Once again, even though I was beyond the point of exhaustion, I had trouble getting any good sleep because the bar was raging at full throttle till 2am. I’m growing somewhat accustomed to the sound of a thumping base, but I swear, NY is quieter. The next day, we set off bright and early (I’ve seen more sunrises in the past 2 weeks than I have in my entire life) and headed to the northern-most tip of the island. The weather looked iffy, but it turned into a beautiful day later, so for that I was very thankful. Beautiful beaches just are not the same when the sky is totally overcast.
It was an action-packed day, and a lot of fun. We stopped at a pretty harbor for breakfast.
We then drove for three hours to the top of NZ (Cape Reinga) to view the spot where two oceans meet. That was a very cool sight. Waves from the east crash into waves from the west, and they break over one another in the middle of the sea. From that point, there were amazing panoramic views of a stunningly beautiful beach and the pastures that lead into it. I took some shots and stitched them together in photoshop so you can get an idea of what if looked like up there.
After that, we had lunch at another beautiful beach, and from there headed off to go sand-surfing. I had never seen -sand surfing before, but basically, you hike up a huge sand dune (ow, calves) and body board down the dune. It was really fun, and you can go VERY fast, which scared the crap out of me. When people went up for the third run, I instead grabbed my camera (partly cause the light was really cool, and partly cause even the thought of hiking up the dune again sapped my remaining energy. This is what it looks like. Apparently this is the last season they will allow sand surfing on the group tours, as it is classified as a dangerous activity. Glad I got to do it!
Following the sand surfing, the driver steered the bus onto 90 mile beach, one of the longest straight stretches of beach in the world. The busses are built for some serious off-roading, but there were times when I was pretty sure we’d tip over. Driving along that beach was truly an experience…it’s totally deserted and extremely flat, which makes for a surreal landscape. He stopped the bus and we all got out and stooped into the water to collect fresh oysters which we all ate…raw. I can’t say they were delicious, but they sure were…fresh.
A few more stops and we were back safe and sound at our hostel. I was feeling a little frustrated about the tour, not because it’s not a good tour, but because it’s not the random adventure or independent traveling that I’d been craving. Everything is set out for you, and there’s not a lot of opportunity to stray form the beaten path and do your own thing. I took a walk to check out the sunset over the bay, and got to talking with an older isreali guy who owns a hostel up the road (I swear, the Jews can just sniff one another out). We had a long chat, and he offered to show me the hostel. I came with him, and felt even more annoyed with myself after getting a taste of what I could have been doing. The hostel was so cool. Just a log cabin, in the woods, really, with about 10 backpackers staying in it at any one time. The people there were so nice and so laid-back and interesting (pretty much the opposite of the kind of people on this tour), and some girls even cooked me dinner. All of those travelers were just kind of bumming around, going from place to place with people they met along the way. Now that's how I should have done NZ. However, I only have a month here (actually only 3 weeks left) so it is what it is. Next time I’ll do it right. But what I will do on this trip is make an effort to stay at smaller, less commercial hostels where you can have potentially more interesting encounters (and a much better chance at a good night’s sleep).
Well, I’m headed back to Auckland for the night and then to Mercury bay tomorrow. All I know about Mercury bay is that it’s gorgeous, and that’s enough for me.
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