At the end of February Iain and I took a week off work to spend with Iain's sister Jane and her partner Pete, who were visiting from the U.K. It was great to see them again after three years, and it was exciting for us to be able to show them around our adopted country. Before they arrived in Wanganui they spent a couple of weeks touring round the northern half of the North Island in a camper van.
Iain and I on the jetboat up the Whanganui River
The Flying Fox: view from the deck of Annette and John's house
When Jane and Pete arrived in Wanganui we took them up the Whanganui River by jetboat and stayed at The Flying Fox, which is owned by Annette, a friend of mine from book club. It's difficult to describe The Flying Fox, because there's nothing else to compare it to; it really is unique. It's situated miles from anywhere on the banks of the river, surrounded by native bush. Annette and her partner John have built two guest cottages and a little wagon they call The Glory Cart, or you can camp out in the clearing, under the stars. You can self cater, or do as we did and take advantage of Annette's fantastic cooking. Almost everything is grown on site, in their organic gardens. There's no road access, so the only way to get there is by boat, or via the flying fox across the river, from which the place takes its name. As soon as you step off the boat the place starts to work its magic on you. You can feel your breathing slow and deepen and your blood pressure drop.
The cottage where we stayed
We stayed in one of the cottages, named after the local poet, James K. Baxter, and had our first encounter with a composting toilet. We're thinking of installing one when we build our house, so it was good to be able to try one out. It was a bit whiffy, but Annette explained that this was because the fan had been off for most of the day, because there had been a power cut. When the fan's working there's hardly any smell, apparently.
We spent a very pleasant evening eating, talking, laughing, listening to the cottage's eclectic record collection and (with the exception of yours truly) drinking wine. Iain and I had the upstairs bedroom, and we left the curtains open all night so we could look out at the forest and the stars. The mosquito net above the bed wasn't just for decoration -- we were very glad we had it. At dawn I sneaked outside and practised yoga in the clearing outside the cottage, to the sounds of the river and the awakening birds. It was, as the kiwis are so fond of saying, awesome.
Morning light
After a delicious breakfast courtesy of Annette and some basic canoe instruction from John, we canoed back down the river. Iain and I have been in a canoe together before, and it was not a happy experience*, so it was great to be able to swap partners this time. I sailed with Pete, and once I'd got the hang of steering, everything went smoothly and we had a relaxing paddle, with just a couple of hairy moments, when we hit a log side-on and when we found ourselves going backwards down a rapid. Iain and Jane had a more torrid trip, but miraculously managed to avoid running aground or capsizing.
We made it! At journey's end
Well, that about does it for part 1. I'll post up part 2 in a week's time.
Helen
*the biggest understatement of the millennium
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