran from my room for the beach. At the beach I met an interesting gay german couple. I was encouraged to have children to propagate my good genes. No amount of arguing would convince this man that maybe that wasn’t a good idea. In any event I didn’t take it very seriously.

My new home

I found a travel partner at the hostel-a german woman close to my age annoyed with the amount of germans, especially young germans, traveling in New Zealand. She had intended to practice her English and have a cultural experience and the germans were fucking it up for her.  

The next day we met a kiwi trio of one Scottish man and a couple from Wales. Then we set out for Whairiki (pronounced fareeki) Beach. The boys were keen to surf so beaches with good waves and appropriate amounts of wind were required. 

The conversation in the car on the way to the beach was interesting. We discussed the Scottish independence referendum and the Scot commented that he hated being referred to as a British person because he’s fucking Scottish!

The woman of the group, Michelle, was a midwife and we had an interesting discussion about nursing and healthcare. Turns out the cesarean rate is also too high in New Zealand and nurses get burnt out all over the world. 

Whairiki and Fletcher beaches were amazing. We even saw baby fur seals!

A New Zealand beach cafe. 

Wharariki Beach

Fletcher's

There was a “walk” from Fletcher’s Beach to the Farewell Spit which I ended up doing solo. It was the most amazing hike of my life. I felt like I was in the Sound of Music hills, a life long dream of mine. I sang Sound of Music then Regina Specktor songs. There were no people around but the sheep ran away scared. 

What happens when you leave your car parked in a field of cows and come back

Most amazing hike ever

Hike continues with Farewell Spit in the background

My walk ended at a cafe where I met up with Michelle who had been just ahead of me. We ended up talking for an hour while we waited for the surfers and my german friend. Michelle told me that New Zealand has a major rat and possum problem. Rats and possums are not indigenous to the area and they kill birds and eat eggs. Because New Zealand was untouched for so long, its birds didn’t evolve to have many defense mechanisms because they had no predators! 

In an effort to thwart the rat and possum population the government decided to leave rat poison in places. The poison is referred to as 1080 and is a huge area of contention among Kiwis. Those who support it say that there is no alternative and it’s the best solution to address the rodent problem. Those who oppose it say that the poison is cruel and it also negatively impacts plants and birds which defeats the whole purpose. I’m not educated enough on the issue to have an opinion but the conversation reminded me that there are problems everywhere, even in idyllic New Zealand. 

Eventually we all convened in the cafe with an amazing view and had a snack. I found it interesting that the background music of this beautiful somewhat posh cafe was 1990’s American R&B and Rap featuring Ice Cube and the song “whatta man”. 

Travel tip: If you want to find amazing beach spots, hang out with surfers. 

Weird New Zealand fact: You have to turn plugs on. Rafat in Auckland told me this is normal in other places too. I don’t know about that. 

P.S. My hands are still fried and are now swollen. How they are not blistered I do not understand. Today I bought kitchen house wife gloves from the grocery store for my kayaking trip tomorrow. When ever the sun hits my hands they burst into flames. 

Baby Seal Pic up due to popular demand!!