Papatowai and the Caitlins

Hey all, me again--Big day--we headed out to Matai Falls and then onto Purakanui Falls (the most photographed falls in all of NZ) and then Purakanui Falls where Micah and his mates had just camped months before. We spent quite a lot of time here photographing the amazing patterns in the rocks leading to the sea. Beautiful place (huh, Micah?). We then drove miles of gravel road to get to the Caitlins River to do a much anticipated hike along the river and through the woods. We parked at the Wisp and began the hike--first through fir forest on the left and the cascading river on the right. It brought us to a suspension bridge that was made of cable and fencing (like that of chain link) and can accommodate one person at a time. Joel went first so that he could be on the other side of the river to encourage me to cross. Many of you know that I do not like heights and my knees get weak and I feel like I'm going to faint and well, I did not have a choice--I wanted to do this hike. Joel had to keep talking in a calm voice: don't look down, the river is so beautiful, you're almost there, you're doing great, you're safe . . ..whew--made it. The track was quite muddy and through ancient silver beech forests, but then started to disintegrate quickly and was quite steep and slippery. We had to abandon our plans after 3/4 of an hour, but we went on to enjoy the rest of the track which meant crossing that bridge one more time. We lingered in the forest to listen to the clear pure song of the bell bird--songs that always end in a unresolved note. Back on the gravel roads (Joel says that I have definitely earned my gravel roads driving merit badge). By the way, we still had not met our hostess! We headed back and picked up a German hitchhiker who had no idea where he was going. It was cold and the road is fairly lonely. He had on flat Converse like sneakers (what was he thinking?). We ended up driving up and down the coastal road and finally up a hill to deliver him at a hostel in the middle of nowhere. We got back "home" and finally met Carol. (We had already met Molly the dog and a three legged calico cat.) We settled up--she didn't have money in the house so took less than the normal charge--these Kiwis are great! We made a huge stir fry in an electric skillet. This is the kind of place where you unplug things, then plug in what you need, then unplug--no kitchen sink--so we filled small tub with soapy water and rinsed them off in the shower. It was like camping indoors (and as cold!) but with windows that viewed hills and huge trees and Chalk chickens and laundry waving in the wind and flowers and hand made fences and small vege gardens--truly lovely. xo Linny