Blow Holes and Pancake Rocks

Oh, what a night - and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons were no-where to be seen. The motorhome shook side-to-side pretty much from 10 pm to 6am the following morning, with both of us tossing and turning as the wind battered the vehicle, whilst the rain lashed the thin skin that separated us from the elements. To make matters worse, we found that the waste pipe was jammed again, with liquid filling the shower tray. So, back onto Maui and we arranged to go to Stoke near Richmond to sort out the problem. However, we needed to see a blow hole and a pancake (so we were reliably advised) that was just 5 minutes from our camp. We headed to a cafe, as we had not yet had breakfast. Keith dropped Diane off and had to park the motorhome about 100 yards further along. Just as he parked the vehicle, the heavens opened; drowned rat doesn't even get near how soaked he was when he got to the cafe. We purchased some bin liners masquerading as waterproof jackets and ventured over the road to see these blow holes and pancake rocks. As it turned out, with the force of the waves, the blow holes were pretty spectacular. And the bizarre pancake rocks were something we have never seen before - layers of rock just like pancakes, in fact!

Then off we head to get the motorhome sorted. We arrive at the repair shop in Stoke - and the two guys running the show both hailed from the UK; one from Penrith and the other from Chelmsford. And, unlike the Maui team in Christchurch, the UK lads managed to empty the waste tank. So we head off towards Abel Tasman, but needed to find a campsite before then, as darkness was beginning to fall. So we stop off in Mapua at Mapua Leisure Park, that was an odd place - bit like parking in a huge field and the facilities were very dated. Carry On Camping feel about the place - but unfortunately, no Barbara Windsor or Sid James. What's more, they allow naturism in February and March - thank goodness it's July (and seeing some of the other campers, we undoubtedly would have wanted them to keep their clothes on). We use the camp kitchen that night to cook pork chops in a cider sauce - nice and tasty. Next morning, it's off to the local cafe, Alberta's, where two locals spontaneously offer their suggestions on what to see and where to go when we get to Abel Tasman; very useful for us, in fact.

We head off north and aim to get to Kaiteriteri, where we have arranged the next day to take a boat up the coast and then do some kayaking. The journey is fairly uneventful, other than stopping off at Te Waikoropupu Springs, a Maori tapu (sacred place - it is not allowed to touch or take away any of the water). The water itself is a beautiful clear ice blue and within the lake we could see the bubbles of the spring - quite amazing. There was a peacefulness about the place as well. We could see why the Maori considered this to be a taonga (treasure). We arrive at Kaiteriteri Beach Motor Camp in the early evening and get a good site overlooking the beach. However, it's a dead place - nothing is open other than a take away place which was about to close at 6pm. So we took the chance to have some fish and chips and a chicken burger - and both were pretty good! But, home cooking from now on.