The Northland

It was 12:30 at night and I could hear a guy yelling in Hindi. It was very loud. I got out of bed, turned a corner, and sitting in the common area kitchen was an overweight East Indian yelling into the tiny microphone on his ear buds attached to his phone. Obviously he was talking to someone in India. India is a long way from New Zealand so yelling into the microphone is important otherwise the person, in India, might not be able to hear you. Makes perfect sense.

The Indian was surprised when I appeared and I asked if everything was ok. I told him he was kind of loud. He apologized profusely and I returned to my bed in the empty hostel dorm above Sabbis Indian Grill. I was spending the night in Kaoe located in the Northland of New Zealand on a two lane highway. It’s the only road in town and does not have a stop light. Kind of an odd place to be. A truck roared by. I put in my ear plugs and did my best to get a little sleep.

My friend Debbie from England was the reason I traveled up north. She’s been setting herself up with house sitting, pet sitting, and farm sitting situations. She grew up on a farm, is fiercely independent, wants nothing to do with English winters and loves New Zealand. So, she volunteers in exchange for a nice place to stay, food/meals, and misc. perks.

Currently Deb is watching over a good size parcel of land with orchards, olive trees, ducks, chickens, a green house with flowers, and a cat with no tail that likes to kill and eat rabbits. It’s all beautifully situated on a hillside with views of Whangaroa harbor in the distance.

After two nights in Kaeo Debbie got the ok from the owners for me to come up and stay on the property. I hitched a ride with a rough looking character I met at the grocery store otherwise I would have had to walk about 5 miles along a busy road with pack and groceries. I don’t like to hitch and rarely if ever do but New Zealand is still considered about as safe as it gets for hitching a ride.

After spending a week on the Great Barrier Island I ferried back to Auckland for a night then caught a bus to Kerikeri for three nights. From there I hitched a ride to Kaeo for two nights then to Deb’s. To be honest this trip has been up and down for me. Overall things are rolling along fine but I can’t say I am enjoying myself as much as I’d like. The obvious reason is that my father just passed over Christmas and grieving takes time. No matter what I’m doing, whether it be work or play, I am bound to feel out of sorts awhile.

I was never sure about taking this trip in the first place. I have moments when I’m definitely not enjoying myself which makes me feel like I should just cut my losses, save some money, and go home. However, there’s another part to what’s going on. If I go back home I know exactly what I’ll do. I’ll do what I do every time I get home from a trip and that is dive back into work, headfirst. After all, I do enjoying working and money is a necessary evil. However, I’m currently tired, burned out, exhausted and frustrated with my failure to invest more time into creative projects. I keep repeating a familiar pattern over and over. It’s not a bad pattern it’s just not as full filling as it was say a few years ago. I’ve addressed this issue in the blog before. For over a year I’ve a had a torn strip of paper where I’ve written a phrase that says, “Make space for the magic to happen”. I have it sitting on my computer at home. I see it everyday. I can’t remember exactly when I placed the paper there but whenever I see it I think, Tomorrow. What the heck is up with that? Tomorrow?

Well, anyway, seeing Deb has been great. We’ve known each other for 10 years and I figured we have either traveled or crossed paths in 11 countries. It’s always nice to catch up with a good friend you get along with. After a few years you share a little history and the friendship strengthens. The property she is taking care of has a main house at the top and work quarters at about halfway. Deb is up at the main house and I’ve got the quarters to myself which is really nice and quiet. I know I’m a bit sleep deprived so just having a chance to catch up on sleep will do me wonders. I’m still taking it day by day but for the most part feel better about staying in New Zealand for the planned duration. Don’t get me wrong I’ve had some good times and Great Barrier Island is awesome but it’s not one of those kind of trips where everyday is a bucket full of sunshine. I’m more or less grieving in a beautiful place with some good times mixed in while not working myself into ground back home. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. Clear and sunny. About 72 degrees….. The photo at the top of the post is a waterfall I found on one of my walks near Kerikeri.