Sunday, October 27th - Day 47 - Cottage "Island Time," Opua, New Zealand
We have landed in heaven. Our VRBO home is gorgeous, amazingly equipped with all the comforts, and the dawn of the day broke beautifully. Munroe woke around 6:45am to the sound of birdsong - the wafting, warbling, caroling songs that the birds make here 'down under'. While the tea was brewing the ferry started up its daily operation - and various yachts, motor boats, and other forms of craft began plying their way across the harbour.
If a picture speaks 1000 words, a video will do even better. Here is the misty morning scene that greeted Munroe as he enjoyed his tea on the deck!
Late in the morning, we went for a stroll around Opua. We stopped at the fish 'n chip takeaway place that advertised coffee, but their machine wasn't working. So we hit the lovely little general store (that really has everything you'd need!). Deb had her cappuccino, Munroe a Flat Black, and we shared a delicious ginger slice!
Ferry
After that we walked along the marina waterfront - it is much larger than we'd originally thought - and we walked out on the pier just to get a fresh perspective on the place. It is gorgeous. The weather is comfortable - sun with cloudy spots but warm - probably low-to-mid 70s. Perfect.
In the afternoon we drove to neighboring Paihia, a quick 10-minute drive. It is a bustling touristy place with a lovely beach. Lots of kids swimming. The water is actually much warmer than we'd expected. There were a coupleof beach-style bars with live music that seemed to be doing a strong business. Glad we're not staying there!
We headed to the Woolworths - the same grocery store chain that we'd used when we stayed in Ocean Grove, Australia. We picked up some salmon, and a rack of lamb (for about $25 NZ - or about $15 US!). They had fresh oysters for $28 NZ a dozen - too good to miss! So we had them on the deck with a glass of Marlborough Sound sauvignon blanc. Wonderful! For dinner, we had the salmon, along with sauteed onion and zucchini (or courgettes as they're called here), and a nice brown rice & quinoa mix that Deb found. Delicious.
We were in bed early - neither of us are 100% in terms of our health. Deb is slowly recovering from the bug caught in Kyoto.