Monday, December 2nd, 2013
Tina and I left Russell around 10 this morning for an overnight trip north. With our gas tank near empty, we programmed the GPS to get us to the closest petrol station after leaving the Opua car ferry. Well, little Ms Garmin gave us a real scare as she took us off the highway into the Opua Recreational Forest Reserve on a very narrow, twisting and mountain-climbing gravel road. We knew it wasn't right, but decided to stick with her as she read only 5.4 km before a turn-off which we hoped would take us back onto the highway. Well, after those 5+km finally ended, there was no turn, and the road went on. She decided that it'd be another 18 km and we thought that she didn't recognize where we were! We hadn't seen another vehicle or building and the road was getting worse, so we carefully manoeuvred around and headed back the way we'd come, hoping our fuel would last. It all worked out okay but, darn it all, that GPS can be so helpful sometimes but has let us down more than once! It was much later that I discovered that the only reason Ms Garmin has been letting us down is because her settings were incorrect - MY mistake! She had been programmed not to take u-turns (hence our huge detour in Hawkes Bay) and I have now programmed her to avoid future unpaved roads.
After fueling up, we headed along the scenic northern route to the Mangonui wharf where we stopped to sample its "world famous, award winning" fish and chips. The fish (Bluenose) and chips were fabulous and we were not disappointed. Following lunch we browsed the shops on the Main Street waterfront and then drove up to the Rangikapiti pa site on the edge of town to experience the marvelous 360 degree view and imagine the area 150 years ago as a village compound strongly defended from this vantage point.
Our last stop in Mangonui was to check in with my niece, Natissa, and her daughter, Janna, who were hard at work in their commercial laundry. They took some time from their labours for a quick visit and catch-up.
The last leg of today's journey was to Kaitaia where we stayed the night in preparation for our trip to the top of the Island tomorrow.
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