As we have no real destination and our only real direction is north, we take scenic route after scenic route which never seem to fail us and continue to leave us breathless. The extremely windy roads lead us up Through rolling green hills and then back down to crisp blue beaches. There are even the special moments where you can see it all in every direction possible. Since we can't seem to pick up any radio stations in New Zealand and we foolishly didn't bring any CDs on our journey, we ride in the simple sounds of our sighs, "wows", and "is this really happening?"
After driving a little farther and the sun had completly set, we decided it was time to find a place to park our new home and get some rest. After looking upon maps and maps, tour books on tour books, Mangawhai heads it was and a quaint little campsite right on the water was the winner. Everything was just as we imagined as we planned this adventure. We first stopped in the quite little town at a pizza joint with hungry stomachs. As we scraped up the rest of our cash on hand we were able to get a pizza that just hit the spot. A chili sauce base, salami, chorizo, red peppers and of course jalapeños to really set our mouths burning.
As we get to the campsite and parked our car, it was completely dark at this point so we couldn't really see the beauty around us. Yet, looking up provided all the beauty one could ask for. The stars. Omg the stars. As stars have always been something I have found such beauty and amazement in, I really could not believe my eyes. There were literally more stars then black in the sky. No words or pictures will ever be able to explain the glistening sky.
Although it was only about 9 o'clock, our exhausted bodies were excited and ready for our first night sleep in our van. We crawled in the back, opened our books and asleep we were within 10 minutes.
As the sun started to shine over the water and into our windows, we let out a stretch and decided to see what surrounds us. Glorious beaches and sand dunes, just another morning. After we took some time adjusting and journaling, we threw on our hiking boots and set off on a 3 hour cliff walk.
We first set off along a paved road and down to another beach to get to the actual start of the trail. Stairs, stairs and more stairs to start us off. What have we gotten ourselves into? As we start to get higher and higher we become more and more breathless from both the view upon us and the cliff we're climbing. Once we get to the top it is a mostly steady walk with perfect view of perfect blue beaches, islands in the distance and I, of course, can't leave out the volcanic rocks washed up on shore. After about an hour and a half walk along the cliff, the trail starts to lead us back down to the beach. From here, we climb over rocks and rocks, strategically placing our feet on each stone in front of us, as there is no sandy beach path to get us back to our home. We stop along the way as beautiful stones and shells catch our eyes to add to our fast growing collection of found objects throughout our adventures. If we could figure out how to put post pictures, there would definitely be pictures involved right now.
After about 45 minutes of this, we reach some sand, or atleast somewhat of a steady ground. Picnic time it was. We sat on some rocks still jetting out of the sand every now and then and pulled out our salami sandwiches. They always hit the spot as we sit and take in the beauty we just witnessed and the beauty that is now surrounding us.
Beauty seems to always be around us, and although it may seem to be an exaggeration with everything you may have heard about New Zealand and everything you are reading in this blog, it still is not enough to fully explain what our eyes have seen. From walking around Auckland, to sipping wine at cable vine vineyard, driving away in our van for the first time, stripping down at pakira beach, rainbows, volcanoes, stars, beaches.... Everything in New Zealand is more beautiful then anyone and any picture could have actually prepared me for. Liz and I continue to take it all in and feel extremely blessed for what we are able to witness, explore and experience.
And this is still only the beginning.
Liz and Mo
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