Tonight I'm sleeping at a stangers

Boy do I have some catching up to do. A lot happens when you are on the move. I have experienced so many feelings and emotions during this time. Because these emotions have changed rapidly based on circumstances, I will try my best to express what I was thinking at the given moment.

On Friday morning I woke up in Coromandel with my mind set on hitch hiking to Whitianga. It has been something I have thought about doing and actually had the desire to try but I didn’t go into it with the confidence I do with most things. I had to mentally convince myself to do it. But I was determined. I was washing dishes after having a delightful breakfast of toast, apple, and peanut butter and began talking to one of the guys from the hostel. Before long, I found out that he was taking two girls over to Hot Water Beach and Whitianga that very day. After inquiring about there being an extra seat, I secured a ride. So much for hitch hiking. Shortly after 11am, Gerald (Korea), Kimra (Germany), Julia (Germany), and myself left. The car was tightly packed and I sat in the front seat with by large pack between my legs and my smaller backpack on my lap. We traveled the 309 road, an unpaved, curvy road. Ten minutes down the road we saw pigs along the roadside. We pulled over and got out of the car to take a look. We each got to hold a 4 day old pig. Remember how I said in the last post how people often go barefoot here? The farmer was barefoot. That’s right. Walking around pig poo barefoot! He may have had the most disgusting feet I have ever seen. I tried discretely to take a picture of his feet. As we continued on our journey, it went from being sunny to rainy. You just never know with New Zealand weather. The rain later died down. When we arrived at Hot Water Beach, the tide was not low so we weren’t able to dig. A little about Hot Water Beach, two hours before and after low tide, in certain places you can dig in the sand and hot water comes up. Instead, we walked along the beach for a bit before heading over to Whitianga.

Holding the four day old pig

The barefoot pig farmer

Kimra, Gerald, and Julia at Hot Water Beach

We all found a place to stay at Turtle Cove for the night. It even included breakfast in the morning which is very rare for hostels. Cha Ching! After leaving my large pack in the room, I made my way to the library. As I was walking in, I saw a sign stating that that was the last day there would be free wifi at the library. Cha Ching! (That’s not a phrase I normally use but that’s kind of how I feel when things like that happen.) I guess it would be better if they always had free wifi but I’ll take what I can get. I took a bit to catch up on things before walking around town more. Side note: You know how when you look at a map of a place, you assume that the towns that are in a larger font are normally bigger in population as well. Not necessarily so in New Zealand. Both Coromandel and Whitianga seem larger on the map but are actually quite small. From what I have heard, Whitianga has a population of 3,500-4,000. Needless to say, it didn’t take long to walk down the whole main street. I walked to the harbor and sat on the dock for a while. There were a fair amount of people around which I learned was because there was a marlin fishing tournament going on this weekend. As I sat on the dock, there was a man carrying a few bags of ice. When he dropped two, I politely offered a hand. Can’t let these large biceps of mine go to waste! I followed him to a boat where he introduced himself and some other men and thanked me for my help. After a short conversation, I was invited to go out with them the following day. They would be leaving at 6am the next morning and would be gone until Sunday evening, sleeping on the boat Saturday night. Without making a commitment, I said farewell and continued on. I definitely had mixed emotions about this. What and opportunity! To go big game fishing for free. It’s not something that happens every day (at least in my life). Yet I also so how much alcohol they were taking aboard and it would be myself and four other guys. If something were to go wrong, I would be at sea and there would be no way of getting back. What’s a girl to do?! I’m sure you are all dying to know what happened. I think I will just stop writing here for the day. Just kidding. I’ll tell you. I’m alive which tells you something.

I contemplated what to do as I made my way back to the hostel. I talked to the manager of the hostel and arranged to have my large pack stored while I was gone. I decided to go. I’m sure you all have different looks on your face right now as you are reading this! After showering and organizing my pack with things I wasn’t going to need, I took my backpack down to the office that evening because I would be leaving so early in the morning. I also used precaution and gave the manager my name, where I was going, when I was expected to be back, who I was with, and the name of the boat. By this time, my stomach was in need of food. Upon recommendation, I walked to Flipper’s. You know what I got?! Fish and chips! The cheapest fish and chips I’ve found so far but so good. I ate it back at the hostel and then called it a night, knowing I would have to be up early in the morning.

After a restless night, I woke up at 5:30am, gathered my stuff, and made it to the ferry dock by 5:55am where they were to pick me up at 6. I waited. And waited. And waited. By 7:30, I gave up. They never showed. Although there was some frustration and disappointment, the way I look at it, maybe it was God’s way of protecting me. I’ll never know. I was already up for the day and didn’t feel like going back to the hostel so I took the ferry across. To my dismay, I would miss the free breakfast. I walked along Front Beach. It was very peaceful and quiet in the stillness of the morning. When the beach came to an end, I walked along the road. I walked for a bit before attempting to hitch hike to Hot Water Beach. I managed to get rides from three different people before making it to my destination. It must have been the loaf of French bread that I had attached to the side of my backpack that gave me the backpacker look. There were already quite a few people at the beach when I arrived. I took a few minutes to take in my surroundings before asking a young man if I could borrow his spade to dig a hole. Instead, he invited me to share the hole that he and his friend had already dug. Want to take a guess as to where they were from? Germany. I think the percentage of Germans I meet may be closer to 75% rather than the 50% I mentioned earlier. If I remember correctly, I have only met seven Americans. I joined Torsten and Klaus, both 27, in the pool that they had dug. Can I just say that the water at Hot Water Beach is HOT! It was hotter than a hot tub in some places. I had to take a few dips in the ocean to cool off. We sat there for quite some time and had a delightful conversation. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together. They had a rental car and we drove to Cathedral Cove where we had a pleasant picnic lunch, sharing what food we had, before making the 40 minute trek down to the Cove. It was beautiful. The combination of the cove, the white sandy beach, and the clear blue green water made it picturesque. We sat on the beach for a bit soaking in the view and the sun. We then walked back to where the trail split, and went to Stingray Bay. Again, very beautiful. We swam for a bit and also used the snorkel gear they had to do a little snorkeling. I’m terrible at snorkeling. It didn’t take many times of getting salt water in my mouth to decide to just use the goggles. Maybe some day I’ll get it. I saw one school of silver fish. Pretty sweet if you ask me. After enjoying their company for the afternoon, we drove to Whitianga where they dropped me off at my hostel and said goodbye. Being in the sun, sand, and salt all day meant this girl was in great need of a shower. Dinner time was approaching and I made my way to Flipper’s for fish and chips once again. It was great. I don’t eat out much but I can’t pass up a great deal like that. I took my food and ate down by the water enjoying the last rays of sun. I journaled at the hostel for a bit before going to bed.

Waiting at the harbor early in the morning

The smallest public library I have ever seen

My view as I walked along Front Beach in the morning

My main reason for showing you this picture is so you can see
the French bread attached to my backpack.

At Front Beach

The pools at Hot Water Beach

The view through Cathedral Cove

The beach at Cathedral Cove

My new German friends Torsten and Klaus

My sleep was much more restful than it had been the night before. I woke up and I enjoyed that free breakfast that I had missed yesterday morning. It was great. I went into the day not knowing what it would look like. Maybe I would leave town today, maybe I would stay. The joy of traveling with no itinerary! Someone that had picked me up while hitch hiking told me about their church so I decided to check it out. I packed my stuff and took the ferry across the estuary where a shuttle picked me up. It was a small church of 30 or so people, many of them related. It was great to be in a church body again. After church I was invited by Bonnie (the one who picked me up) and her husband, Jesse, to have lunch at their house. It was delightful. Bonnie, her daughter, her daughter’s friend, and I went to the beach for a bit before I said goodbye and took the ferry back to Whitianga. I sat by the water for a short time before making my way over to the apartment of another couple that had invited me to stay the night. I was warmly greeted by Trevor and Raewyn who have taken me under their wing like a daughter. We had a wonderful evening of conversation, home cooked food, taking a drive around town, and trying juices native to New Zealand. I am so very blessed by the kindness of others.

This is for you Mom and Dad

Me and Bonnie