Off to Whangarei on a Family Visit
By traveltripz on Sep 13, 2007 in Family, New Zealand
The next morning we set out bright and early to drive to Whangarei to see Val’s nephew. Funnily enough Roy is actually 6 months older than his uncle Val.
We stopped for lunch at the Country Kitchen in Wellsford and had really nice fish and chips. The cafe is neat and clean and the staff are friendly and helpful. The food is tasty and there is a good variety available. Well worth stopping when you are travelling north from Auckland.
It was so exciting when we finally arrived, after taking a few wrong turns and having to phone Kay (Roy’s wife) for directions. She directed us to the local shopping centre and sent Roy down to get us.
We got a lovely surprise when we arrived at Roy and Kays house, there was Vals niece Jennifer and her husband Dave. We haven’t seen them for over 20 years and Jenny has always held a special place in our hearts.
In true Kiwi fashion, Kay whipped up a great lunch in next to no time and it wasn’t long before we were all nicely relaxed and finding out all about each others families etc.
The boys and I went for a walk to the beach which is only meters away from the house.
Roy and Jennifer are two of 3 children of Vals eldest sister Joyce, who passed away many years ago. They also have a sister Marilyn who also resides in Auckland.
Val is the youngest and youngest of 7 children, 5 sisters and 1 brother.
Then it was back to the house to catch up on all the family comings and goings.
It has been 40 years since we last saw Roy and Kay. And it is when you meet up again that you kick yourself for letting life get in the way and not keeping in touch.
This is why we took this trip - it was a balm for the soul. We wanted to make sure we visited as many relatives as we possibly could in the short time we had available.
Roy and Kay have 2 children - Steven and Sarah; Jenny and Dave have 7 boys between them, Jenny’s sons Kevin, Mark and Shane and Daves 3 boys Gary Shaun and Mark.
So here are all the happy campers. I finally managed to get the timer to work on the camera so that I could be included in the group photo.
Dave, Kay, Jenny and Roy
All too soon it was time to leave and head back to Auckland. Only this time we have all vowed to keep in touch.
Driving up to Whangarei we passed Maungaturoto, a small town where my uncle and aunty lived when I was about 10 years old. I went to my first real dance at the local church and in those days everyone got dressed up when they went out. I remember wearing a lovely pink gingham check dress with a full skirt, sweatheart neckline and puffy sleeves. I thought I was the belle of the ball, mind you so did a lot of the local young men at the time.
Supper was provided by the local mothers who all baked scrumptous cakes for the occassion.
My aunty and uncle lived on a farm so there were lots of exciting things for a city kid to see and do such as feeding baby lambs and calves, collecting fresh laid eggs and just having fun.
I remember when we went to a place called Glinks Gully on the 90 mile beach in Northern NZ, where we collected Toheroas. These are like a large (6 -7 inch) muscle or clam and they have a really strong tongue with which they dig down into the sand. Toheroas were protected and you were only allowed to take a limited number and you weren’t allowed to put them in a bucket or on sacking. So no sooner had we dug them up than they were madly digging to get away. It was a constant battle to gather enough for a feed.
My aunty put them through the mincer and they were climbing over each other as though they were trying to escape, but that was just my fanciful imagination at the time. We had Toheroa fritters and I can still imagine the taste after all these years. It was one of the best seafood meals I have ever had. Apart from Oysters and Muscles I find most seafood bland.
Apparently they are now a protected species that the Ministry of Fisheries have declared that they can only be collected on one day of the year in Oreti Beach in Southland.
Such a shame really as they also make the most delicious soup.
1 Comment(s)
By Jennifer on Sep 19, 2007 | Reply
Hi there, nice to read about your lovely visit to Whangarei - it was very exciting to see our photos posted.
You are so right, we will continue to keep in touch via emails.
Love and best wishes to you all - Jenny & Dave