I think I could live here.
I'm sure it has nothing to do with the Cape Kidnappers Golf Course just up the road. Nothing at all...
But first, how we got here.
Our next stop after Rotorua was Taupo, the entrance to the Great Lake Taupo district. Again, very touristy, but we are on a mission to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is one of NZ's great walks, taking a full day and crossing some of the most remarkable terrain on the north island.
Arriving at the i-Site in Taupo, we are informed that the walk is cancelled for the next day due to poor weather. We debate holing up in Taupo and area for a day and setting out on the hike when the weather clears, or trucking down highway 5, over the Maungaharuru Range and into Hawke Bay and wine country.
We tend to go where the wine is.
Besides, the walk will be there later. We'll come back for it.
After the Marlborough region, Hawke Bay is NZ's second biggest wine area. Napier and Hastings are the main towns and being on the coast, we anticipate more touristy beach towns, but the art deco architecture, which Napier is reknowned for keeps it from sinking into that category. We have a quick drive through, spotting some of the art deco and the New Zealand Aquarium, which we make a big asterix noting to return.
We head for the small area of Clifton, outside of Hastings, home of Clifton Motor Camp, right on the sea shore, quiet and simple. Along the way are charming little towns, quiet and simple again with little beachside cottages and wineries and more wineries. None of the touristy kitch we are anticipating. It's a very pleasant surprise.
The southern tip of Hawke Bay is called Cape Kidnappers, named as such by Captain Cook after some Maori folk kidnapped his Tahitian slave boy. When Cook fired on the Maori vessel, the boy jumped overboard and all was resolved. Here on the tip is the world largest gannet sanctuary which you can visit either by taking a tractor ride along the shore (when the tide is out) or hiking the 10 K trek along the shore (when the tide is out). Having missed out on our walk in Tongariro, we decide to do the hike today. More to come on this.
And... did I mention the golf course? Cape Kidnappers golf course, which can be viewed in all its glory at www.capekidnappers.com. From what I can see, it looks to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Unfortunately, the green fees are affordable only once in a lifetime... But, it might just be time to splurge! We meet Tony down the way here at the campsite and he just so happens to have a set of clubs he can lend me. Coincidence? I think not... And Brian, also with a caravan here, can set me up with a few tees and balls. It's calling to me! More on this venture to come as well...
Did I mention I think I could live here?
Tony is some sort of inventor...from what we can figure out. He sometimes lives in the Clifton Motor Camp. Other times he lives in nearby Havelock North, other times in Panama, other times in Switzerland. He seems to have money from his inventions. He invented a process for painting lines - on roads and tennis courts and spent years traveling the South Pacific doing all the tennis courts for the resorts. Currently, he is working on redesigning wind turbines. "They have it all wrong" he explains. Inefficient, prone to breaking down. His new design will revolutionize all of this.
His former wife, "Mrs. O" (as he calls her) died six months ago after a long illness. Tony tended to her throughout it all for the past ten years. He is still grieving. Mrs. O was considerably older than him. They were married three weeks after first meeting and were together nearly fifty years, "It was a privilege to look after Mrs. O" he says.
He has a new partner now. Sandy was Mrs. O's nurse, the only other person Mrs. O would allow to touch her while she was ill. The night Mrs. O died Sandy drove out to Cape Kidnappers to find Tony and check in on him "I was not in a good state, and she knew it".
They've been together ever since "People tell me what I'm doing is wrong," he says, "being with Mrs. O's nurse and so soon after her passing. But I don't care - people will say what they want. My family supports me". We suggest that perhaps Mrs. O might think it was O.K. since Sandy was the only other person she would let touch her while she was sick.
He tells me that the golf course up the hill, Cape Kidnappers, is something very special. "The very best in New Zealand and one of the five best in the world". I tell him that I'm a golfer. "You'd better get up there then! Need some clubs? I just happen to have an extra set out the back."
A plan is coming together!
-K
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