(Ricky, Halen, Hayden, Taylor at the base of Mt. Maunganui, with town to left)
The hectic morning of calling, booking, googling, haggling, comparing, and planning for a coast-to-coast trip of New Zealand has finally reached a descending calm. After booking 13 days in a campervan, an interisland ferry, a car rental to get the campervan, and a flight from Christchurch to Auckland, we finally allow ourselves the pleasure to go to Mount Maunganui’s pristine beach on this warm spring day. With flowers in full effect around me, and a light, cool coastal breeze blowing on my face, I get a few minutes of laughter and smiles while I watch Ricky and Halen paddle their rental longboards into the freezing, yet moderately sized surf. Moments like these – moments where I can reflect on the beautiful places and wonderful people I have encountered – make up for the hustle and bustle of coordinating timetables and budgeting for a van to cross the entire “Middle Earth”. There is a bit of uneasiness that comes with the picture of three super dorks driving a right-hand drive, 4-meter long campervan 2,000 km in a foreign country that – for some god-forsaken reason – drives on the left side of the road. But the excitement and giddiness that comes along with 2 weeks of open road and extreme scenery is a small compromise for a little planning and calculated risk.
For the past four days we have been lucky enough to stay at Halen’s friend, Hayden’s “flat” (house for those not down with the New Zealand/UK lingo), among his two other roommates – Emma and Mark. These days have been relatively chill, loosely filled with leasurely biking around Mount Maunganui, shopping in surf shops, cooking for our hosts, a bit of surfing and a lot of sleeping (read SNORING in Ricky’s case) due to the late, but unforgettable, nights spent with our lovely British ladies that couldn’t stop following us in Samoa (see below).
(Harry, the three travelers, Sarah, Faye, Zahra, Laura waiting on a ferry from Savaii to Upolo)
(Mount Maunganui and main beach from on top the Mount)
This picturesque little beach town of Mount Maunganui, just outside Tauranga, has treated us well while we walked its beaches, climbed its mountain, and made new friends with funny accents. Halen and I could see ourselves coming back here once summer gets into full swing in January and working to support our bad habit of travel (I already inquired about working down the street at a bike shop!), but for the moment we are all just trying to take it all in – one of the hardest parts of travel – while hanging out on the other side of the planet, yet feeling right at home.
(Handstands on top the Mount, overlooking the Bay of Plenty coastline)
Alas I have other activities to do on this … “busy” … spring day; Yoga, espresso, fish ‘n’ chips, book reading on soft sand and maybe even a visit to the local hot saltwater pools. Life is hard, but we all have priorities – mine right now is travel!
Love from the land of Kiwis,
Taylor
(Ricky, Halen, Hayden, Taylor at the base of Mt. Maunganui, with town to left)
The hectic morning of calling, booking, googling, haggling, comparing, and planning for a coast-to-coast trip of New Zealand has finally reached a descending calm. After booking 13 days in a campervan, an interisland ferry, a car rental to get the campervan, and a flight from Christchurch to Auckland, we finally allow ourselves the pleasure to go to Mount Maunganui’s pristine beach on this warm spring day. With flowers in full effect around me, and a light, cool coastal breeze blowing on my face, I get a few minutes of laughter and smiles while I watch Ricky and Halen paddle their rental longboards into the freezing, yet moderately sized surf. Moments like these – moments where I can reflect on the beautiful places and wonderful people I have encountered – make up for the hustle and bustle of coordinating timetables and budgeting for a van to cross the entire “Middle Earth”. There is a bit of uneasiness that comes with the picture of three super dorks driving a right-hand drive, 4-meter long campervan 2,000 km in a foreign country that – for some god-forsaken reason – drives on the left side of the road. But the excitement and giddiness that comes along with 2 weeks of open road and extreme scenery is a small compromise for a little planning and calculated risk.
For the past four days we have been lucky enough to stay at Halen’s friend, Hayden’s “flat” (house for those not down with the New Zealand/UK lingo), among his two other roommates – Emma and Mark. These days have been relatively chill, loosely filled with leasurely biking around Mount Maunganui, shopping in surf shops, cooking for our hosts, a bit of surfing and a lot of sleeping (read SNORING in Ricky’s case) due to the late, but unforgettable, nights spent with our lovely British ladies that couldn’t stop following us in Samoa (see below).
(Harry, the three travelers, Sarah, Faye, Zahra, Laura waiting on a ferry from Savaii to Upolo)
(Mount Maunganui and main beach from on top the Mount)
This picturesque little beach town of Mount Maunganui, just outside Tauranga, has treated us well while we walked its beaches, climbed its mountain, and made new friends with funny accents. Halen and I could see ourselves coming back here once summer gets into full swing in January and working to support our bad habit of travel (I already inquired about working down the street at a bike shop!), but for the moment we are all just trying to take it all in – one of the hardest parts of travel – while hanging out on the other side of the planet, yet feeling right at home.
(Handstands on top the Mount, overlooking the Bay of Plenty coastline)
Alas I have other activities to do on this … “busy” … spring day; Yoga, espresso, fish ‘n’ chips, book reading on soft sand and maybe even a visit to the local hot saltwater pools. Life is hard, but we all have priorities – mine right now is travel!
Love from the land of Kiwis,
Taylor
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