Boogacres: New Zealand - Kalos Golf - Cape Kidnappers

FINALLY!! It's a sunny day and we are off to the golf course. For the first time this trip, I'm excited about our game at Cape Kidnappers. Cape Kidnappers is positioned along the dramatic New Zealand coastline where the shoreline drops off massive cliffs into the sea.

These are a few of the signature holes at Cape Kidnappers.

Stevie and I have new people to play with today. E.J., a lovely Korean lady from Las Vegas and Midge, also from Las Vegas. I won't go in to detail, but just suffice to say that it was not an enjoyable round. One of the gals was delightful, and a heck of a golfer. The other just mean and hateful. I've asked not to be paired with them again, unless they can get me a prescription for Xanax. It was also a very SLOW round of golf with us waiting on every shot. Just not fun.

We offered to take a photo of the girls playing with us, but they gave a rather curt "NO." and walked away. So Stevie and I took a selfie in this beautiful spot.

While we were waiting to hit, a guy who works at Cape Kidnappers was waiting with us, giving us directions on where to hit the ball. We had plenty of time, so Grant showed me a trick shot. Not with the golf club ... with the iPhone. See if you notice anything unusual about this photo. I can share the secret with you if you want.

This is double trouble!!

After golf, we went to a Gannett Colony on the south end of Cape Kidnappers. The largest and most accessible mainland gannet colony in the world is right here at Cape Kidnappers. These birds are graceful fliers, but very clumsy when walking on land. They dive from high altitude and can swim up to 60 feet deep to catch fish. They are about twice the size of a large Sea Gull.

Gannet

There are thousands of these beautiful birds living here.

These cliffs are opposite the Gannet Colony.

Down below is another Gannet Colony as well as a series of caves. Just breathtaking scenery in every direction here in New Zealand!!

After the bird tour, we had a fabulous dinner with our new friends from San Diego, Diane and Brad, Diane and Dick. Lots of laughs and giggles made up for the crappy round of golf.

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

This morning, I woke up to the sun shining into my window. It's been so long since I've seen sunshine in the morning. This strange bright light streaming into the room gave me a start. I was afraid I'd overslept and missed golf today. But alas, it was only 6:15 a.m.

When I checked my phone, I had 15 texts from folks checking to see if I was still alive. Apparently, there was a volcano eruption in New Zealand yesterday with multiple fatalities. Thank God, I'm still alive and well. I'm so sad about the people who were lost to this freak of nature. The volcano was on White Island, which is several hundred miles north of us.

White Island is northwest of Napier.

I found this photo on line showing the eruption on White Island. This island was a popular tourist destination. They are having difficulties searching for victims because there is an imminent possibility of another eruption.

I’m grateful this spot was not on our itinerary. Also, it’s so nice to know that so many people were concerned about me. Thank you. I hope you know how special you are to me too!!

After breakfast, we headed to the golf course for our final round at Cape Kidnappers. We played today with Diane and Brad, from San Diego. Diane had shoulder surgery and is unable to play, but she can chip and putt and she's an awesome fore caddy, giving us distance to the hole and reading putts.

We had such a nice time playing with Brad and Diane. By far the best round of golf I've had in New Zealand. After yesterday's round, and two previous days of rain golf, I was ready to go home!! So glad we had this match today. AND, I actually played a little better. I wouldn't say that I have the "master move" figured out, but my game today was much more respectable.