07-02-2019, 03:46 PM
Chapter 3: Northland and Fun With Natalie
Cyrus' alarm went off at 6 am and he bounded out of bed. Within a half hour, he had showered and was downstairs with his luggage. Still a bit too early for a full breakfast, he just had a coffee and a croissant, checked out, and hailed a taxi. It was just a short 10-minute ride to rental car company's city office where he was excited to pick up his Range Rover. He always dreamed of owning one someday, but they were just too expensive back in India.
He paid the taxi, and took his luggage into the office. He had decided to travel light, and only carried one duffle bag and one medium sized bag pack, in addition to his camera bag. He dumped it in a corner of the office and went up to the counter. A pretty, young blonde girl greeted him from behind the counter,
"Good morning, I'm Bianca, may I help you?" She said with a lively smile. She stood fairly tall and lean, with sharp features. Her fair skin accentuated her piercing green eyes and shiny blonde hair, which was tied in a neat ponytail. She was dressed in a typical grey business suit, and as Cyrus' glance drifted lower, he noticed two top buttons undone on her cream colored blouse, revealing the most magnificently bulging cleavage. Cyrus was such a breast man.
Cyrus had to control himself from ogling anymore and quickly moved his gaze back to her eyes. "Oh, uh, good morning Bianca. I'm here to pick up my... uh... car." He managed to say as he handed over the voucher to her.
"Ah, Mr. Mistry." She said, punching a few details into the computer. "Here to pick up a Range Rover, for 2 months I see. Wow, nice long trip."
"Oh ya, planning to explore every corner of this island before heading down to the South."
"Nice. Well, the car will be ready in a couple of minutes. Just need you to fill out these details, then need a copy of your passport and license." Cyrus filled out the necessary paperwork, making sure he had full insurance coverage, and was all set to go. Unfortunately, he couldn't take Bianca with him.
A shiny black, fairly brand-new, top of the line Range Rover pulled up to the front, and Cyrus stared at it almost as intently as he did Bianca a few minutes ago. He couldn't believe he had this thing for the next 2 months. After the attendant did a full check and gave Cyrus a few instructions, Cyrus sat in the driver's seat to familiarize himself with all the controls and gadgets. After he loaded his luggage, he said a painful goodbye to Bianca and was off.
The first stop was at a cell phone store to pick up a pre-paid card. He then fed Ahipara as his destination into the GPS, and followed its instructions out of the city.
Shortly, he was out of city limits, driving further away from civilization, watching the scenery change quickly to forest, lakes, farms and wilderness. He let his mind soak it all in, while ambient lounge played on the multi-speaker stereo system in the SUV.
"Now this is life." He thought to himself as he drove past small towns amid ample open space. It was so pristine and clean, and he got to thinking of how contrasting and different countries in this world can get.
Nearly 2 hours later, he saw signs for Ahipara, and the GPS said he would be at the hotel in a few minutes. He followed the directions and in about 15 minutes he entered the Siesta Guest Lodge just on the outskirts of the little town of Ahipara. It overlooked the forceful ocean and one end of the magnificent ninety-mile beach, and after Cyrus parked, he just stood there for a couple of minutes, hands on his hips, staring out into the open ocean on a glorious sunny afternoon. He was already feeling exhilarated.
"Hello there." He heard a man's voice.
Cyrus quickly turned around to see a man, probably in his sixties, walking towards him.
"You must be Cyrus. Hi, I'm John." He stretched out his hand
Cyrus shook his hand, "Hi John, yes, we spoke a couple of days ago. I was just admiring the stunning view." He said, turning around to look at the ocean again.
"Oh ya, it's beautiful isn't it? You should see the sunset around 8:30 or 9 in the evening. Come, let's settle you in your room and I'll show you around a little, tell you about the area and all that."
"Sure, thanks John." Cyrus took his luggage and followed John into the small lodge. It was very simple and neat and clean, nothing too fancy, and had a warm homely feel to it. It actually was John and his wife's home, which they had converted.
"Here we are. Hope it's comfortable." He said as he opened the door to Cyrus' room.
"Just perfect, thanks."
"So take your time and settle in, and then meet me in the living room. If you'd like, there's some tea or coffee there."
"Would love some, thanks. I'll be out in a few minutes."
He put his bags down, washed up and went to the living room. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat with John to know more about the area.
"I suppose today you can enjoy a walk on the beach, drive into town for dinner and relax. Tomorrow, I recommend that since you have a SUV, drive further north, on the beach. Go visit Cape Reinga, and some of the harbors and bays on the way back. The next day, you can visit Tauroa Point, and some other harbors and bays to the south. There are some nice walks here and a lovely winery as well."
"So it's easy to drive on the beach?"
"Oh ya, just depends on the tide. But it's the best way, and it's not illegal." He laughed.
"Ok, that sounds like a lot of fun. I think today I'll go for a walk and relax a bit. Thanks again John, really appreciate it."
He drove down to the beach and parked in the town of Ahipara, which John had told him was a small Maori settlement. He took a beach towel, took his bag pack and found a nice spot to lie in the sun. After a couple of hours of relaxing, he went for a short jog up the beach and then a quick swim in the frigid waters of the Tasman Sea. He hadn't expected it to be that cold. He dried off, changed his clothes behind a tree, and wandered into town. It was nearly 7 now, and he was getting hungry. He had a quick bite at a local café, bought a couple of bottles of wine from the liquor store and decided to go back to the lodge for sunset.
He planned to open a bottle, sit on the balcony, ready and enjoy the sunset that was supposed to be stunning. After setting up his tripod and camera, he chose a chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc and sat facing the sea. The wine was crisp and light, with just the right amount of acidity. He plugged his headphones into the iPod, played some new-age indie pop he had recently downloaded, and stared out to the ocean.
As the sun began to set, rays of light crashed through the gaps in the cloud, and the sky began to turn hues of pink. He stood up and began clicking, as right in front of his eyes, the pink began changing to shades of orange, deepening by the second, creating silhouettes of everything in his vision. Cyrus kept clicking away as he had never witnessed a sunset like this before. The sea glistened like a sheet of silver, contrasting with the fiery orange sky, as it began changing to nearly a deep red. Soon the sun disappeared but the brightness remained for a little longer. He was able to capture several shots of nearly every moment, soaking in one of nature's most incredible events he had just witnessed.
When it became completely dark, he switched on the balcony light and read for a little longer before deciding he needed some sleep. He left the balcony door open to enjoy the fresh air, and within minutes of climbing under the blanket, he was fast sleep.
Cyrus' alarm went off at 6 am and he bounded out of bed. Within a half hour, he had showered and was downstairs with his luggage. Still a bit too early for a full breakfast, he just had a coffee and a croissant, checked out, and hailed a taxi. It was just a short 10-minute ride to rental car company's city office where he was excited to pick up his Range Rover. He always dreamed of owning one someday, but they were just too expensive back in India.
He paid the taxi, and took his luggage into the office. He had decided to travel light, and only carried one duffle bag and one medium sized bag pack, in addition to his camera bag. He dumped it in a corner of the office and went up to the counter. A pretty, young blonde girl greeted him from behind the counter,
"Good morning, I'm Bianca, may I help you?" She said with a lively smile. She stood fairly tall and lean, with sharp features. Her fair skin accentuated her piercing green eyes and shiny blonde hair, which was tied in a neat ponytail. She was dressed in a typical grey business suit, and as Cyrus' glance drifted lower, he noticed two top buttons undone on her cream colored blouse, revealing the most magnificently bulging cleavage. Cyrus was such a breast man.
Cyrus had to control himself from ogling anymore and quickly moved his gaze back to her eyes. "Oh, uh, good morning Bianca. I'm here to pick up my... uh... car." He managed to say as he handed over the voucher to her.
"Ah, Mr. Mistry." She said, punching a few details into the computer. "Here to pick up a Range Rover, for 2 months I see. Wow, nice long trip."
"Oh ya, planning to explore every corner of this island before heading down to the South."
"Nice. Well, the car will be ready in a couple of minutes. Just need you to fill out these details, then need a copy of your passport and license." Cyrus filled out the necessary paperwork, making sure he had full insurance coverage, and was all set to go. Unfortunately, he couldn't take Bianca with him.
A shiny black, fairly brand-new, top of the line Range Rover pulled up to the front, and Cyrus stared at it almost as intently as he did Bianca a few minutes ago. He couldn't believe he had this thing for the next 2 months. After the attendant did a full check and gave Cyrus a few instructions, Cyrus sat in the driver's seat to familiarize himself with all the controls and gadgets. After he loaded his luggage, he said a painful goodbye to Bianca and was off.
The first stop was at a cell phone store to pick up a pre-paid card. He then fed Ahipara as his destination into the GPS, and followed its instructions out of the city.
Shortly, he was out of city limits, driving further away from civilization, watching the scenery change quickly to forest, lakes, farms and wilderness. He let his mind soak it all in, while ambient lounge played on the multi-speaker stereo system in the SUV.
"Now this is life." He thought to himself as he drove past small towns amid ample open space. It was so pristine and clean, and he got to thinking of how contrasting and different countries in this world can get.
Nearly 2 hours later, he saw signs for Ahipara, and the GPS said he would be at the hotel in a few minutes. He followed the directions and in about 15 minutes he entered the Siesta Guest Lodge just on the outskirts of the little town of Ahipara. It overlooked the forceful ocean and one end of the magnificent ninety-mile beach, and after Cyrus parked, he just stood there for a couple of minutes, hands on his hips, staring out into the open ocean on a glorious sunny afternoon. He was already feeling exhilarated.
"Hello there." He heard a man's voice.
Cyrus quickly turned around to see a man, probably in his sixties, walking towards him.
"You must be Cyrus. Hi, I'm John." He stretched out his hand
Cyrus shook his hand, "Hi John, yes, we spoke a couple of days ago. I was just admiring the stunning view." He said, turning around to look at the ocean again.
"Oh ya, it's beautiful isn't it? You should see the sunset around 8:30 or 9 in the evening. Come, let's settle you in your room and I'll show you around a little, tell you about the area and all that."
"Sure, thanks John." Cyrus took his luggage and followed John into the small lodge. It was very simple and neat and clean, nothing too fancy, and had a warm homely feel to it. It actually was John and his wife's home, which they had converted.
"Here we are. Hope it's comfortable." He said as he opened the door to Cyrus' room.
"Just perfect, thanks."
"So take your time and settle in, and then meet me in the living room. If you'd like, there's some tea or coffee there."
"Would love some, thanks. I'll be out in a few minutes."
He put his bags down, washed up and went to the living room. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat with John to know more about the area.
"I suppose today you can enjoy a walk on the beach, drive into town for dinner and relax. Tomorrow, I recommend that since you have a SUV, drive further north, on the beach. Go visit Cape Reinga, and some of the harbors and bays on the way back. The next day, you can visit Tauroa Point, and some other harbors and bays to the south. There are some nice walks here and a lovely winery as well."
"So it's easy to drive on the beach?"
"Oh ya, just depends on the tide. But it's the best way, and it's not illegal." He laughed.
"Ok, that sounds like a lot of fun. I think today I'll go for a walk and relax a bit. Thanks again John, really appreciate it."
He drove down to the beach and parked in the town of Ahipara, which John had told him was a small Maori settlement. He took a beach towel, took his bag pack and found a nice spot to lie in the sun. After a couple of hours of relaxing, he went for a short jog up the beach and then a quick swim in the frigid waters of the Tasman Sea. He hadn't expected it to be that cold. He dried off, changed his clothes behind a tree, and wandered into town. It was nearly 7 now, and he was getting hungry. He had a quick bite at a local café, bought a couple of bottles of wine from the liquor store and decided to go back to the lodge for sunset.
He planned to open a bottle, sit on the balcony, ready and enjoy the sunset that was supposed to be stunning. After setting up his tripod and camera, he chose a chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc and sat facing the sea. The wine was crisp and light, with just the right amount of acidity. He plugged his headphones into the iPod, played some new-age indie pop he had recently downloaded, and stared out to the ocean.
As the sun began to set, rays of light crashed through the gaps in the cloud, and the sky began to turn hues of pink. He stood up and began clicking, as right in front of his eyes, the pink began changing to shades of orange, deepening by the second, creating silhouettes of everything in his vision. Cyrus kept clicking away as he had never witnessed a sunset like this before. The sea glistened like a sheet of silver, contrasting with the fiery orange sky, as it began changing to nearly a deep red. Soon the sun disappeared but the brightness remained for a little longer. He was able to capture several shots of nearly every moment, soaking in one of nature's most incredible events he had just witnessed.
When it became completely dark, he switched on the balcony light and read for a little longer before deciding he needed some sleep. He left the balcony door open to enjoy the fresh air, and within minutes of climbing under the blanket, he was fast sleep.
Like, Comment and Give Rating.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)