GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #42

Here's a bit of excitment readers!!
An exclusive from my winter hibernation spot in The Far North.
On Friday morning 20th August 2010 58 Pilot Whales stranded themselves on the west coast of Karikari Peninsula at the remote Karikari Beach.
This location is 3 kilometres on the opposite coast from where I spend winter at Maitai Bay.
This was the scene on Friday afternoon.





Helpers in wetsuits were hard-pressed to keep the animals upright in the surging sea.

A tractor was used to drag the dead whales above the highwater mark for later burial.

Project Jonah and local volunteers made it out to the remote spot where the whales stranded.

The live whales beached in the water were rocked from side to side.

Each surviving whale had a person allocated to talk to it!!!!

Those animals that had stranded highest up the beach were kept wet with buckets of water.

Two of the youngest helpers looked after the smallest whale. This baby calf was thought to be a couple of weeks old. The prognosis was not good, and it didn't see it through the night.

This young girl adopted a baby whale and stayed with it through Friday night.

The Whale Savers decided to transport the surviving whales from Karikari Beach across the narrow peninsula to Maitai Bay.
This was the Saturday morning scene on the calm east coast beach 'my' Maitai Bay.

One of the baby whales survived the night and its girl minder was with it for the refloating. Unfortunately, it was not one of the lucky 9 that made it out to sea.

During the 3 kilometre road journey from the west coast to the east coast of the peninsula the whales were kept wet.

Each whale was lifted off the transportation trailer and gently lowered into the water to refloat.

This is the heavy artillery used for the transportation and refloating.

Very close to kick-off. Thirteen whales had been transported and refloated. Teams of up to 8 people have held each surviving whale in the water for hours prior to releasing them all together. Four kept returning to shore and had to be shot.

A poignant reminder of the 45 whales that died here on Karikari Beach. This sheet covered one of the whales that the volunteers tried to keep alive by dousing it with sea-water. The sheet has been swept by the wind and tide a kilometre away from the stranding.

The graveyard.

Blood stains the pristine white silica sand in the dunes where those that didn't make it now rest in peace.

So ends The Whales' Tale.

Final score - 58 stranded, 13 refloated, 9 made it back to the ocean.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #41

Hello, yet again, faithful reader.
This update has something of an eerie spiritual feel to it. I am revisiting places that began my inaugural journey three years ago.
Sealing of the northern-most road in the land has been completed at last and the drive to Cape Reinga is now a breeze.



My stopover point at the top of the island is the Department of Conservation camp at Tapotupotu Bay, a few kilometres from Cape Reinga.


At the northern end of the beach is the start of the Coastal Walkway which is a 2 hour 30 minute 4.5 km hike to the Cape.

Cape Reinga, 'Te Rerenga Wairua - The Leaping-place of Souls' is of great spiritual significance to Maori.

As a pakeha, I too am moved by the very strong spirit that shrouds the area.

This is a very special place.

Informative plaques which have been cleverly etched into sheets of steel unobtrusively provide a guide to the area.

Legend has it that departing spirits of the dead jump off on their journey to their spiritual home of Hawaiki.

The currents of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean clash here.

A little hard to believe that this visit was made in the middle of winter.

Everywhere else is a long way away.

Down the newly sealed road about 20kms and then about 10kms east on a gravel road is Te Hapua.

Te Hapua's greatest claim to fame is having the northern-most school in the country, also the northern-most Ratana church below.

Back to my favourite hibernation hangout and a chance to do a bit of exploring around the local hills.

This track is through bushy hillside and climbs to give great views of the Karikari Peninsula and beyond.

My special wintering-over place in the Far North, Maitai Bay, is the small bay directly behind me. The other beach in the left of the shot is Waikato Bay.

In the distant background is Houhora on the Aupouri Peninsula.

So ends another chapter.

Thanks for watching.

Good luck to all your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #36

Welcome back faithful reader!
This version of The Gypsy Gigolo Journal celebrates 3 YEARS ON THE ROAD!!!
You will be treated to some hitherto-unpublished photographic gems, and a bit of reminiscing.
The shot below depicts the scene when The Bus With No Name tried to inconspicuously ease out of Auckland at the beginning of the adventure.
It was defaced by a low-life no-hoper local, masquerading as an artist.

If only our highways and by-ways were all like the one below, touring would be absolute bliss!

This one allows the inhabitants of Haast to transport themselves by road to their neighbours in remote Jackson Bay.

The Hawkes Lookout is on the Takaka Hill with its aspect south-east towards Motueka and Tasman Bay.

Shame they got the spelling wrong - our ancestors went to a lot of trouble climbing this big hill half a million years ago.

The glaciers are a highlight of any trip to the west coast of the south island.

Franz Josef always provides a great vista.

Healthy body and mind is my mantra, and the Rail Trail was an appropriate opportunity to hone up my temple-like body!

Lake Hayes, near Queenstown, presented this photograhic opportunity to get a rather remarkable shot of a reflection of The Remarkables.

It snowed a couple of hours later.

This classic ketch 'Enterprise' plies the Hauraki Gulf during NZ summer, then further north in the Pacific later in the year.

The mature lady responded like a young nymph under the skilled helmsmanship of an Old Salt!!

Kite surfing on Whangaparaoa Peninsula near Auckland.

Look carefully at the wire gate and fence and you may be able to make out the bicycles of all shapes and sizes attached.

The farm is near Oruaiti in the Far North.

A tyre blowout at 100 kmph provided a bit of excitement.

The AA man was on the job quickly, and all I had to do was take the photo!

Ensuring maintenance is fully up to date meant having the windscreen replaced.

The beginning of the FOURTH YEAR will see me wintering-over in the Far North.

As spring approaches plans will go into effect for the next visit to the south island.
Thanks for your interest over the past three years, I hope you hang around.
Good luck to you and your families.

GYPSY GIGOLO JOURNAL #35

Welcome back gentle reader.
This is the second and final instalment of the Great Barrier Escape.
Being able to entertain oneself is a prerequisite for Barrier living.
Clever deployment of a cardboard box and some breadcrusts resulted in a very cunning trap for the two rare Pateke ducks that sharp-eyed viewers will see in the left foreground.
I don't understand why this didn't work!

This one of a handful of vehicles that escaped the Barrier Police's campaign to rid the island of dangerous unregistered wrecks. It is compulsory for the driver and passengers to be pissed and/or stoned for their own safety!

Don't be fooled by the 'No Worries' hat, or the apparently relaxed smile - they belie the fact that I am scared shitless up here on the Windy Canyon track. This narrow goat path is a million metres above sea level, swept by howling winds, and no handrail! The beach and estuary in the background is Whangapoua.

Parts of the track through the canyon are very steep and steps are the only means of access.

Rocks around beautiful Harataonga Beach provide a great fishing platform, and in the background is Arid Island. The fish were not co-operative.

Mussels are farmed on the Barrier growing on ropes suspended from buoys in the harbour. The farms provide some of the few job opportunities for locals.
Ropes covered in mussels are winched onboard the barge and after rumbling through a drum to clean off most debris, girls grade out the rubbish and the premium shellfish are bagged. The dross is swept off the deck and transforms into gourmet fare for a huge school of fish on a feeding frenzy.
Fishing was like dropping your line in an aquarium of starving fish. The only skill involved was deciding which ones to throw back. Altough this one easily exceeds the minimum size it, like most of the ones caught, got thrown back.

One of the bigger snapper was a great subject for a successful smoking.

Locals wasting away again in margaritaville.

I had a rare opportunity to host a bevy of Barrier beauties for drinks on a balmy island afternoon. Not all the women on the island have missing body parts or are scary creatures. You will note that I am wearing my 'searching for a beautiful island princess' hat. My unconditional proposal of marriage was spurned by all present - shame!

The ferry calls in to Port Fitzroy once a week delivering passengers, vehicles, fuel, food, alcoholic beverages, and building materials. The locals all head down to the wharf on Tuesdays for their weekly entertainment.

The Island Navigator transported me and my Bus With No Name safely back to the mainland. The great Great Barrier experience is now an indelible memory which will hopefully be repeated before I shuffle off this mortal coil. If you haven't been there, put it on your 'to do' list!

The next adventure is in the planning phase and will finish with another South Island visit in the spring.

Thanks for watching, and very good luck to you and your family.