Well here I am all-alone…again. The only difference this time is the north island is a little short on hitchhikers so it’s been a bit more difficult to make friends! I figured out how to make it up to Whangarei, Northland where I was able to hike Mount Manaia. However to my disappointment it was more of a stair climbing exercise than it was a hike. I finally made it up to the top to an amazing view. But on the way down an alarm started sounding. Now before I dropped off Maggie I went through a long list of things that I need her for. One was to have her calm me down when I thought the fire alarms were tsunami alarms (I’m still amazed they just don’t have separate sounds). So on my way down the alarm started to sound and I tried to keep calm thinking it was just the fire alarm but it was going on for ages. So I asked a man on the way down what that noise was and he was so calm in saying oh that alarm it’s the tsunami alarm. I don’t think I have ever moved faster in my life. It took me about an hour to make it up the mountain but it took me only about 25 min. to make it the rest of the way down. I finally made it to the car park but the alarm had stopped a while back. I’m not really sure how a tsunami works but I think it should have happened already. I asked one of the ranger like people at the bottom only to find out that Whangarei is testing their tsunami alarms all week. It took me a while to stop being mad, I ran down a mountain for that dumb test.

The next day I made it all the way up to Kaitaia where I had read that you can catch an all day tour bus to see the Cape Reinga lighthouse. I walked into the i-site and asked the woman to put me on a bus that goes to the lighthouse. Apparently there are a few that go there and apparently you are suppose to book them a day I advance not 5 minutes before the bus is leaving…whoops. I told her just get me to the lighthouse anyway possible. She finally found a bus with some room and I was off. The 1st part of the tour is driving on 90-mile beach. I have no idea why a country that used kilometers would name a beach with mileage. It was pretty cool, we even got to go see quicksand, that was a 1st for me! When we were all getting back on the bus the tour driver asked if I was traveling alone. I know that usually you are suppose to say no of course not I have a friend around here somewhere, but I couldn’t exactly say that because well there was no one to pretend to be traveling with me so I said yep! He just wanted to know if I wanted to ride upfront in the passenger seat of the truck…of course I did, traveling alone does have perks.

I did end up meeting some really lovely friends on the tour some of them were even my age and not 19 it was amazing! Up next were the sand dunes. We all walked up this giant hill of sand with boogie boards and man let me tell you I felt that climb in my calves the next day. Sliding down was amazing everyone went at least twice even though it meant hiking back up the hill. My friend Jan was the winner she ended up going the fastest and farthest. Usually they tell you to prepare to have sand everywhere and be uncomfortable for a while. But because of the rain the night before the sand was relatively calm and not too many sand storms because the sand was still too heavy.

The next stop was the lighthouse, the whole reason I booked the tour. It was and actual lighthouse thank god! This is also the place where the Tasman Sean and the Pacific Ocean meet, which is so cool. It’s a little hard to see in the photo but the waters are different colors and the little whirlpools are where the waters are colliding. The maori people believe this is where their people go when they pass away. It is also the place of creation of life. So in essence it is where life begins and ends. Then the driver took us to another beach I can’t remember the name of and an inlet where the water is so clear you can see straight down.

The next day I was going to try to go to Gibbs Farm, where they have giant things and a large-scale art exhibit. However they are very stingy with the information so when I showed up I found out it is only for pre-booked groups and they are fully booked for the whole year. Come on people let the art be free for all!! While I was super sad about the discovery I did get to stay at a really amazing campsite, so a little bit of a win.

I made it back down to Auckland just in time to go see the All Blacks play South Africa! I was working the food trucks at the event so if was once again free! I love the food trucks and I had missed all of our friends there! I ended up crashing with Saeed who was crashing with a different person I had never met but she was nice enough to welcome me into her home! The next morning I dropped Saeed off at the lime farm and headed to Taupo, my rest spot between Auckland and Cape Kidnappers. In Taupo I booked one of those jet boats just because before I came to NZ I featured them in a project I was doing, so really it was research for my sabbatical. It was super fun even though it was raining and my face was being pelted with water droplets. I made a new friend who works for the jet boat but because I was again going solo there was an extra seat in the boat so he hopped in for a joy ride. He said when I was passing through again to get back to Auckland I could crash at his place for a few day, that meant showers so I was in.

I stopped by Hastings to hike the TeMata Mountain and of course to get some Rush Munro’s ice cream, both were amazing! The next day it was time for Cape Kidnappers. When walking the Cape Kidnappers track you have to track tides because the whole walk is on the beach. I found this incredibly stressful it’s just too much to think about. I already worry if I brought enough snacks I just can’t be bothers by the tides as well. Apparently the reason most people do this walk is to see the gannet (some type of bird) colonies. I however was not aware of the bird situation. I’m not huge fan of birds so that whole experience was well…interesting.

I got one good night rest and then I was going to plan to walk the Lake Waikaremoana great walk. Now usually this should take 3 to 4 days but there has been some issues so part of the track is closed. I know huge disappointment this also meant instead of doing essentially a loop I had to back track, oh well. It turned out being a 3 day hike anyway just because of the back track. Now there are all these warnings and being prepared things and using a hiking backpack and bringing a stove and change of cloths and what not. When did hiking become so difficult? Well I didn’t do any of those things. I brought the cloths I was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a jack. Lots of peanut butter, crackers, snack bars, some apples, and my water. I fit everything in my north face backpack and carried the tent in it’s little satchel and attached the mat and wool blanket to my backpack. And guess what I was fine didn’t die. Sure I guess I could have been more comfortable if I had all the things but eh it was only 3 days. The only other sad part was no pictures because my phone died shortly after I started which is fine because there was no service anyway. The only other thing is that hiking in the rain is the worst. Not because you get wet but because I have worn down my hiking boots so bad that there is no longer any tread and I have holes in them. This means I was slipping and sliding everywhere on the trail. I NEED NEW BOOTS!

END NOTES

Apparently in the Bangladesh culture it is rude to say thank you. I was explained that because we are friends there should not be a reason to thank them because that is just what is expected of friendship. Isn’t that so sweet. However I just felt awful because I had been insulting them for so long by thanking them for everything.

So far I need/want new boots, my belt, new water bladder, headlamp, running shoes, and of course pizza. A lot of my gear has taken a hard hit here in New Zealand.

The only thing, and I literally mean the ONLY thing good about Maggie leaving me is when I wake up at 6 or 7 I can make breakfast right away I don’t have to worry about waking Mags up.