The first night in any new place can always be an adjustment. It usually takes me at least one night to get acquainted with the new surroundings before I can rest peacefully. Sometimes it’s the bed. Sometimes it’s the noises. And sometimes it’s the unknown creatures that may lurk in the room.
In New Zealand, we spent four nights in Auckland and then headed to the Northlands region to spend a week driving around the peninsula and gorgeous beach towns. Our first stop was at a bed and breakfast located halfway between Whangarei and Tutukaka. The house was a charming Victorian style with updated amenities including a nice swimming pool and a veranda just outside our door.
However, shortly after our host showed us our room, we noticed a rather large fly circling the room. Kevin chased it into the bathroom swinging for the fences trying to rid the room of the nuisance. The fly escaped to the window and took cover behind the blinds. Kevin opened the blinds in pursuit but the fly continued to elude swats. Then the buzzing suddenly stopped. Unfortunately for the fly, he flew directly into a well-developed spiderweb in the corner of the window and got stuck!
Kevin thought that was great and claimed victory over the fly without having to lift another finger. At about that time, an enormous black spider dashed from a hole in the window frame and quickly laid claim to the giant fly. Kevin started to give me the play by play but only a few of the significant details suck with me: large spider; eating fly; yikes!
Now, you all know by now that I am not a fan of any type of creepy crawler. Spiders happen to rank high on the creeper crawly list. Nonetheless, I decided to check it out with Kevin’s urging and, sure enough, there was a massive spiderweb behind the blinds as well as a very large black spider in the process of reeling in his dinner. My first instinct was to kill it (or at least ask Kevin to do it). However, after observing the complex web and assuming he’d been there for quite some time, we both came to the conclusion that it was not going to be an easy feat. Heck, it was so large, it could have been the innkeepers’ pet. I didn’t want to kill his pet! So, despite the chills it gave me, I decided I could let the spider go about his business and perhaps he could even rid our room of more flies.
Needless to say, with the spider still lurking in the bathroom, I felt like I needed to sleep with one eye open that night. It added some anxiety to my existing restlessness in a new room, but eventually I was able to close both eyes and fall asleep. Mostly because I knew the spider was well fed and the fact that I swapped sides of the bed with Kevin so he had to sleep closest the infested bathroom!
