The driver Natalie is nice - currently giving us a stray briefing here up on One Tree Hill. I think we were here yesterday which works out as the view today's pretty much just of fog. Fitting as apparently the Maori name for Auckland is Land of the Long White Cloud. The group seems pretty chill. This seems promising.
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Just finished another stop enroute to Hahei. First we did a quick stop for coffee which was nice as from what Hope said from her time in the south island they went straight through to lunch. After coffee we passed by a fruit and vegetable stand, before stopping at small shopping mall that had a warehouse (kinda like walmart here) and a super market. It was in a really pretty part of a town called Thames, right by the ocean. I picked up some supplies, but I'm not sure if I shopped very smartly. We stop somewhere again tomorrow, so I can think more carefully about it and restock. We're having a group dinner tonight, so I'm at least covered till then.
I also picked up gloves, a hat and an extra sweater. Which once I stepped back outside I realized I probably won't need - it's supposed to get up to like 14 degrees today, but maybe it'll get colder at night? Or I might ruin some if my other stuff given the bad weather. Or perhaps as we head further south I'll get chilly? The plan at the moment is to possibly send some stuff home once we hit Wellington, so I'm not stuck carrying around winter stuff the rest of my trip. And maybe some of my souvenirs? While I'll be ok weight wise as I'd get the full two suitcases leaving New Zealand, I don't want to be too overloaded getting around by myself.
The countryside and mountains around here are really beautiful - sometimes it looks like a forest from back home, but then you turn a bend and there are these massive palm trees, including the silver fern. It's very relaxing - though perhaps my sleepiness has more to do with my just being moderately sleep deprived.
Anyways, two walks coming up today, including Cathedral Cove - will rest up and hopefully write more later.
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Exhausting walking up Paku Hill in Tauro, a pretty little beach town. Stopped part way with a group of others. Quite steep and hilly. Not to mention muddy. Good pictures though. Apparenty if you climb to the top you're meant to return to NZ within 7 years, so maybe I'll just wait 8 to return.
Just entered Coromandel Forest Park on the way to our hostel. The mountains and forests, and then the ocean just nearby remind me a little of driving in Brazil. Going to rest up now before our next walk to Cathedral cove. Though at least that one is broken up in the middle with natural hot springs at the beach.
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Just having a quick snack before dinner. Got back from the walk from Cathedral Cove, which was beautiful. The view there was beautiful - it would have been nice to take a picnic over. You cant actually walk under the cathedral because of a falling rock warning. The walk getting there was very hard and the trip all around took almost three hours. It was long, mainly uphill, muddy, and never seemed to end. We stopped for breaks throughout, which made it doable, but just barely. I'm definetly not going for the Tongariro crossing walk in a few days time. It's supposed to be the best 1 day walk in New Zealand, but it's like 8 hours and 19 km - if this walk was hard that one would be brutal.
Looks like our group dinner is almost ready. After that heading to hot water beach where you can dig your own little thermal bath. Unfortunately only at low tide which tonight is at 10:20....
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Dinner was good - Natalie made roast chicken with vegetables for dinner, including Kumera (sp?) this NZ potato. We also tried this lemon drink thats apparently world famous here - will try to find out what it was in the am. Dessert was apple crumble, served with custard - which comes in milk cartons here along with Hokey pokey ice-cream - another NZ thing which is apparently Vanilla with honeycomb/toffee bits. Yum.
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Exhausted. Will recap in the am.
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