Cantab in Northland

Well I missed the blog for Friday.  With very good reason I will have you know.  Oceans was rocking, restaurant full, customers waiting for tables, bar humming with that good vibe that you get on Fridays at Oceans. 

Joeren from Dive! Tutukaka was celebrating his birthday at Schnappa Rock, just down the road so all up Tutukaka had that fabulous Friday night feeling.  Not so great for the Saturday Morning buzz.

Not only do I love Fridays but really it has become a bit well known with some of our locals.  It is a chance for us all to catch up after the week and prepare for the weekend ahead.  You will drive into Tutukaka and think "does anyone really live here?"  The answer is a BIG YES and they are awesome.  The fact is that Tutukaka is not just the Marina area, only so many people can live in the direct area.  But Tutukaka and Ngunguru (settlement that is 4k before you get to Tutukaka from Whangarei) are just two small populated areas of an amazing coast and we are going to be blogging about those too!

So we say farewell to Friday and say happy birthday to Jeoren.  Sleep and wake to SATURDAY.  Ohhhhhh how I waited for this Saturday.  It was like the Christmas countdown from childhood.  Crusaders in the final.  The bar staff in red and black, Crusaders Music (Conquest of Paradise).  If you don't know the music we have added on the link below. 

	Vangelis - Conquest of paradise .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

primed to activate from EVERY speaker we could find, TV's operating and the rush of dinner service to get through as everyone tried to gulp down their food before kick off.  And as is typical with the Christmas countdown of childhood, you find you are ready and waiting way before you are able to rip off any paper.  So you wait,............

Finally I got to turn down the CD music (felt like a DJ with our sound system) and pushed the crusaders theme to full. 

For those of you who haven't guessed or don't know, I am 100% true blooded, forever loyal to the Crusaders!  Steve and I may find ourselves anywhere in NZ or the world doing what we do, but our drawers are FULL of red and black gear, we will always cheer for the red and blacks, we will respect the team where we reside but always Crusader fans.  And that is what was great about this final, NZ united!  We were all for those 80 minutes Crusaders fans. 

I won't lie the result was gutting but there was soooo much pride in what the boys achieved. over 300,000 kms traveled, no home ground and the stress of having a homeland that was hurting from the recent earthquakes.  Respect is also given to the Reds with the flooding and the attack of Mother Nature on their homeland.  So if I was being honest it really was a final of two deserving teams.  Both played well and both played a hard game.

As the bar emptied after the game and we started to lock up and prepare for Sunday it was still a good day.

Sunday is Sunday, a day to rest and relax, we have to say good bye to some of our guests but we get to welcome new guests.  Bitter sweet.  And paradise for me was found this weekend in being a part of something wonderful.  I am not trying to shake my promise of finding my meaning of life in every day, but I am being honest.  this weekend it was in so many moments that there are none that have ownership over another.  And I am looking forward to welcoming the new week ahead and our new guests and those returning to visit and stay with us again

Mid Week Wednesday, yeeeee ha



Conference Group at lunch



Today was a day of YAYs.  First we got to welcome our new conference group to Oceans, always a good day when you get to meet new people and share the magic of Tutukaka.  To make it even better they are a great bunch of people so looking forward to seeing them all again tomorrow.

Next, the sun was shining and we had that playful wind again.  So once again you find yourself feeling happier with the sun out, the water sparkles and it seems that you feel just a tad lighter (probably because the extra jacket has been dropped)

Tex Mex Buffet - yeeeee ha!

Next was the fabulous Wednesday night Buffet.  Tex Mex was the taste of the week for our International Buffet night And I mean really the words "Buffet" and "Tex Mex"?  You know that you have to wear stretchy pants to something like that!

By the time the Buffet had started it was cold outside again.  Don't mind it being cold outside when it is night time, I have an electric blanket (which is on and waiting) and it is warm inside and their is a BUFFET!!!!!



Tutukaka Marina

 To finish off the Wednesday of the week I now get to relive the whole thing writing in the blog, so really I got to live today twice:)  A very lucky girl indeed.

Steve and Matt

Today's paradise was found in........walking down to our Marina and taking a photo.  Just the few minutes of quiet time and enjoying the beauty that is Tutukaka. ahhhhh, it really, really is a magical life.

Monday Pub Night at Oceans Tutukaka

So again we find ourselves at the start of the week.  Not a bad thing when you get to live and work in Tutukaka, you hear the usual groan of Monday-itis from others, the weekly plod that starts most working weeks.  But not here.  No sir.

Monday night is Pub night at Oceans.  $15 for a meal including a glass of wine or beer, now that alone is a great reason to welcome Monday.   hmmmmm I hear you say, still that doesn't make for a great Monday, and I reply with the ever famous buy TV quip, "but wait there's more!".  Free pool as well!  Want me to seal the deal for you also?....... Winter outside, cold wind and boats straining against their moorings, but inside?......... the fire is on, the lights are dimmed and when you walk in you can feel your body sigh with relief.  That does make for the perfect start to the week indeed.

Carlie and Lukasz doing the popular Oceans
Coffee thing!

As for what our team is doing, they are doing what they do best, smiling!  And what was I up to today, was writing my emails and doing up the plans for the exciting changes that the new Oceans is about to undertake.  Infact I will be so bold as to say that my Monday flew by, with a flurry.  How many others get to say that!

My meaning of life today, my paradise found was the feeling of accomplishment that today has given me.  Cleared my desk, emptied my inbox and cleaned the office, chatted with our guests, caught up with friends and watched that nasty winter day being denied entry into our warm restaurant and bar.  That has indeed made Monday a good day

Sunday in Tutukaka at Oceans Resort

What a CRACKER of a Sunday.  Really busy in the morning with our coffee machine really having to work hard to keep up, let alone the staff having to tell it what to do!





Then for Lunch was our Sunday Roast Buffet.  With Roast Beef and Chicken, yorkshire puddings, roasted vegetables and all the extra trimmings you would expect.  To top off all that was the most YUMMY Apple crumble.



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The Girls having a well earned coffee break



Thing about working here at Oceans is that after all the guests have had their fill we get to have some afterwards.  I LOVE buffet days.  This Wednesday is our next buffet where I will be wearing my stretchy pants and that is the Tex Mex Americana Buffet.  Yeeee haaaaaa.

Oceans has the bar and bistro area, an a la carte restaurant and a HUGE function room which we call the Tui room on the ground floor.  Then upstairs is the Marina Room,  The best view in Tutukaka, straight up the Marina out to the heads.  From here you can see all the boats coming and going.

Even though we had our Sunday buffet going their was no way we were not going to please the many other guests that came who wanted something a little lighter, so our Lunch menu continued full steam ahead.

 

Upstairs in the Marina Rooms was the first of the movie shows, A bee Movie.  What a fantastic turn out with over 100 people.  Congratulations guys!!!!!!!!!





Then to finish off what has already been a great night, our staff moved the pool table and set up a stage and mic system and prepared for an evening of open Mic.  WOW Tutukaka has some AMAZING talent.  We are doing it again as ALL of the acts I am wanting to hear again and again and again.  So lucky to live here and share what we do with so many wonderful people.





 So as promised I will continue to find my meaning of life everyday.  And my meaning of life is finding today's paradise.  And today's paradise was having such a busy, happy day and watching our customers, our staff and our friends enjoying themselves.



 And with that we are able to say that today is and was indeed a good day.







Friday night in Tutukaka at Oceans Resort Hotel

Well, having come from the big cities and having lived in a few countries now, there is always that outward sigh of relief at the end of the "working" week (Not so much now a-days as the traditional "weekend" seems to have had dissappeared for many families).

There is still an audiable sigh of relief in Tutukaka, for many it means that we are not commuting into Whangarei for our jobs, it means that boats are filled, the sails are lifted and the Marina becomes a buzz of activity again.  Excitedly the boat engines start and are tested ready for a weekend of fishing and/or cruising.  Then as we all start to head back in the general trend is to be at Oceans Bar by 5pm.  The reason for this is the now famous 2 4 1 on beverage and food, going on till 8pm, then the bar singing starts and tourists, visitors and locals all seem to become friends.  There is a general buzz in the bar and there is usually rugby on the TV.  The staff too are excited that it is Friday as it is also our time to catch up with our Friends and Family and hear of the week and weekend to come.  With the fire on, and people creating teams around the pool table, the juke box being loaded with the tunes that we all know and love you know that tonight is a great night to farewell the week of work.

But as always the night has to eventually end and as people dissappear into the dark and the bar is wiped down and the kitchen is cleaned down from a bulging night of guests, the staff too start to head home.  The weekend for the staff is in the middle of our working week, but how could you not want to be working in such a wonderful place, meeting such wonderful people.

So my paradise today was; watching our customers laugh and joke around the pool table, singing Bye Bye Ms American Pie and at the same time the Hurricanes won with a last minute try and conversion.  I am a crusader through and through and you will never get the red and black from this girl, but still it is always nice to see NZ win over Australia.

Tutukaka and Oceans Resort Hotel

So this is the first time, of few that I will admit that this morning was a morning that didn't highlight all the beauty of our coast.  I don't think it really helped with the 5.15am alarm and then driving to town for the BNI Breakfast meeting.

However being a member of the Thursday Chapter in Whangarei definatly has it's bonus's, surrounded by great people and people who support you in your business and you support them. The Networking though valuable can not compare to the friendships and relationships that are made, and it is the later that keeps you going every Thursday.

Coming back to Tutukaka, it was still raining and there was flooding in the farm lands.  You can't help but drive past the cows and horses and feel a little sorry for them in the rain, (think that is the 'city' girl mentality coming through).  With all the rain you would be surprised to read that driving into Ngunguru there is still a lifting of spirits.  I don't know if it is all those NZ baches lined along the water, or the fact that you can see across to that elusive Sandspit, it could be the boats that are moored, straining against their ropes, eager to get back out to the open sea for sailing and fishing.  As Ngunguru is left behind and you start that climb to Tutukaka you know you are coming home.  2 minutes later you start that down hill drive (watch the locals on this hill, we nail it!!!)  And there it is....HOME. 

I must be one of the luckiest people you are going to read about on any blog.  I have two amazing children, soon to celebrate their 8th and 9th birthdays, I get to work with my wonderful husband, Steve and we live here.  Our work is our home, our home is our work. The team we have around us are fantastic, our locals are amazing and supportive and the guests that we welcome are eager to share this wonderful experience.

So what was my paradise found today?  Coming home and getting to work and be apart of something so special.