Kaimoana Tales, Riley 1

She called him ‘Virgil’, so that was his name – Virgil Something.

He was a nice-looking kid. About 14 or 15, straight, dark-brown, well-styled hair with the fringe falling across his eyes. He was constantly brushing the fringe away with his fingertips or flicking his head in a circular motion to clear the eyes. They were friendly, sparkling, blue eyes with just a hint of mischief.

His skin was clear, smooth and soft-looking. It could’ve done with a bit of tan though. The lips were full, red and smiling, showing strong white teeth. The figure, as far as he could tell, was slight and slender – a runner’s build with long limbs. The hands were small but with long, slender fingers – artist’s hands.

Altogether, it was a nicely put together package and definitely worth a second look or two. A nice-looking kid.

There was something more too; some indefinable air about him. Riley didn’t know how he knew, but he knew that the boy he was looking at was gay, no doubt about it. Maybe this was the much-vaunted gaydar kicking in at last?

Not that it mattered, his days of searching for someone and looking for love were over. He’d found it and he was happy with Jacob – more than happy. What he had now was better than he’d ever dreamed of and he’d never do anything to risk losing it.

He could still look though, couldn’t he? The boy was checking him out too, he knew that. He straightened a little and he smiled back at him. He was a good-looking kid. He looked, nice.

Riley sighed and tore himself away, leaving the boy and the woman with him, (a sister?), with their meals out on the balcony. He went back inside to clear a couple of vacated tables. He was meant to be working here, he wasn’t being paid to stand around admiring the customers.

Lots of eye-candy came through here. They came, they ate, paid and left and were never seen again. Shame really. He wouldn’t mind getting to know this boy. Only as a friend, but friends were good, especially if they were gay – like Peter.

Peter was gay and he was a good friend. Riley had had hopes in that direction for a while, but that was before Jacob, and they were hopeless hopes anyway. Peter was, always had been and maybe always would be, totally, hopelessly in love with someone who would never love him. And he knew it.

Relationships could be such a pain! Poor Peter. Riley’s heart ached for his friend every time he thought about it. He wished that he could do something for him. In an ideal world, someone like that boy out there would come into town and Peter would fall for him and forget his impossible dream.

That wasn’t going to happen, but Peter deserved someone. He was a really great kid and Riley loved him, as a friend.

He wiped the tables, straightened the seats and took the empties back to the kitchen to carry on cleaning up out there. The business day would be over soon; the sooner the better. Then he’d be able to escape up the stairs and to the arms of the beautiful boy who was up there waiting for him.

Life was good, it was great actually, but it hadn’t always been like that. As he worked, Riley’s mind wandered back to the beginning – his first day here in Kaimoana. It seemed like years ago, but it was only a few months – a few busy months.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Riley helped himself to a coffee; he took it outside and sat at a table on the wooden deck, in the sunshine, where he could sit and survey the main street, the central business district, of his new town – his new little town.

Damm, it was small! This whole area, every shop, every business, could have been fitted in to any mall in any decent-sized city; and left room to spare. Riley was a city-boy, born and bred. The city was where he belonged, but – no. Thanks to his parents’ total inability to get along together, he was doomed to live here – in Tiny Town.

Two cars went past in the street, heading north, and a van went past the other way. Rush hour?

So, this was it. This was where his life was going to be from now on – for the next couple of years anyway. And what did he have here? He unfolded the pages that he’d printed off from the ‘net, and sat reading them, again.

Page 1. “Only slightly larger than Java, the vast South Island of New Zealand hosts a population of barely one million mainly British-descended inhabitants who, in less than two centuries, have transformed the land into a vast luxuriant pasture, delivering some of the world’s best dairy products.

On the rugged eastern shore, nestled snugly in a sheltered cove on its namesake peninsula is the tiny fishing village of Kaimoana. The vast South Island of New Zealand is dotted with these little treasures – otherwise inconspicuous spots on a sparse map characterised by varicose mountain ranges and dizzying, snow-dusted fjords.

For countless thousands of years, Kaimoana kept a deep secret – a very deep secret. But now the word is out. Only a few hundred metres off shore, the seabed rapidly plunges into a massive submarine canyon well over a kilometre deep. When warm tropical currents flowing southward crash head-on into the cold Antarctic stream heading north, a swirling mass of nutrient-rich water is sucked up from the depths. This marine smorgasbord attracts an array of aquatic mammals, fish, birds and now, tourists.

Other nature-based activities include bushwalking (or ‘tramping’, to use the local vernacular), dolphin swimming, bird watching, surfing, diving, fishing, horse-riding, golf, caving and even local winery tours.

While the Ngati Kuri people have excelled in delivering natural and cultural experiences, the more recently arrived European community have seized the advantage with top quality accommodation and restaurants. While numerous comfortable backpacker hostels cater to the young nomadic types, there also exists a range of quality B&Bs scattered throughout town. Down along the beachfront is a further array of lodging options ranging from motel-style, bungalows and cabins to swank boutique lodges and apartments.

Dining options are likewise numerous with New Zealand’s world-famous cuisine on show at even the most humble café. Whether it is a simple bowl of hearty clam chowder or a more genteel repast, the hardest part will be choosing. For a community of just 3,000 residents, Kaimoana can stand tall as an example of responsible, enriching tourism that treads lightly on the land it so relies upon. And as you gaze in awe at the spectacular scenery and all its surrounding riches, you can feel the earth smile back.”

Page 2. “Kaimoana is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 north of Christchurch.

Kaimoana became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard.

According to the latest, the permanent resident population is 2,172, a 2.03% decrease since the 1996 census. The town is the governmental seat of the territorial authority of the Kaimoana District, which is geographically a part of the Canterbury Region. The District has a land area of 2,046.41 km² (790.12 sq mi) and a 2006 census population of 3,621 inhabitants.

The Kaimoana Peninsular extends into the sea south of the town, and the resulting upwelling currents bring an abundance of marine life from the depths of the nearby Hikurangi Trench. The town owes its origin to this effect, since it developed as a centre for the whaling industry. The name 'Kaimoana' translates to 'food of the sea' ('kai'- food/meal, 'moana – sea’) and the crayfish industry still plays a role in the economy of the region. However Kaimoana has now become a popular tourist destination, mainly for whale watching (the Sperm Whale watching is perhaps the best and most developed in the world) and swimming with or near dolphins. There is also a large and readily observed colony of Southern Fur Seals at the eastern edge of the town. At low tide, better viewing of the seals can be had as the ocean gives way to a rocky base which is easily navigable by foot for quite some distance.

It is also one of the best reasonably accessible places in the world to see open ocean seabirds such as albatrosses.

While technically not part of Marlborough, the town boasts the southernmost winery of the Marlborough region.

The town has a strikingly beautiful setting, as the Seaward Kaimoana mountains, a branch of the Southern Alps come nearly to the sea at this point on the coast. Because of this, there are many walking tracks up and through the mountains. A common one for tourists is the Mt. Fife track, which winds up Mt. Fife, and gives a panoramic view of the Kaimoana peninsula from the summit.

The town is on State Highway One and the northern section of the South Island Main Trunk Railway. The town is served by the Tranzcoastal long-distance passenger train. Kaimoana also has a small, sealed airstrip located 6 Km to the south of the main centre. The Kaimoana airstrip is mainly used for whale spotting tourist flights. It can also be used by small private and charter flights. It is also used five days a week for return flights to Wellington by Sounds Air.

Page 3. “Welcome to Kaimoana.”

‘You’re welcome to it too, Mate! Yadda, yadda, yadda.’

It was a beautiful setting for a town, he couldn’t deny that. Lush, green pastures on the small farms, backed by the bush-clad hills with the white-snow capped Southern Alps rearing up behind them. The Pacific Ocean lay just across the road, the wide, blue bay framed by the hills. At least it was blue on this sunny day with a few white-caps lazily rolling in. The town was, mostly, squashed in between a ridge of low hills and the sea. The main North-South highway and the railway line, (on a viaduct), crossed the end of the main street and curved around to run, north, at the back of the beaches.

He’d checked it out on Google Maps as well. There were a lot of photos attached, so it looked like his mother was right, it was a popular place for tourists. Well, whoop-de-doo! Good for them.

It was all very well for the tourists, they just came here, admired the scenery, looked at the wildlife – the whales, dolphins and seals etc, and then they moved on. They didn’t have to live here, in the middle of nowhere. What the hell did the locals do after they’d finished admiring their surroundings? Nothing?

There was plenty of eating places, a handful of pubs and various accomodation, but no night clubs or anything.

You could go fishing, he supposed, if you liked killing things, but he did not. He was not into that at all. What did that character in the Lord of the Rings say? “If you can’t give life, then you’ve got no right to take it.”

Fair enough too. (Best character in the book and they missed him out of the movies!).

So, of course, his mother was now going to earn their living by selling dead things. She’d bought a fish restaurant/café here in the main street of Kaimoana.

They were going to be living in the owner’s accommodation out the back – just her and Riley. His father didn’t live with them anymore. He wasn’t welcome and he didn’t want to anyway; he was now living with his new boyfriend. Dammit!

That so did not make it easy for Riley. How was he ever going to tell his mother that he was gay as well? She’d freak, he just knew it. She didn’t handle the news of her husband’s being gay, how was she ever going to accept that her son was as well? He didn’t know.

Living with his father was not an option, they didn’t get on, they never had. Too much alike maybe?

So his parents had split up, the family home, in Pakuranga, Auckland, was sold , for a very good price, the spoils divided, and now they were going to live here – in Tiny Town!

Still, he supposed he shouldn’t complain too much. It could’ve been worse, at least they hadn’t finished up living on the West Coast. His mother had considered buying a café in one of the towns over there, in Westpoint. He was so glad that she’d decided against that and bought here instead.

The West Coast towns were miles away from anywhere, it never stopped raining there, and the people – the ‘Coasters’ – were all bloody mad! ‘Feral Inbreds’ the Prime Minister had once referred to them as.

That was not nice. She shouldn’t have done that. People joked and scoffed at the Coasters all the time, but the Prime Minister shouldn’t do it. They were part of her country – just part of it.

Riley sighed, packed up his stuff and went for a walk over to the beach to see what he would see.