It has been QUITE a while since I've updated this thing, and SO much has been going on...
2 weekends ago Erin and I went to go see Avatar for the first time! Such an awesome movie. I didn't think I would like it, but I was proven wrong. Great film + best friend + green tea latte = great combination :)
The following day we went to the Coromandel Peninsula with three other friends to do some exploring of the North Island. We rented a car and drove about two hours to Themes where we had lunch and then drove over the pass to the east cost of the peninsula. We hung out at Hot Water Beach, where everyone brings shovels and digs huge pools in the sand to find the HOT thermal water that is buried just below the surface. We mooched off of other peoples pools and put our feet in because we didn't have any digging tools. A little bit later we drove over to Cathedral Cove, which is an incredibly beautiful beach and well...a very sheltered cove. When we got down to the beach after a 40 minute hike, we met some people who were having a 24th birthday party and they explained that they were going to sleep down there. BINGO! Hello sleeping arrangements! Sleeping bags under the stars it is! We headed back up to the car, gathered our gear (which included a guitar and surfboard) and headed back to the beach. We set up camp, mingled with the locals, and ate dinner. The stars were incredible! The sky was so clear you could make out the Milky Way. The next morning we woke up to the most perfect sunrise over the horizon.
For our second day of the trip we headed to the Broken Hills near the Pinnacles an did a two hour hike through some incredibly beautiful terrain and into a 500 meter long gold mining shaft. We used our torches (flashlights for all you Americans :) ), and followed the tunnel from one end to the other. Best part...there were glow worms all over the ceiling of the tunnel. The view from the summit of the hike was breathtaking. This was probably one of the best hikes I've done in NZ so far. After the hike we had to hit the road to get back to Auckland for grocery shopping and another week of classes.
The weeks here have just been flying by! I still love my classes which makes things a whole lot easier and more enjoyable. Erin and I still meet for tea every Tuesday morning to catch up and make plans for the week.
Last weekend Erin, Jamie and I went to Farmers Market where they have the most incredible hummus. We shopped around, did some taste testing, and enjoyed each others company. That night we went to a housewarming party for our friend Niels and had a great time meeting new people and hanging out.
That Sunday, Erin, Jamie and I went to mass for Palm Sunday. It was a great opportunity to reconnect with my spirituality and remind myself of how blessed I am to have this amazing opportunity.
We had no school this Friday because of the Easter holiday which meant that I was able to get out of town early. I headed out to Matauri Bay on Thursday night with Aaron and Justin, two awesome new friends. We traveled 5 hours north with the Auckland University Underwater Club to go scuba diving. We arrived at the campground at about 2am, set up our tents and went to sleep. First thing in the morning I woke up and went on a dive to the Rainbow Warrior shipwreck. It is hard to find words to describe how incredible this was! 70 feet below the ocean exploring a Green Peace ship that used to rest in Auckland Harbor until two French spies climbed aboard and placed two bombs on the ship. The bombs exploded, killing one man, rendering the ship inoperable. The spies had been sent by the French government because New Zealand had been sending the Rainbow Warrior to neighboring Pacific Islands to try and stop the French nuclear testings. When the ship could not be repaired, it was towed up to Matauri Bay where it was sunk as an artificial reef. For the last 15 years sea life has been accumulating on its decks and in rooms that used to be inhabited by people. We saw an eel, tons of fish, and coral that seemed to be colored perfectly for the Easter holiday...pastel purple, pink, orange and yellow :) It was really interesting to think of what went on aboard the Rainbow Warrior before the bomb went off, and imagine all of those things while exploring it 70 feet below the surface of the ocean.
That night everyone from the club hung out, talked, listened to music and cooked crayfish on the BBQ. On Saturday morning I slept in and then did a shore dive out to the point on the bay. The dive was shallow (about 30 feet or so), but we were able to stay down for about an hour and see lots of fish, some sea stars, and a couple other cool things. I found some of the most beautiful shells on this trip as well, so I spent a lot of time collecting those on the beach to bring home. Later on Saturday myself and three of my friends drove out to Opononi where we got Fish n' Chips, drove to a point on the west coast overlooking the Tasman Sea, ate dinner and watched the sunset. It was so beautiful sitting there watching the sky turn different shades of pink, orange, purple and red. We got home, hung out with everyone for a while and then went to bed.
On Sunday morning I woke up to an awesome surprise. There were three chocolate Easter eggs sitting outside my tent! Not only that, there were eggs on car windshield wipers, eggs on the picnic tables, eggs in diving fins, and eggs in front of every other tent in our group! I was so excited to have a little traditional Easter celebration even though I'm so far away from home. Needless to say, way too much chocolate was eaten that morning :) A little bit later on I went for my final dive off the boat, out at a reef not far from the Rainbow Warrior. I buddied up with a friend I made this weekend and we went exploring around at about 69 feet or so. WE saw giant schools of fish, lots of kelp and some really beautiful underwater canyons. We surfaced a tad too fast at the end of our dive, but no decompression sickness so WOO HOO! :)
Being at the bottom of the ocean is like exploring another world. I literally feel like I am weightless, flying over and through some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It's such an honor to explore such an untouched and pristine part of our planet.
After we got back from our dive we packed up our gear and hit the road home. We briefly stopped in Whangarei, got some Hokey Pokey ice cream and ended up in a HUGE traffic jam...but we made it home safe and sound.
This was such an incredible weekend, and the perfect way to celebrate Easter and the start of mid-semester break!
This week is going to be a lot of catching up and getting ahead on schoolwork so that I don't have to worry about it when Erin and I go to AUSTRALIA!!! I'm totally excited to have the next two weeks off to relax and have some fun before its back to work for the second half of the semester. I can't believe how fast the time is going!
Talk to you all soon and sending much love from New Zealand :)
Amanda
