Since we had spent Christmas Day playing around at Muriwai Beach, we thought we would try the next beach down- Maori Beach. Things looked good:
But after a local surfer informed us of the dangerous rips and advised us to avoid the water, we decided to settle for Muriwai (which is a pretty good "settle" if you ask me).The surfer told us that we could get to Muriwai through the tunnel, so I ran up to move the car while Lowell, Julie Anne, and Erin walked through to the beach.
Problem was, they soon discovered that the tide was too high for them to walk all the way through. Sooo, they had to trek back to Maori beach, up to the road, then around to Muriwai.Meanwhile, I had no clue that they didn't get through, so I was combing up and down Muriwai looking for them. Our meeting place was between the flags, but they were NOT to be found. After several minutes, I convinced myself that they had all died in the tunnel and I resigned myself to the fact that I would be flying home to Canada alone (I can be a little dramatic like that). Thank heavens they eventually showed up, apologies and explanations were thrown around, then we ripped out the BOOGY BOARDS!
Thank you to Julie Anne's waterproof camera for these next shots...
We eventually had to force ourselves home so Erin could finish packing up before the stupid airplane whisked her away from us.Before heading for the airport, however, we had to complete her kiwi experience with 'Hokey Pokey ice cream'.
There was no denying it anymore. It was time for our lovely, entertaining cousin Erin to leave *sniff sniff*...
(There's a lookout area past security so we could communicate with gestures through the glass. I think she's communicating that she's sad. I'm a communication expert. I know these things. )Turns out that Erin should have just stayed in NZ with us because she was stuck at the Vancouver airport for longer than she was on a plane from the other side of the world (thank you ridiculous cold and snow).
We mourned the loss of a great travel companion, but we quickly pulled out our happy attitudes because we still only had one short week left with Julie Anne.
On the morning of the 27th, we took our campervan for its first trip!
Oh I'm sorry. Have I not mentioned that we purchased a campervan? Lowell and I are 1/3 owners. The other 2/3 are Mom & Dad G and Marc & Kylie. Since they're each coming for an extended time (while I'm still working), we felt as though it was a very worthwhile little investment.
Allow me to introduce you to Gus (short for 'Gutless'. He's a dear, he really is, but I'm not going to lie. He doesn't really have much power going up hills). :
Anyhoo, here we are ready to take Gus on his first road trip as part of our family.
Julie Anne and I took shifts sleeping and driving:
This was the cue when we were done sleeping and ready to drive (only my hair didn't look nearly as awesome) :
Our first destination was 90 mile beach.
People drive down this beach all the time, and apparently the speed limit is 100 km/h... it's a registered HIGHWAY for goodness sake.
We were slightly shocked...
But sure enough, there were cars rippin up and down the beach!
We didn't quite feel brave enough to do that with Gus... but maybe next time.
We did WALK it, however. We weren't up to walking 180 miles (well, actually 110 miles....I'm not sure why they call it 90 mile beach when it's apparently only 55 miles long- I guess '90 mile beach' sounds cooler than '55 mile beach'), so we made a random tire track our finish line (which you can't even see, but you can kind of see the word 'finish' that miraculously appeared in the sand!)...
Then we turned and made our way back to our campgroud.
Oh but wait. Must stop for Lowell to be a boy:
And look at the pretty view...
We made ourselves a delightful little dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches then hit the hay so we were rested for another day of FUN!
(The white boxy thing on the wall above my right shoulder is constantly filled with boiling water. In my experience, every work place AND campground here has these...BRILLIANT!)
We mourned the loss of a great travel companion, but we quickly pulled out our happy attitudes because we still only had one short week left with Julie Anne.
On the morning of the 27th, we took our campervan for its first trip!
Oh I'm sorry. Have I not mentioned that we purchased a campervan? Lowell and I are 1/3 owners. The other 2/3 are Mom & Dad G and Marc & Kylie. Since they're each coming for an extended time (while I'm still working), we felt as though it was a very worthwhile little investment.
Allow me to introduce you to Gus (short for 'Gutless'. He's a dear, he really is, but I'm not going to lie. He doesn't really have much power going up hills). :
Anyhoo, here we are ready to take Gus on his first road trip as part of our family.
Julie Anne and I took shifts sleeping and driving:
This was the cue when we were done sleeping and ready to drive (only my hair didn't look nearly as awesome) :
Our first destination was 90 mile beach.
People drive down this beach all the time, and apparently the speed limit is 100 km/h... it's a registered HIGHWAY for goodness sake.
We were slightly shocked...
But sure enough, there were cars rippin up and down the beach!
We didn't quite feel brave enough to do that with Gus... but maybe next time.We did WALK it, however. We weren't up to walking 180 miles (well, actually 110 miles....I'm not sure why they call it 90 mile beach when it's apparently only 55 miles long- I guess '90 mile beach' sounds cooler than '55 mile beach'), so we made a random tire track our finish line (which you can't even see, but you can kind of see the word 'finish' that miraculously appeared in the sand!)...
Then we turned and made our way back to our campgroud.
Oh but wait. Must stop for Lowell to be a boy:
And look at the pretty view...
We made ourselves a delightful little dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches then hit the hay so we were rested for another day of FUN!
(The white boxy thing on the wall above my right shoulder is constantly filled with boiling water. In my experience, every work place AND campground here has these...BRILLIANT!)Next up: Kiwi version of tobagganing...
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3 comments :
What a ridiculous picture of me leaving the airport! It was a sad moment however. Your pics look awesome of 90 mile beach, I'm extremely jeolous!
nice campervan, and nice air lowell. the boogieboarding looked fun too... did you get thrown around a bit?
Yes, the campervan is really nice and we really enjoyed our time with it. Once you resign yourself to the idea that you are slower than the rest of the vehicles on the road, it's actually quite fun to travel in. As for the air.. I have come to enjoy jumping off things here in NZ. It helps that there is so much sand. Landing doesn't hurt as bad. =)
The boogy boarding was awesome, but yes, the waves really did throw us around. The waves were the strongest I had ever felt and the rip was really strong to the side. It was quit the adventure to try and battle the waves to get out to where they were breaking to get a nice ride in. Very fun. You will soon see.
-lowell
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