Matouri Bay and my lucky lure

Let me start by saying a found a stowaway lure in my camping gear. After my wheel bearing went out I hung it from my rearview mirror and have had good luck ever since.

My lucky charm

So, I woke up at the holiday park in Paihia and decided to make another try to head north up to Cape Reinga.

My first stop was back at Kerikeri where I was first sidetracked a few days ago with an oil change and a job interview. 

In Kerikeri I went to the historic stone house which was pretty but a little boring.

Wishing well at the stone house

Then onto Rainbow  Falls which was another gorgeous waterfall that completely lived up to it's name by having a constant rainbow in its mist.

Rainbow Falls

Rainbow falls from the river

I tried to capture it in my photos, but like most things here, my pictures just don't do it justice.Then I walked along the river for about an hour and a half. It was beautiful and the day was incredibly warm and sunny.  

Looking goofy in front of the falls haha

Then back on the road and on to my first stop for my trek north for the day. The first place in my itinerary was Matouri Bay to see the Rainbow Warrior monument and I'm happy to say I didn't make it any further than that.

I drove down a steep cliff to Matouri bay. It's a tiny bay with a beautiful beach. There's not much in the small, green valley besides the beach and the holiday park campgrounds.

I pulled up in the parking lot. I woke up tired that morning, having a day where all I wanted to do was go to sleep in a soft bed and have a warm room all to myself. One of those days where I wish I could teleport home for 8 hours. Have a beer with friends and sleep in a real house. 

So, I pulled up in the parking lot and thought about just crawling into the back of my car and napping. 

Instead, I dragged myself out of my car and walked over the grassy burm to the beach. 

When I sat down on the beach and looked out into the ocean I saw a pod of dolphins right next to the shore. Swimming, jumping, and slapping the water with the their tails. It was amazing. I've never seen dolphins so close.

If you look very closely, you can see a dolphin tail

I walked up and down the beach trying to get a good photo of them. I think I may have one where you can see a tiny tail or a few dorsal fins, but not much more. 

After about 30 minutes I booked a night at the holiday park and went back to watch the dolphins. There was an older couple digging for shellfish. So I struck up a conversation with them and asked what they were getting and how to cook them. Then I grabbed about 30 for myself with plans to make them for dinner. I'm STILL not sure what they were called, pippers or puppies? I don't know, the kiwi accent can be hard to understand.
When I went to the kitchen to cook them I met about 20 guys. Apparently the New Zealand navy dive team was training at Matouri beach for a few days. They fed me a delicious dinner and invited me to their caravans and chalets for beers. They were all so nice and friendly. There were some Maori's, Canadians, Kiwi's and Australians.

He let me take a pic as long as I promised to blur his face :) And not post it on facebook. AND make sure there were no beers visible.

A handful of them went out after dark on a training mission to clear a landing lane at Matouri beach. The rest of the crew was supposed to try and spot them, with sentries placed along the beach and on the hill.  My mission, as I was told, was to get the rest of the guys at camp drunk and distract them from the team's maneuvers. Mission accomplished.
Although I think it was me they got drunk, but that's a minor detail.
These guys had heaps of seafood they had caught and they cut open a raw, totally fresh sea urchin for me to try. Incredibly tasty, actually.
Apparently the dolphins had been in the bay all day. So I watched a video of some of the guys holding onto the front of their boat underwater and swimming/driving with them. Amazing. There are no words to describe how awesome it looked.
When the mission was over I got to sit in on their debriefing. So cool.
Then it was time to party into the wee hours. I learned some cool kiwi slang, a few points on rugby, how to 2 step, and lots of off-color jokes. I also learned that November 20 is kick a ginger day.  I guess it's from South Park because they were surprised I didn't know about it before. Apparently they take it seriously here and a couple of us were issued fair warning.
I also learned that surprisingly, I have red hair?
A the end of the night, there was just a few of us left standing. One kiwi nicknamed boomhower, cuz you couldn't understand 90% of what he said and the 3 Canadians. They invited me to a Maori beach house to go surfing with them in a few weeks. I really hope I can go.
It was late, and I had plans to get up at 6:30am to tag along with some of the guys out onto their boat to see the dolphins. I gave back the jacket I had been borrowing and the owner gave me his appellate as a souvenir. Bad Ass.

He also sang the Canadian National Anthem

As everyone went to bed I ended up joking about how cold I've been sleeping in my car. One guy was so awesome. He told me to grab my sleeping bag and bunk down in their caravan.  Warmest night in a week.
The next morning it was pouring. So no boat ride for me. Over coffee I exchanged info with some of the guys. They were leaving for a mission in Milford Sound but they're staying near Auckland and we hope to hang out again while they're here. I never made it to the Rainbow Warrior memorial, but it's just a good excuse to come back this way again. What a totally crazy, surprising and amazing day.