Friday, February 23, 2007

sure is nice here....

Things can sure change really fast in the life of a dirt bag kayaker: with February rolling and my mom’s visit, I have landed a summer guiding job in Norway. That means this week traveling around with my mom will also be my last week in N Zed; then seven weeks at home and I’m off to a Scandinavian summer.
Nancy Coffman, my mom’s formal name, arrived at the Whakatane airport on Sunday morning to wait with her bags outside for five minutes for her tardy son to arrive. That’s me; I got a little lost on the way to pick her up. No worries though, because life is all relaxed here, especially at the Ohope beach house:

photo by mw

Sunday night was a very special evening that we shared with a very special family, the Crawfords. Monique served up a traditional Kiwi lamb roast dinner, which was excellent, nearly as good as the company; who better to welcome mom into the Zealand than Fletcher, Nic, Phoebe, Roza, Luiss, Evan and Monique. Dinner out on the deck overlooking Ohiwa harbor.

photo by mw

We weren’t slowing down despite our relaxed demeanor: next stop the active marine volcano of white island. Not much to really put into words about this trip.

photo by mw

mom running the show inside flight Vulcan:

photo by mw

Helicopter ride out to a very surreal landscape: "an extraordinary place to visit"

photo by mw

Stay with me now, because we are going to move fast through the highlights of this adventure filled week. Next adventure was an evening with Sophe, aka “the doph”, who guided us not only to the best fish and chips I’ve ever had, but also to the glow worm canyon on McLauren Lake. No photo from that paddle, “like floating into the night sky”, but there were some amateur acrobatics at the get-in to kill time waiting for the sun to set:

photo by N Coffman

Next stop, Rotorua. Mom and I enjoyed the cultural and geological wonders of this city, most notably the geothermal public park:

photo by N Coffman

On again we move to the beautiful Coromandel peninsula, a first for me as well. We stayed two nights here in this picturesque costal landscape, where we hiked, surfed, and snorkled (my first snorkling) our way around to the major stops.
Sunset at the overlook:

photo by mw

walking around the cove:

photo by N Coffman

“This one wins the award for most beautiful swimming beach” Nancy. Cathedral Cove:

photo by mw

I got in my last surf of my deep south adventure at Hot Water Beach. Rented a board. Out for an hour. Best surf yet.



photos by N Coffman

I can’t say enough of how excellent a send off this past week has been. I know the sights, sounds, surf, sand, and seriously good times fit all the epic vacation clichés for both mom and myself.
cheers. frowsk.

Monday, February 05, 2007

the latest from the deep south

my nostalgia for my incredible trip with philly bear has kept me from keeping the blog completely up to date. i mean how can you top the adventures that we had together? not possible as of yet. those times are now the past, though; so let's move on, shall we?
i have been staying busy with a relaxed island stride and am looking forward to my mom's visit to the z land that is now less than two weeks away.
i hope all you blog fans are having a wonderful february, wherever you happen to be. keep the sun off your cheeks and the classic cars off the beach.

photo by mw