10-09-2020, 11:39 PM
any stress or pressure. He thought of home, his Vijay, and Priya, but he felt positive. He was not thinking much about the mundane aspects of what he had left behind. He knew he needed to focus on his future, and mostly enjoy every minute he had in this country.
As he got back to the lodge around 7 in the evening, John and Martha were sitting in the balcony with a guest, enjoying the sunset and some wine. He parked his car, and as he was walking up to the lodge, John invited him to join them for a glass of wine.
After a day of walking around, he came back to the hotel, packed up his stuff, and prepared to leave early the next day. After a light dinner and half a bottle of a fantastic sauvignon blanc, he was off to bed, dreVijayng of his upcoming adventure. He didn't know what exactly to expect. All he knew was that it was going to be packed with a lot of adventure, photography, walks in the outdoors, and hopefully several more torrid sexual encounters like the one he had experienced with May the night before. This was just the beginning.
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Sri's 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 the 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 for 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 Sri' glance drifted lower, he noticed two top buttons undone on her cream-colored blouse, revealing the most magnificently bulging cleavage. Sri was such a breast man.
Sri 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." Sri 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 Sri 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 Sri a few instructions, Sri sat in the driver's seat to fVijayliarize 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 the 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 Vijayd 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 Sri 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.
Sri quickly turned around to see a man, probably in his sixties, walking towards him.
"You must be Sri. Hi, I'm John." He stretched out his hand
Sri 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." Sri 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 Sri' 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 an 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. Sri 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 asleep.
Sri woke up around 6:30 the next morning, with a cool breeze flowing in through the open door. After several minutes, he managed to pull himself out from under the warm blanket to take a shower and get ready for the day ahead. At breakfast, he met John's wife, Martha, a very hospitable and warm lady, with a clear passion for serving good food. After he was fed with a hearty meal, he packed his things into the car and was off.
It was a bright and sunny morning, with a few clouds that were typical of the region. The tide was low and perfect for the 85 km drive up the coast, and with an SUV like his, it would definitely not be a problem. He hit the beach around 8 am, and slowly made his way up the coast, enjoying every bit of the scenery and the cool fresh air. To his right was the magnificent sea and to the left, lush green wilderness. Sri was right in between, enjoying every second of it, stopping every now and then, to take photographs.
After a couple of hours of driving and listening to music, he pulled off the beach and joined the highway up towards Cape Reinga, the northernmost part of the country. After a short visit to see the lighthouse at the tip and the violent sea, he began driving back south towards Parengarenga Harbour and its white sands and emerald waters. He spent the rest of the day there, going on a long walk through the beaches and forests, taking several photographs of the unique landscape. He had never seen anything like that before, and for him, it was sheer paradise.
At a café, someone recommended him a few more very interesting spots in the area, which he had planned to visit over the next couple of days. He made his way back to the Siesta Lodge, spent the evening in the balcony with some wine and his book, and prepared for a couple of more days of exploring the stunning landscapes.
After a couple of fabulous day exploring the far north of the island with its exotic beaches, coves, and harbors, Sri was almost sad to leave the next day. He couldn't believe it was already the 7th, and he'd been away for a week. Although he knew this was just the beginning of the trip, it was the first destination, and it had a huge novelty value. But knowing there was a lot more awaiting him, he decided to get back to the lodge, freshen up, and hit the local bar.