Ok all of the posts are just going to be long now, get use to it!

The day we woke up after having dinner with Selena and Raphie had crappy weather so we decided to wait to hike Mt. Maunganui. Instead we went to our favorite place the library for…you guessed it Wifi. We spent a good part of our day in the library mostly because all of our electronics had died and we needed to recharge but also because it rained the entire day. We left the library to go to Leisure Island, a tiny island you could walk to from Mt Maunganui walkway. As we walked up to the island there was a sign that said it was a natural habitat for penguins!!! I freaked, I love penguins. however we never saw any penguins on the island. We made it back to the van to watch a movie and color, because what else do you do when it’s pouring rain outside! For dinner we decided to treat ourselves and eat out at BurgerFule, one of Patrick’s favorite restaurant. On our walk there we ran into Nils (Our German from the food trucks) and all of his man bun glory!! Who would of thought, you meet like 10 people in NZ and you end up running into all of them because NZ is just that small and it’s fantastic! That night we spent the night in Olympic Mike’s drive way, where we got to take a real show and use a real kitchen in a real house…it was beautiful!

The next morning we finally got to climb Mt. Maunganui it was also Mag’s first real hike to test the old ankle. The view at the top was amazing. Someone offered to take our photo when they saw us try to selfie. This is how we learned that we no longer know how to take a regular photo; we are just so awkward about it now, like if I’m not holding the camera where do I put my hands? At the end of our hike we obviously had earned some ice cream so we headed to Copenhagen Cones, where they make the cones right in front of you, Yum!!

We packed up and were off like a herd of turtles to Gisborne! It was about a 3-hour drive and I have come to figure out in order to save Maggie’s sanity I have to distract myself so I don’t talk in the car! So I resorted to reading or coloring, both are extremely effective! I also have finished so many books here while in NZ, it’s amazing what you can accomplish with no TV, radio, or Internet! After hours we made it to our campsite for the night. This was our 1st paid campsite and let me tell you it was a life of luxury. A full kitchen and hot showers, what is this life! The next morning we were up and off again we had a couple more hours of driving to make it to our destination.

Ryan, Trudy’s son, suggested we go to the East Cape Light house, which is at the very tip top of the Gisborne Peninsula. On our way there we pulled over to see some scenic over looks and of course I made Maggie pull over so I could go play on some rocks! On one of our stops a van pulled up behind us and out popped 2 Germans. They just said hello and asked about our travels, it was very backpacker of them; they apparently were also on their way to the lighthouse. We said we might see you there and then I ran to the rocks because priorities. We were so close to the lighthouse only 45 min more so we buckled down and drove the last few minutes!

driving on the edge of an island to get to the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was beautiful and had a great view. To get to the lighthouse however, you had to climb lots of stairs, another test for Mag’s ankle. At the top we did find the 2 Germans! We talked a little said what part of the States we were from and of course we bring up football whenever we can. And get this one of the Germans knew who the Panthers were without me saying a word. So far in NZ everyone freaking loves the Patriots, why I have no idea but gahhh Mags loves it and I can’t stand it!! But this boy knew my little team, he knew the players, he knew Cams dance and personality, he knew our record, and he mostly knew us because we lost the super bowl but hey I’m ok with that!We parted ways because Maggie and I needed to make it to our next campsite before nightfall and we were about 3 hours away from our site.

We pulled into our campsite and immediately felt like frauds. Gisborne is surfer’s country and we are nowhere close to being surfers. There were surfers and surfboards and surf wax surrounding us and then there was Mags and I sitting in the van eating cookies like the frauds we are. The whole point of going to Gisborne, or Gizzy as the locals call it, was to see the sunrise. This isn’t just any sunrise, because of the position of NZ and where Gizzy is in NZ it is the 1st sunrise of the entire world! Max our surfer friend did it right and was here in this spot (that’s how we found the spot, he suggested it) on New Years so he saw the 1st sunrise of the entire year, smart boy!

However because our plans rarely ever work out it was just our luck that, that morning had horrible weather, rain and wind so you couldn’t even see the sun! We decided to stay another night to try again. We spent the day walking around Gizzy going to stores and looking at puppies. We also somehow found ourselves back at a Carl’s Jr. so of course we had to get the milkshakes! We made our way back to camp and set the alarm for 530am again to try to catch the sun.

The thing they don’t tell you about Gizzy is that it is the windiest place ever (correction apparently Wellington is windier…looking forward to that). Mags overheats in just about any weather so we tried to keep door and windows open for as long as we could but every now and then the wind would be so bad and because we were on a beach it would be like desert storm inside the van, sand was everywhere. The next morning we actually got to see the sunrise and it was well worth the wait! We ate breaky, packed up and went into town to find wifi to try to figure out where we were headed next.

After we parked Paggie Waggie we made our way to the library, which was only a 10 min walk away. I have a really bad habit of watching myself walk in windows whenever I pass them; I think this is a very normal thing though and most people do it. However I was looking in the windows and I was like that’s not how I normally walk and I was confused and concerned until I realized I was watching Maggie walk. We had unknowingly dressed in the same exact cloths. This was bound to happen we have a lot of matching articles of clothing!

We decided to head to Napier for a couple of days. It was a 3-hour drive yet again but Mags was tire of driving so instead we risked our lives with my driving. Now I couldn’t very well read and drive so we had to figure out something to keep my trap shut, this is when Mags introduced me to the wonderful world of podcasts! You get to learn things while driving it’s like NPR but actually interesting, it was fantastic!

Napier was beautiful. I got to go for a run and shower so it was off to a great start! We went to the Sunken Gardens and hiked Bluff Hill. The next day we headed to Arataki Honey because you can never have too much honey and we were running quite low. We did all the honey tasting and put all the free samples of the lotions on, well I did because Maggie could be allergic to bees so we didn’t wan to risk it! In the end we ended up buying 2Kgs of honey but we were very seriously considering the bucket of 6Kg honey. We had to talk ourselves out of it, it took a good 15 minutes for us to not buy the bucket and the only thing stopping us was that we live in a van and the bucket would take up very valuable space. I also got ice cream because I never pass it up!

Regular 250g jar of honey compared to our 2kg jar of honey! We have no regrets!

The next morning Maggie made some kick ass chocolate pancakes and we made our way back to Taupo. We pulled into our campsite where we were lucky to even get a spot, it was packed.

End notes

The Hamilton sound track is really good. I know there is a big to do about Hamilton back in the States but I never really looked into it because I knew I would never be one of those lucky people that actually got to go see it. But now that I have heard the soundtrack I’m a little upset with all the people who did get the magical tickets because I will never get to see it!

Podcasts are literally my new favorite thing! You get to learn about stuff that doesn’t actually really matter and that’s my favorite kind of knowledge! Maggie has shared some of the good ones. I really like Stuff You Should Know, Don’t Be Dumb, Stuff Your Mom Never Told You, and Gilmore Guys. I have started taking songs off my ipod just to load these babies on!
Side note to the endnote: We learned from one of these great podcasts that while America might be the number one producer of ice cream, New Zealand is the number one consumer of ice cream they eat 7.5 gallons of ice cream per capita per year while the USA is only at 5.4.

Wild is a fantastic book I read it in sitting and I was just so depressed after I finished it! Now I need to see the movie although I don’t think it will live up to the book. I know I will never be able to hike all of the Pacific Crest Trail but now I want to hike the Appalachian Trail! I mean that’s what books are for right to inspire people! I would love to hike the whole thing but I would settle for NC to VA. So I am now taking any volunteers to go with me. I know that Cheryl went by herself but listen I’m not in any sort of life crisis I don’t need to do it by myself to get in touch with my inner wild, I’m doing just dandy!
Side note to the endnote: Amanda and Molly I very much suggest you read this book just skip the chapter with the horse, I was in tears and really it doesn’t add too much to the plot you can get by with skipping it.

Maggie is a mini Michelle Paris, I am literally traveling with my mother.