What a glorious way to wake up
March 17th – We got up nice and slowly. The sounds of the ocean and surf could just be heard through the old caravan walls. And there was a just enough rain and cloud to give it a perfect ambiance and romance. I was still warm and snug under the covers, when the hubby walked through the door with a coffee in his hand. I must have sat in bed and watched the ocean for a good hour while sipping on a that coffee. It was one of my most favourite mornings of the whole trip. How could it not be? Aaaahhh… the simple joys of life.
Finally got myself out of bed and went to have a shower. One must maintain a certain level of personal hygiene. Especially when travelling in a group. I may have a rep for getting lazy on that front. Then meandered back over to M’s and Kiwi’s caravan for a visit on the long party bench, now known as “The Lounge”. It was so nice to just sit there and chill out taking in all the natural beauty with my peeps. Easy to forget about everything happening in the world. Well, almost easy to forget. We got an email saying we needed to get back to Canada asap. More on that in the Covid-19 post of the day.
Taking it all in. Looks serious. 
Building sandcastles. 
A quick game of rugby before we head out anyone?
So, we decided to head for wifi to figure out what was happening and also because it was time to check out and leave this little bit of heaven. The Kiwi had gone out that morning to do some work. While he was out and about, he found a cafe with wifi. We decided to meet up there, grab some food and to make a plan.
We already had tickets to the Kawiti Caves to go see the glowworms but due to that recent email, the hubby and I thought we had better go figure out what was happening while things were still open (time difference) back in Canada. The Kiwi and M, our heros, took the little monsters to go see the glowworms and the hubby and I went on to the hotel in Paihia.
There are no pictures of the glowworm caves. They don’t let you take any so you’ll have to go check out the link to see what they look like. Sounds like they are pretty cool and the kidlets loved it. I was bummed that we missed out on the experience but we needed to deal with our ever changing situation. Plus, Busty Bubbles was thirsty and needed a pool. The Copthorne delivered both and in style!
The pools were amazing and just on the other side of them was the ocean. Perfect sky.
We really did stay in all types of places in NZ. We had “baches“, lake front property, caravans, holiday parks, villas and now a resort. This place was just what we all needed. A little break. Some pampering. A hot tub. And best of all, poolside service. Bring on the poolside bubbly!
The timing was perfect. We had just finished getting all our calls to Canada done and all the luggage into the rooms when the gang pulled up. First things first, a cocktail and snack before heading out for the evening.
Sigh… I wish I was there now. Don’t you M?
We walked down to the ferry in town to take us over to Russell. Russell was once known as the “Hell hole of the Pacific”. Not sure what we had agreed to go see but my curiosity was piqued. And my imagination was running wild oh boy! oh boy! I do love a good hell hole.
We had a few minutes to kill while we waited for the ferry. Paihia is definitely a one horse town but has a really cool vibe to it. As does most of NZ for that matter.
The pier as you walk into town. This is it. The town. There is a community flag trail into the town of Paihia. I found the good ol’ maple leaf. NZ has the largest striped marlin in the world. Most of the class world records are held here. Or so the sign says.
We hopped on the ferry to head over to Russell. Our timing couldn’t have been better if we’d planned it. Sunset…. wow.
Goofy kids! Pensive M. Sophisticated adults. But more importantly – a beautiful sunset.
Russell is no longer the hell hole of the pacific that is for sure. It’s a cute little fishing town with some crazy good restaurants. However, the restaurant we went to has definitely seen some debauchery over the years. No signs of any of that now though. (I may have been slightly disappointed by that after building up a hell hole in my mind.) We had the most amazing dinner, sitting outside, mere meters from the water. This trip just keeps getting better and better. I have no idea how I am ever going to “live” in Canada after all this. I mean seriously! Why give all this up for 8 months of winter? Who does that? I wonder what the immigration criteria looks like…. What’s that website again? Sorry…. And see, I’m still Canadian. The apology for no reason proves it.
Looks a little like the last supper. I want that. And that. 
The Gables’ crazy history. The food was incredible.
After dinner, we got on the ferry headed back to Paihia. We walked the 2kms back to the resort and had an early night. There is a an all day boat trip tomorrow on tall ship for some of us to rest up for!
One Comment
Émilie
Those dumplings were delish!!!!!!