We spent 10 marvelous days at Pohutu Springs with Karl and Cheryl.
Karl built this farmhouse himself when they moved to this area about 5 years ago.
They raise pigs, cows, sheep, and chickens and grow 3 large gardens.
Our hosts showed us so much of the Far North! Their house is just a few kilometers from 90 Mile Beach on the west coast and Rawara Beach to the east. We were even able to ride bikes to 90 Mile to watch the sunset one evening.
The ride took us right through the forest, which Cheryl explained was grown there only a few decades ago right on top of the sand dunes. Wild horses run through the area now, left behind by the Yugoslavians and other Europeans in the early 1900s after the gum digging market fell through.
Not only did we see 90 Mile & Rawara Beach, but Karl & Cheryl took us fishing at Parengarenga Bay. The track to this beach is accessible only through land owned by a native Maori family. Lucky for us, Cheryl knows the family and was able to ring them to ask for the key to the gate! Not many people are able to access this amazingly beautiful area.
Another piece of history: this Bay is where the French couple who bombed the Greenpeace anti-nuclear protest ship, the Rainbow Warrior, entered the country.
We both caught some good sized Kaiwai during our fishing trip, which we ate for dinner that night!
I was super excited about my fish, but I was afraid I would let it wriggle away if I took it to the water to rinse it off. So I let Drew take it over for a little bath.
He successfully cleaned my fish, but the fish had other plans. It flopped right out of his hands and shot off into the water! Poor Drew could probably sense me crying ‘No! I can’t believe you lost my fish!’ because he dove straight into the water trying to capture it again! I wish I had that part on video, but at least you can see us reeling them in:
We probably could have stayed longer at Pohutu Springs, but we are on our way back to Auckland by the beginning of April to bid adieu to Ashley & Justin as they head back home to Nashville!
