Ok. To begin this post I must say that I will fall completely short of accurately describing this paradise of a place we stumbled upon one sunny afternoon.
After driving north from the Bay of Islands we were fast approaching Cape Reinga where we knew of a few camp sites to settle in. However, on our journey we fell upon a sign for Spirits Bay. During our many hours of reading travel books and imagining places through written descriptions we knew that Spirits Bay could be described as one of New Zealand's most beautiful beaches. As stopping at beautiful beaches and eating our sandwiches had become a pattern in our short trip, we decided to stop here for lunch.
Forty five minutes down a winding and dusty gravel road, we arrived at Spirit Bay campground. Three other cars had set up shop amongst the green pastures and towering dark green hills. We parked our car, quickly suited up, and trotted towards the beach. Soon we found ourselves standing, weak in the knees, before a pristine untouched beach. Smooth white sand, gentle blue waters, and towering green forest behind us... We had arrived.
We ate our salami, apple, and blue cheese sandwiches and got lost in our books as well as our private bay. We sun bathed nude, we took solitary strolls, we drank white wine, and dipped into the water. Periodically Morgan and I would look at each other with nothing to say but with mutual understanding that this moment, this entire afternoon, was one to cherish.
Soon the sun began to set. After referring to my compass we realized that it would set just before us and we waited in anticipation for the giant sun to sink into the water. Soon the sky was not just blue but orange and bright green. The water just below mimicked the same. We took photos of each other and everything in sight during the last moments of the setting sun, when everything the sun touches is flooded with golden hues. The green hills surrounding us quickly faded into a deep green, almost black. The water turned a cold gray and the sun was giant and fiery orange. It soon grazed the horizon and in a few moments, tucked itself behind the sea. What it left behind was dusk, a colored filled sky and rapidly fading visibility.
How connected we felt to the sun. How connected we felt to the Earth.
We quickly made it back to our van to throw together a salad of red pepper, corn, and beets in the last light of the day. Just a short while after, the stars and all of their glory replaced the powerful sun. We were once more put in our place. A place on the northern end of a tiny island on an abundant Earth. Connected to one another, to our families, and to this world. Feeling humbled once again and empowered once more, that everything is so intricately connected. Just as the leaf relies on the sun, so does the bear rely on the winter. Just as the bat relies on nightfall, so does the tide rely on the moon. And so do we rely on this Earth and on each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment