Hahei to Thames

This never happens when you do your travel journal the old fashion way. Yesterday I was about ½ way done writing about my travels when Firefox decided to crash and I lost my entire post. I didn’t feel like retyping it so I just shut it off. That means that I will have to write about yesterday and today this evening. Meh.

July 4, 2009: I am definitely on Seattle time still as I woke up at 5:45 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to get up at 6 and walked out into the main area of the hostel to write while everyone else was still asleep. I decided I should see what it’s like to be a morning person before my body fully adjusts and mornings kill me once more. The sunrise was a beautiful purple and I thoroughly enjoyed my morning. Poor Raven was freezing and for some odd reason, the cold really didn’t bother me.

We had breakfast at the hostel before walking down to the beach again. We were trying to find Cathedral Cove, one of the premier places in Hahei to visit but we couldn’t figure out how to get there. No problem, we instead went beachcombing and I decided to give a shell to each of my new students next year. The clam shells on the beach are little and have a pink inside (hence the pink sand). I now have a whole bunch of shells.

After our walk we made breakfast and then got ready to check out and head out to the Hot Water Beach. We drove there and walked along the beach until we came across a large group of people in bathing suits and carrying spades. We walked along the edge of the water and suddenly felt scalding hot water on our feet intermixed with the cool ocean water. There are hot spots on the beach during low tide and when you dig into the sand above such a hot spot, the hole fills up with incredibly hot water. Raven and I didn’t feel the need to sit in the water so we didn’t bother with a spade, just dug small holes with our feet trying to find hot spots. We found one and stuck our feet in, getting enough of the experience to satisfy both of us. We then walked along the beach and took pictures of the green rocks strewed around the beach.

After we left the beach we headed away from the east coast and stopped at a pottery shop and studio. The studio was owned by a couple and they had one employee who was learning about the studio and giving tours. She met us and walked us around the entire complex, showing us the kilns, etc. It was a beautiful property, hugging a bunch of New Zealand bush (forest). As we were walking along the grounds, the woman giving us the tour pointed out the mandarin oranges on a small tree. She invited us to take as many as we wished since the birds were eating all of them. OMG, were they good! Raven and I filled our pockets with mandarins (as did the woman, she was piling us up with them). We met one of the owners as well and then headed back out.

We then headed south to the town of Paeroa. In New Zealand, the town of Paeroa is well known as the home of the L&P soft drink. Their motto is “World Famous in New Zealand since ages ago.” Of course, we had to take pictures of ourselves with a bottle of the beverage next to the giant bottle at the café. Too bad the beverage itself was blah. It tasted like Windex. Still, definitely a necessary stop.

We took a drive along the Karangahake Gorge, which was very beautiful. We didn’t have the chance to stop off at any of the trails along the way as it was getting dark but even our guide book says that it’s one of the most scenic short drives in NZ.

At dusk we arrived in the town of Thames and stayed at the YHA backpacker there. It’s a very old building and the dorms are on the second floor of the building. The room we were assigned to had four beds and one other person was already staying there. We walked in and the other woman had already staked out one of the bottom bunks. There was one more bottom bunk left and two upper bunks. OMG, those upper bunks were HIGH and the ladder was very ridiculous. Somehow I survived! I also got online for the first time since arriving and it was nice to be able to download some pictures and post my blog, which I’d typed up on Word the day before. It was a busy but fun day!