North Island Adventures

We are pumped to have our own transportation now, and we were anxious to get out on the road. Our friends we were staying with, Hamish and Heather, told us about a few beaches and hikes to check out while we were in town. We drove to the Tawharanui and Mahurangi Peninsulas (on the Pacific Ocean) and did some nice hikes that took us along beaches, to the top of cliffs, and through different forests.

The forests have many different trees and bushes than what we are used to at home. Some of their ferns grow to the size of our pine trees, and there is one plant that smells like maple syrup (there weren’t any maple trees there).

Being here in a foreign place is so exciting partly because the wildlife and plant life is so different from what we are used too. Many trails cut through cow and sheep pastures. A simple handclap startles the sheep so they take off running and collide into each other. It nearly puts me to tears every time. 

The hiking along the coastal cliffs offered some amazing views of the crashing waves, beautiful turquoise water, a lonely sea lion, and rocky coastlines. While hiking along the beach we saw more crabs. It’s fun chasing them around and trying to catch them without getting pinched.

It’s amazing, for us Michiganders, how the coastlines vary with the high and low tides. They actually made quite the impact on our hikes (we couldn’t do one due to the high tide). When the tides were low we were able to explore the tide pools and have access to caves and other rock formations that are under water during high tides.

Last Friday we left our friends place on the east coast, and headed out to the west coast (about a 3 hr drive).  Bethels Beach was the first beach we visited and we weren’t prepared for its beauty and power. To start, the beach was a black sand beach. Although it looks like mud, the sand is actually quite soft and it shines tints of blue when the sun hits it. The high winds created 10-15 ft waves that crashed with such power, it was quite intimidating. The surroundings of the beach seemed almost landscaped. Huge mountainous cliffs on each side of the beach with gigantic boulders scattered through out. The only downside was the weather. It was really windy, which made it really cold. It was too windy, too cold and too rough for Jeremy to jump in, but we still loved this amazing experience.

Our first “farm stay” job was/is quite the experience. They hired us because they would like to spend more time with their 7 and 9 year-old sons. We became their gardeners. We weeded their gardens; we dug up and relocated dozens of plants, and then relocated more plants. After that, we relocated some plants. We worked 4-5 hrs a day and in return we got 3 meals a day and a place to sleep (poolside cabana). There were a couple of odd things that we got to experience. All of our meals were organic, which was pretty cool, but we were also informed with great detail about the importance of the meal and its preparation. They were excellent cooks and we ate many interesting foods that we’ve never heard of and can’t pronounce. We also hiked a few recommended trails in the area and traveled to a couple more splendid black sand beaches. They were great hosts and it was a fun and unique experience.

They knew that we wanted to travel and told us to feel free to leave for a couple days and check some places out. We took this opportunity and made plans to leave for about 2 days. Once we told them our plans, they acted as if we were never coming back and gave us a farewell goodbye.  We’re not sure if they were saying goodbye for a few days, or if they really thought we were leaving for good (there’s some miscommunication). Either way, they said to contact them when we’re back and they’ll let us know about any future work.

So we left for what was planned to be a 2-day trip and has now turned into quite a journey.

Picasa Link: Tawharnui Regional Park

To be continued…..