February 10, 2014
Not surprisingly, this north-facing bay in the Chamberlain’s area was beautifully lit by the early morning sunlight. This bay seemed to be angled just right to have both beautiful sunrise and sunset scenery. Below, a couple of sunrise photos (click to enlarge any photos in the galleries below).
It was turning into another lovely day, and of course one’s initial inclination might be to stay put and enjoy it, to not rush off. In fact, many boaters (Rich) would do just that. But for those of us on a sightseeing mission (me), a nice day is a day to get busy—to walk, motor around in the dinghy, and often as not, to move to another anchorage. Looking at the big picture, I could see a weather system due to arrive in a few days, which meant now was a good time to move to the Coromandel Peninsula and visit some of its less protected anchorages. After explaining this to weary Rich, he agreed to head on this afternoon. After he looked at the weather for himself, suddenly he was the one most in a hurry to get going.
First, though, I wanted to take a dinghy ride in our anchorage. I not only wanted to see the beach but also have a final chance to spot the special donkeys here on this island.
Their story is similar to that of the famous Chincoteague ponies of Virginia and Maryland in the United States. About 200 years ago, domesticated donkeys had been left to go wild on Ponui Island. Over the years they adapted to this place and in doing so developed unique characteristics. They became light colored, almost white, and thick-bodied with rounded bellies. They are now a prized and rare breed, their bloodlines coveted as people on the mainland are sometimes allow to procure and breed these special animals.
I knew these donkeys were somewhere on Ponui, but it’s a big island and I had no idea where to look. I didn’t have high hopes of spotting one.
We set out in our dinghy and motored along the shoreline, not necessarily planning to make landfall. When Rich commented that there were little horses on shore, I whipped around and realized they were Ponui Donkeys! I told Rich to land pronto, anxious to get onshore before they wandered off. I needn’t have worried—it seems this is where they liked to hang out. (Years later, going through photos of our anchorage, I can see they were visible onshore here the day we arrived, we just didn’t think to look for them here!) Below, photos of the beach.
The donkeys were near the beach by a little outbuilding, and we walked carefully up to them, not wanting to spook them. They were neither skittish nor aggressive, but curious, and it seems they were used to getting handouts. One walked up to us and sniffed Rich’s hand, then another, then the two more came over. After a time, we had several donkeys with us, including a youngster. They sniffed our hands, touching their soft, velvety muzzles to them. What a joy it was to get to see, and touch, these beautiful animals. Below, some photos of the donkeys.
After a time the donkeys wandered down the beach, and we hopped back in our dinghy, going for a ride along the beach and down the headland. We ran across a man on a paddle board and excitedly told him about the donkeys. He seemed to have no idea what we were talking about but agreed to go check them out. I felt sorry that a lot of people probably come here and have no idea how special the “little horses” onshore are. What a shame. Here are more…
Back at the boat, we got ready and pulled our anchor. It was neat to head east and see the white beaches and shallow coves at the far northeast end of the island. Our next stop would be the Coromandel Peninsula. Below, a few photos of this area’s anchorages, too shallow for our boat.–Cyndi
