Around 1 a.m. as I looked around at the sorts
dancing about me, I realized that 2 months into this venture of New Zealand, I
have committed to the promise to “never stop moving my feet”
I am so grateful for so many people even on the other
side. Tuesday the 6th
was my birthday, but I stopped counting years a few years ago. And for that I am glad because I’ve
never felt younger, fresher, or happier.
It’s definitely true that you are only as old as you feel, and I feel
better than I did at 24.
November 5th is the English Holiday bonfire
night. It is in celebration of a
man who tried to blow up Parliament, they stopped him and burned him on a
stake. Kind of gruesome, but it
allows New Zealanders to purchase fireworks for 3 days. Since I’m a huge fan birthday weekend
started great with fireworks, pizza, beer, and chocolate. Waking up Tuesday morning, my “family”
made a pancake, bacon and icecream breakfast and Tuesday afternoon I set off on
a tramp to Mt. Pirongia.
Sunday, November 3rd, I woke up feeling a little
church time… really missing my Seacoast Family. I walked up to a little church called Surfside and as soon as
I walked in Janet, the Pastor’s wife came right up to introduce herself and
tell me a little about their church.
Raglan is such a tiny little town, so everyone knows who is new. It was a small group, but beautiful all
the same. We song worship songs,
watched a video about the ‘Sistas’ conference that took place in Auckland, and
celebrated the going away of two Surfside members. One of those people was an 85 year old elderly women who had
been attending Surfside since 1986 she was sitting next to me during service, I
could feel love, power, and God’s energy all around her. She was smiling all service despite
having to leave this group of people, she accepted some flowers, and a
blessing, and gave a Thank You speech despite the fact that she has been
serving them for years.
After service the Pastor introduced himself to me and commented on the
fact that they don’t have tons of backpackers who just pop in, but today they
had two, myself and another American girl from North Carolina. He introduced Danni & I and we had
a good laugh about randomly feeling the draw to Church this morning. A few things fell into place quite quickly between Surfside,
Danni, & I, we had met for a reason.
That reason became apparent almost immediately, eventually leading to
new friendships, a wicked week in Raglan, and a (secret) plane ride home for
Danni to see her family in December.
Taking a trip to the beach we chatted about travel and life and all
those things random travelers have to share. She is staying at The FarmStay a real cool spot up the road
that is turning into an accommodation.
Quite randomly Danni, and I, and a couple of the other FarmStay girls,
Sandy, and Fran decided to take the Mt.Pirognia tramp and I could not have
asked for a better way to celebrate another year gone by!
Leaving around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, we clearly had no idea the
intensity of a “trail” we were about to get into. Starting what we thought might be a couple hours to the hut,
at 5:30, we heaved our proper bags with camping gear up the Mountain. Three hours in and right at Sunset we
came to a huge opening for a perfect view. Sitting down for a some drinks and a cheers, and after three
hours of laughing (poopshoe) losing shoes in the mud, falling, and lots of
background story, not to mention climbing over, under, and through trees to get
there. The hut could only be
another 20 minutes away and it was time to set camp for the night. 5 meteres later a little yellow arrow
pointing to Pirongia hut was labeled 3 hours. We about died of confusion and exhaustion. Nothing to do at that point but keep
going forward as these tracks aren’t really tracks and the “wide open space” in
which we watched sunSET was not large enough or remotely flat enough for a tent
or 4 people. 45 minutes in and
just about pitch black we ran into a nice flat square space with a little
bench, big enough and open enough THANFULLY to set camp. I called it the idiots camping spot,
obviously we weren’t the first to make this mistake. Pasta & Wine for dinner, and TamTams and Whitakers
for desert, the beauty of birthday celebrations. Waking at 5 a.m. for Sunrise and instant coffee we stayed
curl in our individual sleeping bags and hopped outside to take it all. In light the situation looked a tiny
different, this “idiots” camping space was actually a helicopter landing pad
something you of course find on top of every mountain. Thank God for it though because the
rest of the hike would have been impossible in the dark.
“It’s not about the
destination, but the journey along the way.” Mt. Pirognia summit is one of the
most sought after summits in the North Island. The view from the top lookout is breathtaking. However, I can say with no doubt that
climbing trees, swinging limbs, Gin&Juice breaks, and making the trip with 3 people I
will never forget is worth more than any view will ever offer.
An (almost) 18 lb. Snapper was my pride and joy this week,
(actually weighed in at 17.5). Dan
took me out on his boat in the Raglan Harbor to try a hand at local
fishing. At 6:30 a.m. we set out,
and by 1 p.m. the boat was loaded, and I’ve found another new hobby. Snapper, Gurnards, and Kawaii are the
fish we kept. The 7 small sharks,
and one that measured between 1 and 2 meters went right back where they came
from. As we trolled and headed
inland, yet another magical thing happened. 4 Maui Dolphins came to play. They hung out with us and the boat, close enough to dip my legs
in and they would come touch them with their fins. These playful sweet creatures are going extinct very
quickly. An estimated 55 are left
lingering around New Zealands West Coast.
Salty, hot, and fishy I felt incredibly blessed to be able to share the
water with them. Sitting on a boat
in the Ocean with 4 of the most rare species is a mind freeing experience. The air becomes that much fresher, the
light that much brighter, and life that much sweeter. :):):)
Feeling sore, but ready I along with 5 others finally took
the Karioi summit on Saturday Morning.
A much shorter, but still decent tramp, Karioi is the Mountain I watch
the Sun Set over every single night here in Raglan. By Saturday night my birthday week was coming to an
end. Finished it out with a
bonfire and party up at Chris’ FarmStay with a large group of locals and
travelers. The mood was
something I can’t really tell about, it was good vibes, good people, good
dance, and just good to be around.
Around 1 a.m. as I looked around at the sorts
dancing about me, I realized that 2 months into this venture of New Zealand, I
have committed to the promise to “never stop moving my feet”
