Gary and Sarah have invited Lisa and I to join them for a day of exploration. Kerriann has loads of things she needs to do so she is staying with the dogs at the house. Our destination lies just behind the huge mountain behind the house.
Apart from the dramatic views that can be seen from this angle there is also a 'College of Agriculture' up near the Belvedere look-out point that we would all like to visit. Kerriann has also asked if we can take the water bottles with us to fill, normally she and Lisa cycle up to the sanctioned water outlet with their baskets full of empty bottles but as Sarah and Gary are taking the car we can fill the entire boot and have enough drinking water for the next week!
The drive up to the water taps is short but steep. The water here is tested on a regular basic and treated to make it safe to drink. People arrive with their plastic bottles through out the day and evening, filling and chatting as everyone patiently waits their turn.
The views from even this far up the hill-side are breath-taking. With the bottles full and back in the car we wandered up to the centre and got our directions for the main tour.
We were issued with a map where each stopping place on the map had a written explanation, explaining the whys and wherefores of the area.
We passed huge pineapple fields, some recently planted, some ready for harvest.
I read that the baby plants are taken from the parent plant once it has fruited, you can also grow a pineapple just by putting the cut off top of an ordinary pineapple in the ground like the one Kerriann grew at Ron's house.
We found the pig enclosure where enormous snouts pushed their ways upwards to be stroked.
Some of the pigs were out in the cooling mud and looked very pleased with themselves as they lay caked in the grey mixture.
There were flowers everywhere.
Berries clung to the branches,
tiny blossoms bloomed upon stems.
We walked through the heat of the day,
taking more and more photos of our surroundings.
We found fruit trees,
ancient Maraes, the old places of worship used for so long on these Island
and everywhere we turned more and more incredible local flowers fill our eyes
Up at the lookout point we joined up with some other people to discovered the dramatic view so often portrayed in the brochures.
Both bays on the northern shore can be seen from this point.
The ring that was once the crater wall stretched out all around us.
Many many years ago, the entire northern side of the volcano sank into the sea allowing the water to flood in and form the two bays. 100 miles away this land tilt was balanced by the raising out of the sea of a coral atol. The island as it ihas since become due to its size, rises a straight 100m out of the sea, its coral drop off now its cliffs, its beach now its plateaux.
A large cruise ship lay anchored in Cooks Bay, tiny from this distance yet still impressive in the small bay.
In Opunahou Bay the surf was pushed upon the reef, the differentiated blues marking the different depths.
The beat of the waves could not be heard from here as the birds and insects orchestrated the forest with their own symphony but as we stood looking out to sea we remembered vividly the sound of those waves as they were relentlessly driven ashore. They had become a reassuring back beat to the nights stillness, the light sound of our small delicate waves that brushed across the beach, backed with the heavy timpani beat of these powerful surges were the sounds we slept to every night.
Behind us the gigantic cliffs of sheer rock cut their way our of the undergrowth,
while all around our eyes were met by greenery and statues of such size and grandeur.
Trees that I had never seen before stood proud and tall,
the Shark Tooth Mountain, so named because of it shape and so dominant from our normal view down by the house, became part of the huge circle of volcanic rock laid down so many years ago.
With great reluctance the cameras were eventually stowed and we drove down the mountain to the small supermarket on the far side of Ophunahu bay.
From here Lisa was able to take photographs of the house from a whole new angle,
we laughed that it would possibly be just as quick to swim across as it was to drive!
Fully laden with our supplies of water, bread and fruit we returned to the house.
Upon our return, Kerriann pointed out a lump that had been steadily growing over the
last two days on Rascals side.
If it was still growing by morning she wanted to take her to the vet for a check. Rascals also had a nasty rash spreading over her tummy and legs that needed checking. Ron had agreed to lend her his van to drive her over and so it was with slight agitation that we retired to the decking for the afternoon.
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