So this could be my last blog for a while. I'm joining Stray Bus as aforementioned in my Moby Dick blog. I'm not sure how available internet shall be and how willing I will be to pay crazy money for it. We shall see.
But! Right now I'm have free internet so I'll tell you about my Cape Reinga trip. I took a day trip through AwesomeNZ.com to Cape Reinga on New Year's day after spending New Years Eve on the beach (as expected) with a bunch of Romanians and a Russian (not so expected). It was a fun and chill night. Watch fireworks and chatted. Anywayz. Got up bright and early for the tour and in true NZ style was picked up late. Haha. We had a full itinerary and the entire day took us 12 hours. First, we went to a Kauri forest. Kauri trees, as my super talkative and informative guide told us, used to cover 90% of New Zealand. Now, only 16% of those trees are left. "Why?" I hear you ask quisically, "Because Kauri trees provide the finest timber in the world and are therefore in high demand" I answer. There was a little boardwalk that took us in and around the base of the largest tree found in that area of the forest. Obviously, we treked like good little tourists around the boardwalk and then were off. Our next stop was a little cafe for brunch. Uneventful. We then carried on to Cape Reinga itself. It was absolutely stunning. Both visually and intellectually I might add. Cape Reinga is the northern most point of NZ which was created by the ocean pushing around volcanic rocks, turning those rocks into sand, and dumping it continually on the tip of NZ. It is also the place where the Pacific Ocean and the Abel Tasman Sea meet. It's visually stunning and luckily we had superb sunny weather in which to enjoy its beauty. We did a brief trek around the point and then we were on to my favourite part of the trip.
The next leg was all about the ocean. Good gracious I love the ocean. We went swimming in both the Abel Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean within the span of a couple hours. The waves on the Pacific side were decent size, about 2 or 3 feet I would guess-timate. I got tossed around a bit and it was awesome. I totally did not know how to navigate or anticipate the waves. I saw a big one coming and was like "yay! I'll ride this one!". Um. No. I'll get picked up and dunked and spun around and spat out by this one. It's a heck of a fun ride. So I did it again.
Then we went sand dune sliding. I must take an Oscar moment here and thank my Canadian heritage, genetics, and zeal for adventure for making it possible for me to enjoy sand dune sliding as much as I did. I would also like to thank the years Canadian winters and more specifically the years of freezing cold snow being whipped into my face by the wind as I plummeted down snow covered slopes on a crazy carpet, a tobogan, or even a peice of cardboard. You truly made me capable of pulling up the front of my boogyboard, tucking my elbows in, and lifting my feet so that I could hurtle down the side of a massive sand dune at speeds around 50km/h. Without all of you I would not have been able to shame everyone in my tour group by sliding a solid 100m further than any of them. *cue music* Oh oh oh. I would also like to thank... *speech slides into silence as I'm dragged from the mike and shoved off stage*.
I tackled the Abel Tasman Sea next. It was much more vicious than the Pacific Ocean so I did more of a wading thing. Still, it was cool. Not many people can say they swam in two oceans in one day. Well, actually I bet a lot can, but still. Super cool. After our very short dip we scooted down 90 Mile Beach, and by scooted I mean we drove for about an hour on State Highway 1A aka 90 Mile Beach. Yes folks. The beach is legally the highway. This country is awesome. We saw beached penguins and sharks and pushed two lovely little lady's car out of the sand.
Then we drove off the beach, down a paved highway to a Kauri wood store. There were a ton of carved things and furniture, all at ridiculous prices. I didn't buy anything. Cause I'm cheap. But I did walk up the free staircase. Which was pretty cool because the staircase was carved into the inside of a huge tree trunk. Peter Pan style yo. Please see Facebook for pics.
Our last stop was a fish and chips shop that has its own fishing boat that goes out each morning to catch the fish used for the supper hour. Can you say Yummy? Not very well when you've stuffed your face with delicious fish and chips.
Then I was home. 12 hours later. Totally pooped. Had a nap. Hung out with the Romanians and Russian.
The next day was all beach and cricket and swimming. Well it was all those things til I snagged a bus back to Auckland in preparation for catching Stray Bus tomorrow (4th).
That's All Folks.
Julia
ps. I am now back to blonde hair (thank you New Zealand sun) and my tan has never been darker (thank you New Zealand sun).
pps. I'm currently watching Washington vs Pittsburgh. I love hockey.
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