Category: Oceania

The second part of my trip is almost over by now – and the Coromandel Peninsula lived up to its reputation with stunning coastal sights. The weather’s been a bit mixed, but I did get to swim in the ocean several times and lay on the gorgeous beach of Cathedral Cove yesterday. That was a great day out – we were seven girls from Switzerland, Germany and Austria to drive to Whitianga from Coromandel Town in two cars.

As mentioned, Cathedral Cove lived up to the hype, but we were a bit disappointed by the famous Hot Water Beach, where the water was barely lukewarm. Still, it’s so beautiful here, I’m so glad I got the chance to see it. It’s been a blessing to have a car, as several of the excursions we did would otherwise have been very complicated and expensive – most notably the beautiful Coastal Walk we did from Coromandel Town, which would have been $85 on a tour. Plus, it’s great to have company! 🙂

Today it’s Anna’s birthday, so we’re taking it easy and will go out for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we’ll start heading South, to be back in Wellington on Sunday. Anna will be staying with me for the few days that she’s in Wellington – I’m quite excited to have my first guest! 🙂

The daytrip up to Cape Reinga (pronounced ‘Ree-enga’) yesterday was great. We got an early start and made lots of stops at different interesting points, like a kauri forest (kauris are the second biggest trees in the world) and of course the famous ‘Ninety Mile Beach’ (which is only 64 miles long, but still very impressive to drive along – on the actual sand, as our bus had four-wheel-drive). We also had the chance to sandboard down a dune before reaching the Cape.

Cape Reinga is one of the most tapu (‘sacred’) places in the country, as the Maori believe that their souls leave the earth from the branches of a tree that grows there. It’s also a very pretty spot with impressive views of where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. Afterwards we had lunch at the beautiful Teputaputa bay. I only wish we’d have had more time there, as I didn’t have the chance to go into the water. (That was the only drawback of this bus tour, the strict timetable.)

Because the tides were in our favour, we were then able to make our way back down Ninety Mile Beach. Our last stops were at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom (where they make beautiful things out of 40 000 yearl old kauri wood, including a staircase inside a gigantic kauri trunk) and a fish and chips place on Monganui Bay.

I do hope my photos from this day will turn out okay – unfortunately I had forgotten to charge my batteries, so I had to buy two disposable cameras and take ‘old school’ pictures for most of the day.

In the evening I saw that Anna (the Swiss girl who’d been in my dorm before) had surprisingly come back, and we met two other Swiss women and enjoyed a nice chat in Swiss German.

Later today I’m going to catch the bus back to Auckland, where I’ll have to spend the night before catching the ferry over to Coromandel. But before that I’m hoping that the sun will come out, as I was planning on going over to the town of Russell with its pretty beach.

The dolphin tour happened, and while it did rain for a while at the beginning, it turned out a really awesome day. We saw several schools of dolphins playing together – an incredible experience. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to go into the water with them, as they had a calf (born only that morning) with them, but it was breathtaking to see them so close and in freedom. Then the tour took us out to the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’, after which we had a lunch break on a nice beach. I even went for a swim in the ocean, my first time since arriving in New Zealand.

In the evening, Charlotte, myself and Anna (a Swiss girl in my dorm room) went out – for Swiss food! There seems to be a Swiss family living in Paihia, as we can see a chalet, complete with Swiss flag, from the hostel! 🙂

Today I went for a lovely hike through Opua forest and then back along the coastal path. I enjoyed some breathtaking views and didn’t even mind the rain so much, as it never got as strong as it was on Thursday. Back in Paihia, I spent some time sitting on the beach (sunny but a bit windy), talking to Roos, a Dutch girl from the hostel, who’ll be studying in Auckland.

Sadly Charlotte and Anna (who I’ll meet again, either in Coromandel next week or the week after that back in Wellington) have both left, but I’m sure I’ll be able to keep myself entertained – tomorrow with a daytrip to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand. It’s going to be a long day, but well worth it, I think.

I really like living here. My two flatmates, Lyannie (who’s moving out at the end of the month) and Jessica, are both very nice, and we’re settling into a comfortable rhythm. I have almost as much freedom as when I was living by myself, but with more space, a tv, no paying for laundry and the possibility to make conversation. 🙂

Other than this I finished my Management paper on Organisational Behaviour today, taking a two-hour exam. Not sure how well I did, but hopefully well enough to pass. In between bouts of studying, I went to a fun free concert of local band Rhombus at the waterfront on Thursday, with a new friend I made when booking my Bay of Islands/Coromandel trip at the local YHA. And on Saturday Silva had a nice goodbye party at her place – with the semester over, both her and Kathrin are going back to Germany after a bit of traveling.

I have a couple of nice pictures, including some more views from my window – I get the feeling I’ll be taking lots of photos of the beautiful sky over the bay in the next few months. But because I’m currently on dial-up internet, I’ll wait to upload them. Hopefully I’ll be on Wireless by tomorrow, as I’m leaving on the train to Auckland early on Wednesday morning. I’m really excited about my trip – Kathrin showed me photos from her and Silva’s trip to the north, and it’s gorgeous up there!

One of my photos (of the Chocolate Fish Café) ended up in an online guide to Wellington.

[tags]wellington, photos, travel, restaurants[/tags]

There was an emergency house meeting just now, because apparently a guy who lived here committed suicide this morning. I don’t think I ever met him, but it is a very disturbing thought that someone ended his life here in my building.

They offer counseling, and RAs (Residential Advisors) will be around, plus a priest will come tomorrow morning and bless/cleanse the place where it happened (a janitor’s bathroom, so not a place most residents ever see). I don’t think I’ll need it, but it does affect me quite a bit. I think it will make it easier to move out.

[tags]bad news, accomodation, suicide, grief[/tags]

This week’s been quite exciting – not only did I have a test on Thursday and am currently writing a 1500 word assignment for tomorrow, but I also had to decide where to move to. The flat I viewed Wednesday evening turned out to be really nice, as was the girl who showed it to me, so suddenly I had two really good options. Admittedly, I was a bit scared to go flatting with two strangers instead of living on my own, but in the end (after a couple of emergency hand-holding phone calls with the parents) I decided to give it a go.

The flat is a bit farther away than I am now, but not much, so I can still walk everywhere. Not only will it be cheaper than getting my own studio, but it’ll also be another new experience for me, as in the past I’ve only lived with my family and with a close friend. I’ll be signing the contract tomorrow evening, so wish me luck! 🙂

In other news, this morning I went to the Christian Revival Church that the guys I met in Wanaka invited me to. I liked it and think I’ll try to go there more often. People there seem very friendly and I’ve exchange mobile numbers with a girl I might have coffee with sometime. But now I should really get offline again – the assignment is only about halfway done…

[tags]accomodation, moving, church, uni[/tags]