Adventures with the Vick-Cullens

Jack and Deb and Cam and Kate are here at last. Their arrival has been one of the most anticipated occasions of our trip. They've been exploring the North Island for several days and are now here in Mangonui to join us for a week of fun and sun and sailing.

For our celebratory feast we had champagne with green-lipped mussels, hapuka and bluenose sashimi for dinner.

Partied late, so slept in late. After breakfast V-C's and DKT drove 20 km's to Taupo Bay. It is a gorgeous day, with great waves, boogie boarding, and picnic. Jack lost rental car keys in the surf; called all over Northland for new ones, but not available until late the next day. We are all bummed, changing plans. Hours later Ty found keys buried in the sand, and all are happy again.

We're all breakfasted, saddled up, and away before 0800. Picked up our 4WD Mitsubishi Delica at the Visitor's Center in Kaitaia, drove 10k to Awanui then out to the beach at Waipapakauri and turn right (north).

Tide is low and going out. Beach is wide, smooth and flat and it's tempting to drive very fast. The boys (including Cam and Ty) take turns driving. After a bit we come across a rocky outcropping with tidepools and Kate finds all kinds of cool critters.

We're feeling the crunching millions of empty shells under the wheels, so stop again and all pile out to hunt tuatuas (clams). Just stand barefoot in the waves, wiggle your feet until you feel the clams and pick them up. We don't need shellfish today so they're put back in the sand and we hold clam races.

After another 40 km's or so we come to a headland called The Bluff and encounter first humans since we hit the beach: Maori fishermen casting off the rocks and catching lots of snapper, trevally, kahawei.
	At Te Paki Stream, we turn right, driving right up the riverbed. It's hot and steamy in the river, with tule growing tall on either side of us and it feels like Africa. We're worried about quicksand but Jack gets us safely up the river and finally finds a real road.

We turn north again and find a beautiful spot called Tapotupotu Bay for picnic lunch; good waves, boogie boards, everybody swam and played in river, and kids climbed trees. Another lost aerobie (number 4) in the surf.

Then on to the Lighthouse at Cape Reinga, located at the north tip of the North Island. We are there one day before the Whitbread racers round the cape on the homestretch to Auckland. Dennis Conners in Toshiba is bare minutes in the lead at this point and the whole of New Zealand is aghast. More than anybody in the world, he is the person Kiwi's most love to hate.

Rather than bumping along a rutted road down the center of the peninsula for hours, we decide to head back to Kaitaia the way we came . . . driving the beach.

After we'd been driving south along the beach for a half-hour or so, miles and miles from anywhere, we came across a poor lonely soul trudging down the beach. He'd started walking to find help because the car in which he and ladyfriend and two kids were traveling was totally stuck in the sand, below the tideline. What was especially curious was that this guy was blind, and obviously hadn't a clue where he was or where he was headed.

So we helped. After all kinds of fooling around we got their car out of the sand and the strange little family took off. Then we discovered that OUR battery had gone dead, and now WE were stuck miles from nowhere, and not looking forward to a cold and buggy night on the beach. Fortunately for us a nice Maori family drove up, pulling an ATV on a trailer. With the ATV pulling and all of us pushing, we finally managed a compression start . . . no mean trick on the beach and a diesel engine.

At Te Paki Stream the 'kids' all went boogeying down some steep dunes. Kate decides she's going too fast so tries to brake with her feet . . . one second later she does a spectacular 'face-plant' . . . and gets up smiling.

Everybody went his or her own way today. K. and Deb went shopping and lunching in Mangonui. Dan and Jack worked with computers. Ty, Cam and Kate went fishing at the wharf. Cam and Kate both proved very adept at catching yellowtail. Kate caught a fat kahawei that was filleted and sliced for dinner sushi.

After dinner we start packing up, because tomorrow we head off on a new adventure in the . . .

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