North Island Day Eight
Our morning was spent traveling up to Tauranga. We planned to do a walk there, and then head up the Coromandel Peninsula to do another walk that would lead us to Cathedral Cove. It wasn't too far of a drive, but it sure was winding!
We made it to the base of Mount Manganui and lathered up in sunscreen before making our way up. Not only is New Zealand underneath the hole in the ozone layer, Tauranga specifically is at the highest exposure. LATHERIN' UP!! We followed in the general direction of all the people sporting workout apparel and found our way to a walkway that led us basically straight up to the summit. No, it wasn't a super high peak, but an entirely uphill journey is never easy. We stopped not only to catch our breath but to snap some gorgeous pictures too. We are women, aka multi-taskers! Shortly on into our walk, we ran across an open field of sheep. Not at all surprising, this is New Zealand, where sheep WAY outnumber people, but this time was different. They weren't fenced in. The path we walked on (and some other people behind us) went right through the grass they grazed on. They weren't super terrified of people either so you could get fairly close. Closest I've ever been to a sheep! The lambs are super fluffy now and just absolutely adorable! :)
Our morning was spent traveling up to Tauranga. We planned to do a walk there, and then head up the Coromandel Peninsula to do another walk that would lead us to Cathedral Cove. It wasn't too far of a drive, but it sure was winding!
We made it to the base of Mount Manganui and lathered up in sunscreen before making our way up. Not only is New Zealand underneath the hole in the ozone layer, Tauranga specifically is at the highest exposure. LATHERIN' UP!! We followed in the general direction of all the people sporting workout apparel and found our way to a walkway that led us basically straight up to the summit. No, it wasn't a super high peak, but an entirely uphill journey is never easy. We stopped not only to catch our breath but to snap some gorgeous pictures too. We are women, aka multi-taskers! Shortly on into our walk, we ran across an open field of sheep. Not at all surprising, this is New Zealand, where sheep WAY outnumber people, but this time was different. They weren't fenced in. The path we walked on (and some other people behind us) went right through the grass they grazed on. They weren't super terrified of people either so you could get fairly close. Closest I've ever been to a sheep! The lambs are super fluffy now and just absolutely adorable! :)
No more than an hour after our run in with the flock of sheep did we summit Mount Manganui. And boy was it pretty. We walked around the top, admired the views, people watched, and then found ourselves a perfect rock to sit on and take in the views. And that we did. It's like we were perched just over the city, looking down onto it. Yet the other side of us, it looked as though we were floating over the ocean. It was truly breath taking. Totally worth the uphill climb. Oh and I found a delta :)
We continued on our journey to the Coromandel Peninsula which led us down even more winding roads. We jammed to the CD's Megan gave us until we arrived at a crowded parking lot. Luckily we found a spot right away. Someone was leaving just as we were arriving. The day was cloudy, but still warm nonetheless. We grabbed what we needed and headed towards Cathedral Cove. This walk was slightly easier than Mount Manganui, not nearly as much uphill thank goodness! Along the way was a stop at Gemstone Bay, which just radiated with teal blue waters and the most colorful rocks along the shore line. Probably why it's called Gemstone Bay, eh?
Our next turn off before our final destination was Stingray Bay, where Hira sat on giant boulders, taking in the view while I managed to climb over to a small stretch of beach. And guess what?! I skipped rocks. Predictable you could say ;)
We then ventured about another 25 minutes and then down what seemed like 4 flights of stairs before actually reaching the beach that was home to Cathedral Cove. It was sure hard to get a picture without a tourist thought I tell you what. Hira and I are generally used to finding nature kind of off the beaten path compared to most tourists, so this was kind of a weird experience for us. Still a really cool site. We saw a lot of people on our way down to the Cove sporting swim gear and flip flops. It was warm, but I wouldn't necessarily consider this weather beach weather. But then again I'm not a Kiwi, I don't have that extra layer of warmth they all seem to have! And after we arrived home, Hira and I (well Hira mostly) discovered that a short section of a music video was made at the Cove. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's Can't Hold Us. Feel free to check it out! The beach scene where Macklemore is cutting Ray's hair (weird scene I know) is just on the other side of the Cove from where Hira and I were. We would have gone to the other side, but the tide made it hard to do so. But if we would have known that Can't Hold Us contained a scene of Cathedral Cove, we totally would have blasted that song! I bet no one else would have gotten it, but still would have been awesome!
We then ventured about another 25 minutes and then down what seemed like 4 flights of stairs before actually reaching the beach that was home to Cathedral Cove. It was sure hard to get a picture without a tourist thought I tell you what. Hira and I are generally used to finding nature kind of off the beaten path compared to most tourists, so this was kind of a weird experience for us. Still a really cool site. We saw a lot of people on our way down to the Cove sporting swim gear and flip flops. It was warm, but I wouldn't necessarily consider this weather beach weather. But then again I'm not a Kiwi, I don't have that extra layer of warmth they all seem to have! And after we arrived home, Hira and I (well Hira mostly) discovered that a short section of a music video was made at the Cove. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's Can't Hold Us. Feel free to check it out! The beach scene where Macklemore is cutting Ray's hair (weird scene I know) is just on the other side of the Cove from where Hira and I were. We would have gone to the other side, but the tide made it hard to do so. But if we would have known that Can't Hold Us contained a scene of Cathedral Cove, we totally would have blasted that song! I bet no one else would have gotten it, but still would have been awesome!
We finished the day with a drive into Thames, this tiny little town that we only planned to sleep in. The hostel was like an older house, which had a nice feel to it. We checked in with the lady behind the front desk where she asked us the usual questions - how long are you here for, where are you going and where are you coming from. She then asked if we drove or took a bus here. I responded saying that we drove. She nodded and then asked for our car's registration. Hira and I both look at each other in confusion. "Well, it's a rental car, I'm not totally sure where that would be. And it's not registered under our names either." And that slightly panicked response, they lady's shoulders fell and she responded with "Well, girls, the registration can be found..." Oh perfect she is going to tell us. How nice. "...on that plate on the front and back of your car. With the letters and numbers on it." Whew there some serious sass. Thanks. I looked out the window, attempting to see the car. "It's also on the key in your hand." Sure enough, there was a line that read "Reg. #" followed by a series of numbers and letters. Oh. I read them off to her and she jotted them down. When we made it up to our room, we found the two empty beds (shocking, both top bunks) and debriefed. "I'm sorry, isn't your car's registration something entirely different? Do they not call them license plates around here?" Hira turns and agrees with me. Correct me if I am wrong anyone?? I then continued to almost fall over from stepping on shoes scattered all over the tiny room. After surveying the luggage, all of our bunkmates seem to be guys. That's a first.
Before dinner, Hira hit the showers and I killed time in the lounge downstairs. I was going to watch TV, but it was a huge monster TV that still had a VCR player hooked up to it. I felt like I was somehow going to turn it on wrong, so I decided not to mess with it. Behind me, a few guys worked on a puzzle in almost complete silence. Not sure if my presence shut them up or what. I glanced around the room for something to read, and noticed something on the coffee table next to the door. It was then I noticed a furry animal near the doorway. It was a cat! I went slowly towards it to not scare it away. It just looked at me with its expressionless face and mouthed a meow, but I heard nothing. Almost like my cat Molly! She just lets out a kind of squeak. I pet the cat and was surprised to feel the bones of this fluffy long-haired cat. It wasn't necessarily underweight, it just wasn't as chubby as it looked. I mindlessly grabbed the sheet of paper on the table and plopped myself on the couch. The cat continued to look at me until it finally mustered up the energy to come into the lounge. It ended up hopping up on the couch right next to me. Looks like I had some company :) I then glanced down at the paper in my hand to realize it was all in some other language. German maybe? Either way, there was no way I would be able to read it. I set it down on the table in front of me and continued to pet the cat instead until Hira came down from her shower.
When she did, we made some pasta that we'd gotten for free at our last hostel in Rotorua and topped it with the remaining pasta sauce we had. A French woman engaged in some small talk with us while we cooked. Once we were eating, a group of three or four guys (one being SUPER tall) come down and smack two bags of pasta on the counter to cook. I only assumed those were our roomies. I didn't pay much attention to them, but the few times I looked up at them was amusing. One time I look and the pot is boiling over. The next they are looking for a bigger pot so they can add more pasta. Then they almost spill it all trying to get the pasta into the strainer. It was a rough go for them. Mean while, we shot upstairs to lay in bed.
Hira continued to read her book and I typed away at the next daily blog post. Now, having the top bunk bed is totally fine, doesn't bother me a bit. In fact I think the only time I had a bottom one was my very first hostel stay in Invercargill. Anyways, this top bunk was a bit higher than the rest. The rungs of the ladder were placed kind of an awkward distance apart. Hira struggled a little bit from time to time. But as soon as you were up there, everything else on the floor was done for the rest of the night. Too much of a struggle to climb down and get it. We were close to the ceiling that created an echo of our voices. I fell asleep before all the guys came into the room to crash. But all I remember is waking up in the morning to this awful stench of sweaty men and the heaviness of the humidity in the air. Ugh, not such a lovely wake up call.
Thanks for reading and I will write soon!
Before dinner, Hira hit the showers and I killed time in the lounge downstairs. I was going to watch TV, but it was a huge monster TV that still had a VCR player hooked up to it. I felt like I was somehow going to turn it on wrong, so I decided not to mess with it. Behind me, a few guys worked on a puzzle in almost complete silence. Not sure if my presence shut them up or what. I glanced around the room for something to read, and noticed something on the coffee table next to the door. It was then I noticed a furry animal near the doorway. It was a cat! I went slowly towards it to not scare it away. It just looked at me with its expressionless face and mouthed a meow, but I heard nothing. Almost like my cat Molly! She just lets out a kind of squeak. I pet the cat and was surprised to feel the bones of this fluffy long-haired cat. It wasn't necessarily underweight, it just wasn't as chubby as it looked. I mindlessly grabbed the sheet of paper on the table and plopped myself on the couch. The cat continued to look at me until it finally mustered up the energy to come into the lounge. It ended up hopping up on the couch right next to me. Looks like I had some company :) I then glanced down at the paper in my hand to realize it was all in some other language. German maybe? Either way, there was no way I would be able to read it. I set it down on the table in front of me and continued to pet the cat instead until Hira came down from her shower.
When she did, we made some pasta that we'd gotten for free at our last hostel in Rotorua and topped it with the remaining pasta sauce we had. A French woman engaged in some small talk with us while we cooked. Once we were eating, a group of three or four guys (one being SUPER tall) come down and smack two bags of pasta on the counter to cook. I only assumed those were our roomies. I didn't pay much attention to them, but the few times I looked up at them was amusing. One time I look and the pot is boiling over. The next they are looking for a bigger pot so they can add more pasta. Then they almost spill it all trying to get the pasta into the strainer. It was a rough go for them. Mean while, we shot upstairs to lay in bed.
Hira continued to read her book and I typed away at the next daily blog post. Now, having the top bunk bed is totally fine, doesn't bother me a bit. In fact I think the only time I had a bottom one was my very first hostel stay in Invercargill. Anyways, this top bunk was a bit higher than the rest. The rungs of the ladder were placed kind of an awkward distance apart. Hira struggled a little bit from time to time. But as soon as you were up there, everything else on the floor was done for the rest of the night. Too much of a struggle to climb down and get it. We were close to the ceiling that created an echo of our voices. I fell asleep before all the guys came into the room to crash. But all I remember is waking up in the morning to this awful stench of sweaty men and the heaviness of the humidity in the air. Ugh, not such a lovely wake up call.
Thanks for reading and I will write soon!