09.04.08: We arrived in Whakatane early afternoon. The drive was easy and there was no rain. It was a mid-sized town and had a cute little downtown area. We went straight through it to Whakatane Heads, a surf break, to see what was going on. It was situated right at a jetty where the boats go out to sea. A swell had just hit that day and the waves were pretty huge, but not quite hitting at the right direction. There were a few guys going out, but neither of us were ready for something like that. I hate to sound like a fair-weather surfer, but what else can I say? We watched for a while and then headed to a local fish and chips shop for a seafood basket plus some paua (abalone) fritters. The later was not quite what I expected. But still, all was pretty good.
After lunch, we headed to a Top 10 campground a few kilometers down the road in the next town, Ohope. It was right along a large expanse of beach, which kind of reminded me of Ocean Beach in San Francisco. We parked right along it and it was nice to hear the sound of the ocean swell all night long.
The next morning, Kai insisted we go to the playground before we headed back to Whakatane. There was a health food shop downtown that I wanted to stop by to stock up on a few things. Then, we went back to Whakatane Heads. The swell went down a bit. But still, neither of us was up for going out. Instead, Sean decided to fish off the jetty while Kai and I trolled about the beach. No luck with the fish. But, it was fun to see Kai picked up a stick and act like Daddy, pretending to cast out her rod and reel the line back in. After, we went into town to a coffee shop to check up on the internet. Before heading back to the campground for the night, we made a pit stop at the Ohiwa Oyster Farm to pick up some dinner.
The night before, we noticed that the campground had some lovely-looking cabins with decks that faced right towards the beach. (FYI, there were also some awesome-looking ones at Pariki Beach as well.) So that night, knowing that we were on our way to the East Cape, where we heard it’s pretty remote and we’d be more-or-less roughing-it, we decided to see if we could get one. We got lucky. They had one more available, just for that night. The inside was just as nice as it looked from the outside and dinner on the deck was great. It was a slight disappointment that the oysters came in a punnet (plastic container) instead of on the half shell, but they were still good. The fried fish, squid ring and scallop were good too. Though, I do have to admit that the chips are really starting to get old on me… They not only come with fish, but with almost every other dish around here. That night, we thoroughly took advantage of the nice shower for what seemed like hours, I cut Kailani and my fringes (bangs) and we enjoyed stretching out for the night. Later that night, as we were watching what three channels that we received on the TV, I felt our building shake. First, I thought it was the neighbor in the unit next door, but it started to shake harder. That’s when we figured it was an earthquake. It wasn’t a big one considering what we’ve gone through in the past. If I had to guess, it was probably about a high 1 or low 2 on the Richter scale, but just enough to sit there for a couple seconds and wonder if all is OK. We figured we were surrounded by volcanic activity, so what can you expect. After that, we slept soundly for the night.
Staying in that cabin for the night ended up being a great way to wake up and celebrate our fifth year wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been married for that long and the presence of Kailani makes it feel like she’s been around for much longer. But overall, it’s hard to believe that it’s been five years, and now we’re in New Zealand and we’ve been “on the road” for over six months now. Just like our wedding day, we’re still hanging out on a beach. Our cabin was just as nice as our room at Seascape, so I have no complaints, only appreciation.
After lunch, we headed to a Top 10 campground a few kilometers down the road in the next town, Ohope. It was right along a large expanse of beach, which kind of reminded me of Ocean Beach in San Francisco. We parked right along it and it was nice to hear the sound of the ocean swell all night long.
The next morning, Kai insisted we go to the playground before we headed back to Whakatane. There was a health food shop downtown that I wanted to stop by to stock up on a few things. Then, we went back to Whakatane Heads. The swell went down a bit. But still, neither of us was up for going out. Instead, Sean decided to fish off the jetty while Kai and I trolled about the beach. No luck with the fish. But, it was fun to see Kai picked up a stick and act like Daddy, pretending to cast out her rod and reel the line back in. After, we went into town to a coffee shop to check up on the internet. Before heading back to the campground for the night, we made a pit stop at the Ohiwa Oyster Farm to pick up some dinner.
The night before, we noticed that the campground had some lovely-looking cabins with decks that faced right towards the beach. (FYI, there were also some awesome-looking ones at Pariki Beach as well.) So that night, knowing that we were on our way to the East Cape, where we heard it’s pretty remote and we’d be more-or-less roughing-it, we decided to see if we could get one. We got lucky. They had one more available, just for that night. The inside was just as nice as it looked from the outside and dinner on the deck was great. It was a slight disappointment that the oysters came in a punnet (plastic container) instead of on the half shell, but they were still good. The fried fish, squid ring and scallop were good too. Though, I do have to admit that the chips are really starting to get old on me… They not only come with fish, but with almost every other dish around here. That night, we thoroughly took advantage of the nice shower for what seemed like hours, I cut Kailani and my fringes (bangs) and we enjoyed stretching out for the night. Later that night, as we were watching what three channels that we received on the TV, I felt our building shake. First, I thought it was the neighbor in the unit next door, but it started to shake harder. That’s when we figured it was an earthquake. It wasn’t a big one considering what we’ve gone through in the past. If I had to guess, it was probably about a high 1 or low 2 on the Richter scale, but just enough to sit there for a couple seconds and wonder if all is OK. We figured we were surrounded by volcanic activity, so what can you expect. After that, we slept soundly for the night.
Staying in that cabin for the night ended up being a great way to wake up and celebrate our fifth year wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been married for that long and the presence of Kailani makes it feel like she’s been around for much longer. But overall, it’s hard to believe that it’s been five years, and now we’re in New Zealand and we’ve been “on the road” for over six months now. Just like our wedding day, we’re still hanging out on a beach. Our cabin was just as nice as our room at Seascape, so I have no complaints, only appreciation.
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