Bright Blue Day and Twisty Roads

We awaken to a glorious, sunshiny, crisp, bright blue day and look forward to hitting the road north to explore the "Golden Bay" area of the South Island.  We head out of town on Highway 6 and turn off to visit the cute seaside town of Kaiteriteri.  It is really lovely, especially in the bright sunlight.  Hudson is not feeling well and opts to sit in the car while the rest of us walk around.  Paulie and Sam play mini-golf while Annie and I walk along the shore and get a popsicle. Then we enjoy the long zip line and soak up a couple of days worth of sunshine.  Afterward, we return to the car to find it empty and wonder what has become of Hudson???  He shows up and then we realize that Sam's itouch has been left on the bench near the car.  Turns out some honest soul has turned it in to the nearby kiosk and we feel very lucky to have it back.  We wind back through the mountainsides enroute to Takaka.  It is quite a hike to get there and we are all feeling a bit queasy on our stomachs.  We walk around town for a while and poke our heads into a cafe that is playing the Superbowl.  We get an update on the score and then amble about town a bit more.  Today is a national holiday here in New Zealand and is known as Whaitangi Day.  This recognizes the day the treaty was signed between the Maori and the British government giving over the land of New Zealand to the crown.  Not everyone agrees that this is such a great day!  Guess it is kind of like Columbus Day in the US.  We enjoy this town alot and stay as long as we can before returning to the windy paths toward our home in Richmond.  We pass quite a few orchards and stop to purchase fruit at a roadside stand.  We head into town to see if there are any stores open today and it turns out they are all closed.  Interesting difference between here and the US - all stores would have extended hours at home to make the most of a holiday, whereas here everyone is out and about and enjoying the countryside instead of shopping.  We get home rather on the late side and have dinner before retiring for the evening.  Tomorrow is a long travel day to the West Coast and we need to rest up.