It’s Good

It’s official—our TikTok channel, if we ever had one (which we won’t), would be called Ice Cream Around the World. The name works for us because, first and foremost, we have so much content. Just this week, we sampled frozen treats at Goose in Matakana, Delish in Russell, Mövenpick in Paihia, The Otehei Bay Restaurant on Urupukapuka Island, and Little ‘Lato in Auckland. The depth of our expertise in this field cannot be overstated. But alas, we are too shy—and too busy sailing, hiking, and learning about New Zealand—to be TikTokers.

Aotearoa, The Land of the Long White Cloud, has completely captivated us. We went into full tourist mode for Zachary’s visit and covered ground everywhere from Sheep World to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

We even went spelunking in the Waipu Glow Worm Caves and saw—you guessed it—zillions of worms, twinkling like stars in the dark caverns.

But because we are who we are, it was the hiking that filled us to the brim.

Urupukapuka Bay to Deep Water Cove to Oke Bay was my favorite day. We woke early to smooth water and sunshine—exactly what we had hoped for—and made the short trip to the start of the trek. With the anchorage all to herself, Gerty had the run of the place, and we were off hiking in no time.

I listened to the boys chatter for hours as I kept pace with my comparatively short legs. Up—way up. Down, down, down. Then up and down again. Infinite, majestic views of the vast horizon, followed by the valley below, until we reached the cliffs: great plunging rock faces on either side of a thin isthmus. We are not afraid of heights, but still. At the lighthouse, thighs burning, we didn’t want the trek to end. So we kept going, all the way to the hut at the edge of the peninsula.

Later, resting in the cockpit with the soles of Zachary’s feet pressed against mine, I thought how brilliant we’d been to keep going. If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have met the three friendly Māori women playing Bananagrams inside the hut. Zachary wouldn’t have seen the Māori letters on the tiles or their chin tattoos up close. He wouldn’t have heard their accent. It’s these chance encounters that make all the difference.

Before we dropped him at the airport, he told us that traveling on a sailboat with your parents is not exactly a vacation. Twinged with panic that we’d driven him crazy, I held my breath for what came next. He said something like this:

“I’m coming to visit you. You just happen to live on a boat in different places. It’s more relaxed than regular travel. We have an amazing experience—like watching enormous spinning dolphins in Oke Bay—and then we sit down at the salon table to play Rummikub or do our own thing for a while. It’s good.”

It is good.
It is very, very good.

Last remarks:

• There will be K-pop Demon Hunters; relish and pickles—both the verbs and the nouns—forevermore; but no more left turns on red.
• Happy Holidays to all!