As promised, Part 2 of the Long Overdue Update!
One main reason to my move to Tauranga/Mount Maunganui was that I haven't yet explored the Northeast tip of New Zealand. This area is called the East Cape. 
It's largely unsettled, lots of Maori land and beautiful untouched coastline. I set off on my Labour Day 3-day weekend for an East Cape Adventure.... or so I thought.
I went clockwise, from Whakatane, on the windy road around, stopping where I pleased for photos and strolls on the different beaches. My plan was to reach Te Araroa by sunset and wake up the next morning to drive the 22km dirt road then climb the 500 steps to the East Cape Lighthouse, the most easterly point in mainland NZ. I wanted to be the first person in NZ (and pretty much the world!) to see the sunrise!
I stopped at Opape Beach...
Saw some neat ferns that were changing color...
And some fun curly ferns...
East Cape is pretty 'backcountry", so it wasn't surprising to see signs like this...
(talk about one-stop shopping-- train your dog to pighunt, and get your books bound while you wait!) :)
This was the town of Hawai. Nope, not a typo--- Hawai! (without the extra 'I")
Whitianga Bay...
There is much debate in this area of the country as oil companies want to do off shore drilling here, and many townspeople are strongly against it. Many residents have crafted protest signs to "Just Say No" to oil drilling. Here are a few of the signs...
My next stop was a tasty one--- at a Macadamia Nut Farm in Whanarua Bay.
They sold homemade ice cream. JACKPOT!
I took a walk with my ice cream through the farm to a beautiful lookout over Whanarua Bay. Beautiful views, delicious ice cream!
On my next stretch of driving, I stopped to check out this twisted piece of metal. I'm pretty sure it's a piece of one of the containers that must've washed ashore from the Rena ship I mentioned in the last blog. Pretty mangled piece of metal, eh?
A few more twists and turns along the road and I came upon the small settlement of Raukokore, where this quant Anglican church sits right on the shore of Papakoe Bay. I was the only person around, the church doors were unlocked, so I had a look inside. Quite a special beachside church!
It was after this stop where my adventure turned into a misadventure. I began to feel nauseous while driving. I thought it was due to the windy roads and my constant looking at maps/guides while driving. I took a break, but that didn't help. The nausea got worse, and then it started raining, so I checked myself into a cabin at a holiday park and laid down on the bunk. Within a few minutes, the vomiting started. And continued allll night long! NO FUN. I think the culprit was food poisoning from that mac nut ice cream. It's never fun to have food poisoning, but even worse to be on your own, in an isolated cabin, in the rain, in a town with just about no cell phone reception! Ugh. But I survived. I was only a few km's away from that lighthouse I wanted to see. The next morning I turned around, drove straight home, and rested the rest of the weekend. Mission aborted. Oh well, I *will* return soon to complete my East Cape adventure!
I was feeling a bit homesick around Thanksgiving (holy CRAP I'm behind on blogging) so I went on a quick 2 day trip to Wellington to see some of my best mates. A few of my running boys were having an Election Party that weekend-- yet another excuse to visit. Even though this Yankee gal can't vote, she can still party!!
The boys (Dave in particular) were busy bottling up some of Dave's home brew beer. Steve is pretending to look like he's helping in the process :)
That Sunday morning, I met up with my name-twin Lyndsay and we hiked to the top of Mount Kaukau, which overlooks the Wellington Harbour. Nice hike, beautiful views!
Me and Lynz resting at the top. You've truly hit the jackpot in Welly when you can wear shorts and sunglasses and don't need a rainjacket!!
I spent my last few hours of my quicktrip to Welly watching Wellington's Pro Soccer (or shall I say "football") team play.... the Wellington Phoenix vs the Syndey Football Club. The Phoenix won! Hooray.
The next two weekends, I was blessed with those same Wellington folks coming up to visit ME in Tauranga!
Lyndsay came for a weekend--- we walked, talked, cooked, shopped, and danced ourselves silly! Here we are on a short stroll out to Leisure Island.
Lyndsay came for a weekend--- we walked, talked, cooked, shopped, and danced ourselves silly! Here we are on a short stroll out to Leisure Island.
The next weekend (did I mention I LOVE visitors??), Dave, Alastair and Steve made the loooong drive up from Wellington. They wanted a beach holiday, but mainly just brought the Wellington wind and rain up with them. We had some good brews, some walking, some tennis, some BBQ and they taught me how to play cricket! It was a great time despite the crappy weather.
Here are the guys looking cleverly curious on the top of the Mount.
So, consider yourself updated on what I was up to in the Mount for the final part of 2011. USA Christmas Holiday and 2012 adventure updates are on their way next!
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