For real though, this couple was weird. John and Dorothy. We’re pretty sure they never actually leave the house. Ever. Hokianga Bay is pretty rural and with it come rural folk- and John and Dorothy definitely don’t think themselves rural folk, nor would they ever condescend to spend time with them. Dorothy is also definitely a few cards shy of a full deck and she kept referring to when she “goes away.” John, however, clearly enjoys the fact that two and two don’t quite made four for Dorothy- it adds to his feelings of superiority- and he makes fun of her constantly. Sometimes she picks up on it.
Anyway, Hokianga Bay! Just south the northern sand dunes and just north of the kauri forests, I figured it would be a good launching point for both. The kauri forests were really amazing- the NZ equivalent of the redwood forests in the US. Forested almost to extinction, they’re now protected, though they’re really fragile. We read that as they evolved, they were actually on a separate island and slowly became a part of the greater island as lava flows expanded the land. Because of this, they weren’t subject to the same flora and fauna as the rest of the north island and never developed the defense mechanisms needed. Despite that though, they’re HUGE!
(Sorry- couldn't figure out how to rotate that pic in Blogger)
Next day we went sand tobogganing! So fun! Luckily we got a few runs in before this hoard of children showed up (ugh), but it was fun to watch them. You can sled right into the water!
We also visited Opo the Dolphin’s grave. Opo was apparently this super human-friendly dolphin who lived in the bay and became a national sensation, but was “mysteriously shot” and people were sad. And buried her in the middle of town and made a statue with a naked boy.
They made this really great documentary about her!
No comments:
Post a Comment