At the very end of March, 2014 GB and I went for a tiki tour around the north. GB always calls our trips away together our safaris but I still think of them as Tiki Tours. In other places you might call it the roundabout way or the scenic route. I've been living in New Zealand long enough to adopt the Kiwi term.
In my most recent post about a visit to Pataua South, GB commented on having visited there with me and a rude sign in a camp grounds. I've been hunting for a photo of that sign. This old brain is really slowing down. It took me ages to remember Labels. Thank heavens for Labels, I really must remember to use them more.
We had taken a side road not far from the river and came to Treasure Island holiday camping ground. It was deserted, the little store all locked up and there were Keep Out signs which I chose not to see because I wanted to see what the grounds were like. But a large sign attached to a tree right beside the entrance stopped me. I think we would have fallen into the mildly curious, slack and idle category, which really isn't all that serious, is it? Or maybe we could have pleaded to be vague and lost. I fall under that heading often enough.
Having taken a photo out the car window, I could hardly declare I hadn't noticed the sign if Camp Mother had suddenly appeared. The reference to Camp Mother is a bit hard to explain, even a lot of younger Kiwis would not understand. The Topp Twins are folk singers and comedians. Camp Leader and Camp Mother are two of their comedy personalities. They have been entertaining Kiwis for over 30 years and I've always found them very funny.
I've seen them live twice. The first time, around 1992/3 is still clear in my mind. It's the only time I can remember where I've stood on a chair to get a better view and hollered and yeehaaed (you have to imagine that word) along with everyone else in the hall. I'm always a bit more restrained than that. But those two sure can yodel.
Oops. Got a bit off the track there. Ah well.
This is another photo taken a couple of days later when I missed a turn to the Flagstaff at Russell and ended up at a little beach on the other side of the hill. We got out of the car for a look around and after a short walk were startled to see this huge ship on the other side of the rocks. Tiki touring at its finest.
