EASTERN CAPE and PAUA FARMING

I went adventuring to the eastern cape of the northern island. There’s really not a lot there other than forests and a spindly road hugging the coast. Pretty uninhabited and pretty rugged. But it does offer an opportunity to see the first sunrise of the day in the entire world. So I got up at 430, unlocked the gate of the campground drove kilometers down a gravel road and hiked 600 or so stairs to the eastern cape lighthouse, endured blasts of wind, and escaped raindrops, to see the first sunrise… so I am a day head plus six hours of the east coast so I saw the sunrise 30 hours before anyone living on the east coast could possible see it. Doesn’t that thought just blow your mind.


After that I needed a powernap, some eggs, and a cup of tea. And on the road again – more eastern cape and more rugged, uninhabited coastline. I made a random stop to explore some caves. First of all it was pouring, second of all I had to hike a near vertical sheep field dodging sheep poo and thistles, cross a newly tilled muddy field and then descend a pleasant staircase into the caves. There were a few glowworms, a twenty meter passage and two ladders. Interesting. So up the first ladder and across a gaping hole at the top of the ladder and into the passage and into the cave. It was nice, but only in new Zealand could you cross someone else’s land to go spelunking in a public cave with no signs, no gear, no guardrails, and at your own risk. I didn’t go farther than the second ladder bc it was uphill from the ladder and muddy and wet, and I thought I could go up, but didn’t think sliding down the hill and hoping to catch the ladder before falling to my death was a great idea. But it was a consideration. So back up the stairs, across the muddy field, and slippery sliding dodging poo and thistles back to my car – soaking wet and muddy.


From there, I headed to a Paua farm(like pow-wa – like “I got the pow-wa, pow-wa” (long live 6th grade dances)). Pauas are cousins to abalones found on the west coast of the US – you would recognize them by the row of holes along the rim of the shell used for breathing and water powered suction. Pauas though have even prettier insides to their shells and are used to make paua jewelry – you’ve seen it – its blue green and wavy whirly looking. I honestly never knew what paua was and would have never guessed it was the inside of a seashell. In NZ there are three species of paua (of about 160), the blue green kind and two that have mother of pearl inside their shells. So I got a tour of the farm and got to ask a whole ton of geeky questions. These paua were beautiful with blue outer shells and shiny mother of pearl insides – mostly bc they are raised indoors and didn’t have the same algae diet and crusty algae growing on the outside of their shells. I got to touch them, and one of them tried to eat my finger(!) and I asked a lot of questions about filtering, feeding, and stuff.

From there it was off to find accommodation, finally change out of my wet pants and try some Indonesian food. I tried the smorgasbord option and had seventeen to nineteen food dishes (I can’t remember) of various meats (beef, pork, chicken, fish, mussels) and fruits and vegetables served in a variety of ways. It was really delicious and I enjoyed the opportunity to sample Indonesian foods – and so many of them at the same time.