Long Beach

Looking East, the "Long Beach" to your left. To get to the "Blue Lagoon" you would go out that way, and head left (North)



Looking South, across the bay.

On the catamaran I stocked up on 2 x 1.5 litres of water as it is cheaper to buy there than it is at the resorts. I was also not sure if I would be getting lunch when I arrived at Long Beach due to the time, so I had a couple of the cheap yet delicious curry wrap things they sell on the boat.

Turns out I did get lunch when I got here, and enjoyed a great conversation with a honeymooning American couple from San Francisco. First thing I asked them when I discovered where they were from was the result(s) of the Americas cup, but they were in the dark as much as I was. They told me the snorkelling is fantastic here once you get out far enough, which is the hard part. I subsequently attempted it myself later in the day, but didn't seem to get far enough out.

I was the only guest last night, was had its pros and cons, the pro being I got a bure to myself, including having a double bed, which was a nice change from the hard wooden slat beds in the last two places. From what I can tell, I have the room to myself again tonight.

Lunch on the Second Day, rather delicious.

The down side was that it means I have missed out on going to some caves as they need at least three people to do them. They said to talk to the people running the boat, who are also the package people for a refund or something. So this morning I did quite a bit of reading, I finished "Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe" (good, easy to read and get through, but not as good as his other works), started and finished Paul Reiser's "Couplehood" (he was the writer and star of "Mad about  You" on TV in the 1990s with Helen Hunt - ok book, and obviously easily readable, but not a good choice when you are single and lonely on an island... - I actually bought it so I had a book I could swap in a book exchange) I also polished off this weeks NZ TV guide, and a Women's Health magazine I picked up for a dollar (just like a Men's Health really, just ignore the bits about PMS)

Other books I have recently devoured include - Danny Wallace's "More Awkward Situations for Men" (good and readable. Better than the first, but nothing compares to his "Yes Man" and "Friends like these". )

- Dom Harvey (from the Edge radio station)'s "Bucket List of an Idiot" (readable, but random and seems to lack cohesion.

Adulting - a sample, about being an adult, interesting but not sure ill commit the $17 required to get the full iBook.  

I have read the last five books pictured here - I read "A Bit Mental" even before I went away, and "Adulting" was a Sample book (ie 10 or 20 pages of it)

Some of the Books I am yet to read on my iPhone - these were all free, being old books (out of Copyright)

Still to read are the iBooks on my phone (pictured) and "Sales Dogs" which is part of the Rich Dad (Poor Dad) Advisor's series, but isn't motivating to read, I seem to have lost enthusiasm for those books. Just before now I walked down to the other point of the beach to see what was there and have a bit of a swim. On the way back I got talking to one of the locals who actually lives in Wairoa, so we had a good chat, and then he invited me to have a cup of tea with his extended family group, so I did. It was nice to do the local thing, but not in a contrived touristy way. I had to smile when, while we were all sitting on a tarpaulin cross legged having a cup of tea and cake, along came a dog, (not sure if it was a pet or a stray, there seems to be less of a distinction here,) it still had it's man bits - could tell as it came and sat with us, almost cross legged as well, with a look of "can I have a cup of tea too please?" Anyhow the guy next to him gave him two pieces of cake. I've seen a smaller dog who when he saw me yesterday got excited and followed me around. I told him to sit, and considering he didn't understand that, I've treated him with caution as I assume a pet would be vaccinated etc, and would understand that instruction. (The German couple that arrived before I left nick-named him Wilson, after the ball in Tom Hank's "Castaway"

This is facing West, to get to the good stuff you have to get out of the shallows and out to in line with that set of rocks in the middle.

Following that I went for a snorkel - attempting the channel again, this time I started further out so didn't have to swim as far and took a slightly different direction. I was rewarded this time, finding the reef, and subsequently seeing either two white tip reef sharks, or the same one twice (I believe it was the latter). A little bit scary admittedly. Unfortunately my camera had run out of battery by that stage, so I don't have a photo of it, but at the same time I wouldn't want to have my attention focussed on anything but the shark either.

The good thing about snorkelling at the time I did is I could use the sun set as an indicator of time, ie sunset is at 6 (dinner at 7, and time to head in before it gets dark).

Usual routine, dinner (pictured above) read etc, power goes off, sleep, wake at 4 or 5 in the morning, snooze a bit, get up, breakfast.

This morning after breakfast we did a boat trip up the coast to the blue lagoon, made famous by the movie "The Blue Lagoon" starring Brooke Shields. The highlight was snorkelling with the fish and feeding them leftovers from breakfast, which they went metal for, so I may try sneaking some bread away next breakfast.

Hopping on the boat south shortly after lunch.