Fourth Post

Hi again, everyone.

I promised you two days yesterday, but the internet promptly went kaput. Today We are uploading from a free site--MacDogfoods--so I hope to get it all in.

So, without further ado, here goes;

Just before we hit the Old Russell Rd (three days ago) we saw this interesting rock formation, below. There was a sign indicating that it was "Haere mai Haere mai Haere mai ra". We intend to look it up when we get home, because the info sign was all faded out.

Limstone Rock Formation Just south of Whakapara (Lord of the Rings, anyone?)

On the road to our next stop, Mangonui, a fishing/tourist town.

 15 km south of Mangonui

Below you can see the Fish & Chip shop Peter told us about. The Red Snapper was AWESOME!! Thanks, Peter!!

Fish & Chip Shop on Stilts!

Inside the fish and chip shop was really neat; the eating area had a translucent cover that was uncovered at dusk (as you can see in the picture below), but during the daylight hours when the hot sun was beating down, they drew a dark blue-green horizontal curtain across the ceiling to shade the paying customers.

Diners enjoying the World's Best Fish & Chips

Below you see a picture of the one who made it all possible...(supper, that is.)

Arrrr...Just TRY and take it from me, mate!

Part of the local charm in the village, is the annual fishing derbies and concurrent drinking binges. An Irishman, named, Paddy, ran the Hotel--the best price in town--and cheap at half the price...literally.

Signage in Mangonui

The view from the second floor Balcony of the Mangonui Hotel was quite picturesque. Various fishing, angling, sailing, and pleasure boats dot the bay, while the vineyards grow silently on the distant hills on the right.

The view from the second floor Balcony of the Mangonui Hotel

The rooms themselves left a lot to be desired, but some upgrades like the new shower was a welcome feature. Below you can see the archaic nature of the rest of the facilities there.

OLD...and only somewhat functional.

Something a bit odd to my mind, is the system of power they have over here. They actually have every receptacle switched, so that if you want power, you have to flip the switch on each separate plug in order for that plug-in to supply juice to your electrical device. Below is just one such plug. The top switches are the newer ones, while the bottom , I'm sure, is vintage. Notice that you have to put the switch in the down position? All the switches are that way here. I'm convinced it's because we're all standing on our heads!

 

Plug-ins at the Mangonui Hotel

One of the cool things we found at this hotel, was the sugar packets with quotes of wisdom on them--a kind of East-meets-West fortune-cookie/sugar-packet idea.

Words of wisdom to leave off with this day

The road out of town. Farewell, Mangonui!