Whoops!

Ok so it has been just under 2 weeks since I have been home from my traveling. And the last few days that I was over seas were tough on me. I was not ready to go home, I didn't want to go home and then as the days drew closer all I wanted to do was go home. It is funny how that happens. I think most of it is because you know your flight is booked so you just kind of give in. I am going to recap the last few things I got to do while I was still over there.

Cape Reinga

This is the northern most part of New Zealand that can be reached on foot, the real northern most part we can't access on foot. So I was able to see the farthest south, and the farthest north of this magnificant country. It is also a place where 2 major bodies of water meet and collide with one another, and you can actually see where it is happening. (Tasman Sea and the South Pacific Ocean) As I approached the cape, there were a lot of people on bikes battling the hills, and I though these people are nuts (and I still think that). But as I got to talking to one of them in the parking lot, there is a trail that you can bike the whole country from Cape to Bluff they call it. They have a ton of off road bike trails that you can ride on, and there are places to stop along the way and sleep. I thought this was a great idea becuase it kept them off the main roads for the most part. Yes there were times they had to be on the strrets but they were limited. What a great idea this would be to have in the states. (Yet this will most likely never happen in my time). The views are beautiful with cliff sides, rocks that waves break on, beating them down to change the coastline, wind that blows constantly because you are on a penninsula and the sun shining down upon you because there is no shade. It is a beautiful place I would like to visit again, there are a few walks that you can do from here that I didn't have time for.

Te Paki

Now this was something else! Ok so I am not a fan of speed like roller coasters and the sort, and I really dispise sand but yet love the beach (go figure) and i combined both of these things today. They have this gigantic sand dune (like you see in movies) near 90 Mile beach, which is on the North Island just south of Cape Reinga. There is a small truck at the bottom that rents sand boards (I am sure you can see where this is going). So I decided what the the hell, you only live once (theoretically) so do something that you fear. I don't follow that all the time because there are things i just will not do like bungee jumping and the sorts, so this seemed a little lower on the freak out scale lol.

Got the sandboard, and away I went....walking towards the biggest sand dune there was to climb to the top and slide down face first on this board. Hahaha, I am sure you can imagine this! The trip to the top was quite tough as you are battling sand up hill and it was windy to boot. Once at the top, I had to wait to catch my breathe from the walk up the damn hill. The wind whipped at the top and sand was flying everywhere (YUCK) but I took my moment to enjoy the view. I got my little travel camera ready (no, not a go pro) and put the board down and laid upon it. This was the test for me, would I:

A) Be able to make it down the hill with out taking a digger and rolling the rest of the way

B) Not sissy out on the way down and finsih it by walking board in hand

C) Not scream like a little kid who is afraid

D) Be able to go down at all

Well, I got my self sliding and I started to pick up speed. There wasn't much sand that came up at me in my face (thank goodness) and my legs dragged in the sand to help control the speed (sort of) and away I went. HOLY SHIT! We are talking going face first down a sand dune probably 15 miles and hour or more with nothing to protect you and just feet to control your path and speed. Hahahaha! I screamed the whole way down, not in terror but in excitement and a bit of fear. That shit was fast (for me atleast) and it was a small adrenaline rush that was great! I didn't roll down the hill or have to walk down any part of it. I made it to the bottom all smiles, screaming and laughing with some sand in my mouth. Would I do it again.....hell ya and I did. I marched my way back up that damn high dune and down again I went. This time, someone at the bottom offered to video me going down so I got both views, from the board and from a viewer standpoint. I look forward to posting the video so you can share in this bizzare experience with me. Oh yes, and I was covered in sand from head to toe, which i hated but it was well worth it.

Tapotupotu Bay

This place was AMAZING! You can camp here for a fee and if you get the chance to I would highly reccommend it! It is right on a bay (as the name so implies) and it has a small area where the water runs up on the far right hand side into a river kind of thing that you can swim in and if you had a inflatable tube or something could float down, walk back and float down again into the bay. The water was amazing, the sand wasn't too soft or too rough, just right and you can imagine the sun rise you could see from this point. I spent a good few hours here just taking in the scenery and beautiful weather.

I really didn't do all that much but drive around and see some other sights on the last 2 days before my flight. If I am honest (which I am 99% of the time) it was really depressing thinking about going home.

I have no job, am going to live with my mom (which I totally don't mind actually), the only thing i was looking forward to seeing was my cat who has unconditional love for me and my lovely newphew who just about to turn 7 months old and didn't know me but loved me anyway lol. Of course i missed my family and friends but I can talk to them and video with them at any point in time. Being able to explore a new adventure each and every day was amazing. I wish I could do this all the time for my job. Write about it, take pictures, give my opinion and get paid. That would be my ultimate dream job I think, now achieving it....well that might take some time.