Now that we're back on the mainland, we have lots to share. We spent two and a half weeks on Great Barrier Island which is off the northeast coast of Auckland via a four hour ferry ride. There is no central power or water on the island, forcing its residents to be self sustaining. The ferry was a nice ride, some dolphins swam along with us. They say that's a good omen.
Our host Robby was there at Tryphena harbor to pick us up, and we took the half hour journey back to his place through gravel roads. His house is so remote, once you put the car in the carpark, you jump on a 4-wheel ATV to go the rest of the way down his unpaved driveway.
Our host Robby was there at Tryphena harbor to pick us up, and we took the half hour journey back to his place through gravel roads. His house is so remote, once you put the car in the carpark, you jump on a 4-wheel ATV to go the rest of the way down his unpaved driveway.
We settled in, chopped some firewood, played some dice games, and made pancakes with sugar and lemon juice (it was the bomb).
Tending to this stove by night, and baking bread in it made the place feel so warm and homey.
Our view from the dining table was off the wall beautiful at all times of the day.
Tasty salads abounded during our two week stay. Such fresh ingredients from the garden were easily transformed into this...
Robby was growing cucumbers, squash, cabbage, beans, strawberries, tomatoes, spring onions, parsley, radishes, all types of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and various fruit trees. During the day we did a lot of watering, cutting and raking grass, and using the grass to build up the biggest compost pile we have ever seen.
Robby liked to put sea grass over his soil which he collected from the beach. He said that the sea grass helped the plants retain their moisture and grow faster. We went down to the beach to collect some.
The beaches on Great Barrier, though varied, were all gorgeous. We took our first hike, of many, down to Robby's beach (Ship's Bay).
Even kitty followed us all the way there! (This is Hayley's dream scenario).
A special part at Robby's was the toilet. It was detached from the house and opened on two sides. This was the amazing view.
Kitty used to follow us to the toilet sometimes. Kitty ended up leaving us early one morning as far as we could tell. She was no where to be found. She was completely deaf and oh so special. After a week we had already fallen in love with her, so this was a sad part of our stay.
