Coromandel Peninsula

After high tailing it out of Auckland, we were sick of the seven dollar coffee's and twelve dollar cider's, we drove towards the east side of New Zealand and up the Coromandel Peninsula. Since Piha the weather has been gloomy but we blasted our tunes and headed east with excitement.

Once we crossed over the vast plains filled with cows of all sorts of colors we reached the town of Thames and quickly realized we wanted to move right through it. Morgan read about Cormandel Town so we head north on the Peninsula in pursuit. Although we had some food in our van we figured we would stop for a lunch to treat ourselves with the mussels the peninsula is famous for. We stopped at an adorable little place called the pepper tree and shared two meals. The first, a steak burger with a fried egg on it with a side of thick cut fries, or wedges. The second, a big bowl of green lipped mussels soaked in tomato broth served with a big chunck of crusty bread! The mussels were the biggest we'd ever seen and soon we were full beyond belief.

We decided to venture all the way up to the tip of the peninsula to search for the cheapest camping possible. Past the town of Colville the road is completely unsealed so naturally the forty five minute drive past was a bumpy one. Beyond bumpy it was also terrifying. Most of the road was only wide enough for one car and was filled with steep drops and winding turns.  Because of the large amount of rain, parts of the road were completely flooded and we found ourselves wondering if our sweet van would make it through the waters.

Well it did and we eventually found our way to a small cove at the Northern most part of the peninsula. We made our way to the office and spoke about the Boston bombings with the lady in charge of the site. We had been semi removed from the entire devastation which feels weird. We were left to hear from others or catch something on a television in order to keep ourselves informed. Everyone here has been very concerned with the state of Boston which makes us feel quite at home. The events have really caused heartbreak worldwide.

So we found ourselves in a mountainous cove with one other female camper. I walked down to the rocky waters in my raincoat and was feeling overwhelmed in general. The ominous weather didn't help. Morgan read, I journaled, we skipped dinner and went to bed early. As I was feeling homesick and anxious as could be, I quickly found remedy in a good night's rest.

The following morning we woke to some dry weather and felt grateful, however brief it would be. We went back to Coromandel Town and found a little and adorable coffee shop with free wi-fi. There we spent the better part of the afternoon searching for jobs and drinking way too much caffeine. I also indulged in a delicious slice of chocolate cake. Since arriving here, I have developed a fierce obsession with chocolate! Morgan had better step aside. Ha.

Anyways, the day of job hunting calmed my nerves about being able to last here in NZ. That's how life works really, well for me anyways. From time to time we are confronted with problems or heartache and we must learn how to endure the moments of darkness, trusting that they soon will pass, just as they always do.

We left and headed south towards the Bay of Plenty.