I'm losing my head! (among other things)

A day to myself (Monday, 4 August)

I have met so many wonderful people here in New Zealand! Beginning with my first bunk mate in the Verandah’s dorm (a talkative German girl) and continuing to the caretakers of my current tent site (a cute British couple – Sue and Wayne). I can’t believe how lucky I am to have pretty much every person I talk with be genuinely nice! I know I won’t remember half of them; such as the 2 ladies at the Waihi information center today who were so lovely I had to go back and show them my rainbow pictures from my walk; but their presence during my trip means the world to me. I am also so appreciative of the people that I have met and been around for longer than a day. I like knowing that I do actually have friends around the north island that I could call up and would be happy to see me. That is so cool!!!

I had a great time travelling Coromandel with Andy and I really enjoyed hanging out with him on my last night in Thames (Sunday 3rd). We had tea and biscuits, talked about New Zealand travels, played chess, and watched his snowboarding videos (which were a riot with his commentary). I won my first game of chess! Okay, so I won against an opponent that was paying more attention to what pictures they were taking from me and putting on their CD than they were to the game – but that’s not the point. I won!

I also had a wonderful time hanging out with Dave during my return to Thames. Good music, lots of internet, and a really fun ride in a really fast car on a very curvy road - just to have a sunny Sunday lunch in a town that wasn’t Thames (we went to the beach town of Whangamata). I also enjoyed talking with Denny at the hostel so much, that when I found he was going to have Mon – Wed off work I came really close to staying in Thames so I could have some adventures with him too. However, my travel bug was really starting to get to me. I had felt so trapped by the floods in Coromandel and had seen how sucked into Thames Andy had become, that I decided it was time to go.

The weather forecast for the week was sunny with intermittent showers. Go figure! So I wasn’t discouraged when I woke up to sun, packed my car, and then found it raining. I was up early enough to catch Denny, just coming off his night shift at the hospital, and Andy was up early enough to catch me; so I got to say farewell to my roommates. As I drove out of Thames (cloudy, but mostly blue skied), I completely enjoyed listening to my ipod, holding Dominic on my lap, and being completely alone! It was so nice. I drove behind a slow truck without caring about my speed, let the now familiar landscape pass by, and just absorbed the happenings of my latest adventures. I loved that I didn’t have to ask Andy whether or not we should stop and check out some more trails in the Karangaheke gorge (which I didn’t do) or just head to my initial destination of Waihi. I loved that I didn’t have to talk to anyone or that I didn’t have to listen to anyone. I just put on my one headphone (my tape player spits out my adapter after an hour – I’m not sure if it’s illegal to drive while wearing earphones here in NZ (I think it is in the US?), but I figure since my ipod puts music out of only one earphone anyway, it shouldn’t matter to much) and enjoyed non-crappy music (which is the majority of my tape selections).

When I arrived in Waihi, I found a parking lot and walked through the town looking for the i-site (information center). It’s a cute little mining town - from what I saw of the main drag. I had a vague idea of some walks in the Waihi area and knew that the largest pit mine in the southern hemisphere was located here, but I figured the i-site would help me orient myself and give me some more ideas. The first thing I noticed when I entered the building was a wall of handmade scarves and hats! I had purposely not brought a warm beanie from “The States”, figuring I’d just buy a locally handmade one. I hadn’t yet come across a selection that really caught my attention, but with the cooler nights we’ve been having and the possibility of my travels to Rotorua and maybe Taupo, I was definitely going to need a warm hat. I took 3 hats into the back and tried them in front of a mirror. I really liked the brown one, but figured it was close to the same color as my hair – so I went with a beautiful mint green color. As I was paying, I told the lady how pleased I was to be buying something not only handmade, but local as well. I mentioned how I had knitted before and but never really did hats. Then the lady sitting in back came over and told me that not only was it handknitted, but the wool was handspun too!!! Wow. I was impressed. I definitely felt that $15 was a bargain!

With my new hat in my bag, my camera over my shoulder, and my waterproof tucked through my pack I walked across the street, up some steps, and checked out the pit mine. Yep – the mine is right there in town! I figured I wouldn’t bother checking it out because it would be in the hills somewhere, but it’s just over a hill at the end of town! I took a bunch of pictures of an old mining building and marveled at how industrially destructive humans can be. The pathway around the mine wasn’t completely open, but I decided to walk as far as I was allowed. I was fortunate to run into a couple and their kid when I reached the roped off mining truck. Both parents got a chuckle when I asked if they would take my picture with the “really big truck”. I continued around the mine, watching empty trucks go down the road and full ones come up. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t go anywhere near the bottom though (which had a small lake of water in it). The trucks were going about 1/3 of the way down and being loaded with previously blasted rock off the side of the pit. I was expecting to see a long line of trucks slowly descending in a circle until they became really small and then disappeared into a tunnel; but I guess that’s not how it works :)

I threw my waterproof on when it started to rain (glad I wasn’t fooled by the lovely blue skies and fluffy clouds that were around when I got out of my car!). As the rain cleared, I looked across the mine and back to area where I had started. I was completely surprised to find a rainbow hanging directly over the town and mine! It was amazing – particularly because I could see the rainbow descending into the mining pit! I could actually make out the rainbow colors in front of the orange and yellow of the pit walls! I made myself laugh out loud for a good while when I realized that what I had just seen would probably be the only time I could ever say that I had seen a rainbow that LITERALLY ended in pit of gold!!!!

As I mentioned earlier, I stopped back at the i-site on the way out (it was just across the street afterall) and shared my rainbow pics with the ladies there. They got a good laugh out of my pit of gold at the end of the rainbow. When I got back to my car, I hadn’t decided where I wanted to go next. I kind of wanted to do the black hill trail – to get a good view of the town and city – but I kind of wanted to travel a bit further too. So I filled up on gas – the price was back down to $2.02 a liter! – and checked out the map. I decided to head to Waihi beach. There was a tent symbol in the area of the waterfall symbol, so I figured it would be a good place to end the day.

I hadn’t been driving for more than 5 minutes, when I came across a couple of hitchhikers. While every seat in my car had something on it (it’s really hard to keep things organized when you always want the thing that is buried at the bottom!) I could just pass them buy in a seemingly empty looking vehicle (I had stuff spread around the car, instead of piled to the roof). The two young locals were happy I stopped, and had no problems squashing in (the dude in the back didn’t even have a place to put his feet!). I think they were disappointed to find that I was only going to the Waihi Beach turnout when they were going far past to Katikati – but they took the ride anyway. So, after another 5 minutes of driving, I dropped them off at the corner of the Waihi Beach intersection. I hadn’t taken them far, but they were happy to be past the intersection so people that stopped for them would be going their way. The two of them reminded me of the 2 local boys Andy and I picked up near Colville. We drove them and their dog less than ½ a km! They were happy to not walk , plus they got to enjoy some chocolate biscuits!

When I got to Waihi Beach I checked out the trail map and decided I had time to make it to the falls. Then, instead of continuing forward and past the map – where the logical beginning of the trail would be – I went back to the white trail maker with a picture of a walker and a dog walker. The trail wasn’t too bad; muddy enough that I should have put on my hiking boots and not my trail runners, but not wet enough to soak through my shoes. The trail took me past a car park at the end of a road and then seemed to end at a reservoir with picnic tables. I walked up the gravel road, only to find a “please don’t trespass” sign for the reservoir. So, I tried walking around the reservoir – not trail. So, I walked down the hill, across a concrete bridge, up a steep muddy slope, and found what looked to be a decent trail – though it wasn’t marked and it was a bit overgrown. I followed it until it ended in a decent stream. I walked back and forth trying to find a way to not get my feet wet. I finally made a jump for it, barely landing on a muddy ledge and holding onto a tree. Unfortunately, instead of scrambling up I looked down. I found my left foot under water. Moving it led to my right foot going under water. Well, so much for dry feet! At least my trail runners would dry out in a day of sun, unlike my hiking boots. The path was in considerably better condition after crossing the stream, but still had good patches of swamp. But, with wet feet already, I didn’t bother avoiding them too much.

If I was disappointed when I arrived at the reservoir (from the lack of signage I knew I was definitely not on the waterfall path), I’m sure you can imagine my disappointment when I realized I was on a loop path around the reservoir! When I came back into the clearing and sat at a sunny picnic table (spreading my wet socks and waterproof out to air) I couldn’t figure out how I had missed the trail that was just to the left of the gravel road. Oh well, I probably would have gotten my feet wet trying to cross the stream from the other side as well :)

Instead of going back through the woods, I followed the streets through town for a bit. I found the carpark at the end of the street I had first passed on my walk and caught the trail back to the beach. I then went past the waterfall map and found well-marked trail sign I would need. I knew it was to late to make reach the waterfall and make it back before dark, so I decided to check out the camping area listed on the map. After sitting under a canopy of trees while the latest rain shower passed, I walked up the beach to my car and found another full rainbow spreading over the ocean and town!

I drove back through Waihi Beach and turned towards Bowentown and the tent sign. Apparently I hadn’t really looked at the geography of my map, because I was surprised to find myself passing turnouts and beach access on both sides of the road! I hadn’t realized I was driving out onto a spit of land that projected into Tauranga Harbor. At the end of the road was Bowntown. I parked in the Bowntown Domain (domains and reserves are what I would call a park) and walked around a bit – along the rocky shore line, up the grassy hills. I was rewarded some good overviews of the town and ocean.

I drove back to the “camping” area – which was just a place for motorhomes and cabin rentals. At $17 a night for a tent site I decided to look elsewhere. I’d rather pay $5 more and keep my tent dry in a hostel. I decided to check out the Athenree camping symbol next. I drove back down Bowentown spit and turned onto another spit of land. I passed another camping/family park set up like the one I had just left – but this one was also a hot pool! I decided to check their rates. I felt pretty good about paying $17 a night for a tent site when I had access to not only hot pools and kitchen, but also to a trampoline! I decided to spend a night – though they did let me know about their 4 nights for the price of 3 deal. I just couldn't see staying in the area for THAT long!

I talked with Sue while I petted the cat – samba. Turns out they came over in January, toured the country and Fiji for 3 months, and then found the gig at this place for work. She was super nice and invited me to watch a thriller/horror DVD with them that night. Sweet! I hadn’t been there more than 10 minutes and I had already made friends! I set up my tent (which had dried nicely between a sunny airing in Coromandel and being laid out in my car) and made my bed. I found that I had left my little travel pillow back in Thames! Ugh, bummer. Well, good thing I know people in Thames!

After sending several texts (involving minor lunch bribes), my pillow problem was resolved. Andy and Denny were going to head over in the morning to hike the waterfall, deliver my pillow, and enjoy the hot pools. The rest of my evening was spent taking photos of the sunset, jumping on the trampoline, talking with Sue and Wayne in the hot pools, and watching “The story of Lucy Keyes” (a decent flick, though not amazing). I managed to be either in the TV room or in my tent when the intermittent rains came, so I stayed warm and dry all night long!

I get by with a little help from my friends (Tuesday 5 August)
My first morning at camp started off bright and early. I didn’t get into the hot pools, but I did get my blog updated and took some pictures of black swans - which I guess are so abundant around here that they use them for target practice :( I texted my friends and found they were planning on staying in the area, since they wanted to use the hot pools. So, I took the owners up on their 4 nights for the price of 3 – since they let me use the previous night’s payment towards it. I didn’t make it far from Thames before settling, but at least I now had hot pools and a trampoline – while still finding cool people to hang out with.

After finding the correct car park, I met up with Andy, Denny, and Marie. Marie was on a 20 day holiday from France. It was her 3rd day in NZ! She had planned on hiking to the pinnacles hut, but there weren’t enough people for a shuttle to run up there, so she came down with Andy and Denny. We had coffee and cake on the sunny, though rather windy, beach and then set off towards the trail. We weren’t certain if the times they had written were 1 way or return times, so we figured we’d just see how we felt when we reached the 1st fork.

The coastal trail took us through green bush, around spectacular rock outcroppings, and past viewpoints overlooking the green ocean and blue sky. It didn’t take us long to reach the first sandy bay. We played on the beach for a little bit; I’m certain that if I hadn’t known about the strong current one or two people would have been in the water! When we reached the fork in the trail that led us to either the waterfall or next sandy bay, we opted for doing both. We headed to the next sandy beach first. It was a much longer walk with a slightly muddier trail. There were only 2 landslides to cross and a bit of storm debris to step over. We had all been using our waterproof coats as a windbreakers, but, with a peal of thunder out over the ocean, we needed them to keep dry through a short bout of rain. By the time we reached our next bay, the sun had been out for a bit and was drying the plants off again. We sat on some cool rock formations overlooking the beach and ocean. Denny collected green mussels for dinner. I stuck my head in a waterfall on the edge of the beach.

It was getting late by the time we returned to the fork in the trail leading to the waterfall, so we just kept heading towards the car. Everyone was looking forward to soaking in the hot pools after our day out. It was 5:30, we had plenty of time before the 7:30 closing time. Just we were approaching our cars, I put my hand back to unclip my key from my belt – AND…… IT WASN’T THERE!!!! WHAT. How the heck did I lose it? Why didn’t I put it in my pack pocket? What was I going to do now? EVERYTHING was in my car – including my pillow!

I decided to head back up the trail. I had a head lamp and I didn’t want my friends to miss the hot pools. I would call them – using Andy’s phone, since mine was in the car, if I couldn’t find the key. I started down the beach, trying to follow our tracks. When I got to the start of the trail I ran into a nice guy and asked if he had seen a key on a bright orange carabiner. He said he hadn’t. It was getting dark fast and I was tired. I called Denny, told him I was coming back to the car and would look for the key tomorrow. I rechecked the tide area on my way back to the van, feeling confident that they wouldn’t be pulled into the ocean overnight. When I got back to the van I was feeling really dumb. After losing my BSU jacket on the trail I was going to start paying more attention! Both Marie and I remember me playing with my key on the trail too! I was certain I had it after the fork to the waterfall (on the way back to the car that is). ARGH. I was so mad that I wasn’t really paying attention to where we were going. While the boys were at the grocery store, Marie asked about friends that might know how to get into a locked car. I didn’t have my phone on me, wouldn’t have known who to call. Then it occurred to me; Dave is a total gear head, he might know. Luckily Dave and Andy had exchanged phone numbers recently, I started texting as we left the grocery store. Pretty soon, Denny and Andy wanted to know if they were headed the right direction. It was dark, nothing looks familiar in the dark. When we hit Bowenhead Domain, I could confidently tell them we were not where we were supposed to be. We went back. Next thing I know, we are at the highway 2 intersection – which is not where we were supposed to be. Turn around again. I stopped texting Dave and paid strict attention to the road (Dave had a few ideas, but none that would work real well for my car). I have absolutely NO idea how they missed all of the blue signs pointing towards Athenree on our first loops, but I made sure they didn’t miss it on our return. We arrived at the hot pools with ½ and hour before close! I felt so bad for wasting everyone’s time.

All I can say is – I am one lucky girl. Not only were my friends not annoyed or angry, they actually gave me a beer and cooked dinner! When my friends checked into the camp, the owner gave them each $2 off, “since you are Mel’s friends”! That was really nice! I didn’t have a swim suit (in the car to dry), so I just sat next to the hot pool while everyone else relaxed before closing. After everyone dry and hungry, we went into the kitchen. Denny cooked the mussels in white wine and canned tomatoes. We didn’t have much to go with the mussels other than bread, which went excellent with the wine/tomato soup. I must admit, I’ve never been a huge fan of any shellfish that wasn’t battered and fried. Oysters straight of the grill, done up by Alaska Dave, have been the only ones I’ve ever enjoyed – and even then I can’t eat a lot of them. The green mussels, while not tasting bad, were a bit chewy and a little odd. Apparently you’re supposed to pull the “beard” out before eating. This led to me examining the thing I was supposed to eat a little too closely. Ugh, so gross looking. Poor Marie. She doesn’t even like mussels! She said she was fine with the bread and cheese she had. She doesn’t drink beer either, so she just had water. Poor girl.

After our simple meal, we cleaned up the kitchen. I ran into Sue just as she was getting up from a nap. She was getting ready to set up the DVD player if we were interested. I’m not sure everyone else really enjoyed it (Denny went to bed half way through), but I had a good time watching “Hairspray”.

For some reason I had put most everything from my tent into my car, including my pajamas. Andy gave me a pair of track pants, but I was so dirty from our day out that I didn’t want to wear them only to give them back for a washing. So, I slept in my boxer shorts and overly dirty t-shirt (it had still been dirty from my day hike in Te Aroha many days previous). My feet never fully warmed up, but the rest of me was quite warm – once I pulled all my draft cords tight in my sleeping bag. Marie, unfortunately, didn’t have a sleeping pad to keep the ground cold from getting to her. She was wearing trousers and several shirts, but never did get warm during the night L. Andy and Denny were toasty in the van.


Payback is sweet / Lady Luck watches over me
(Wed. 6 August)
Everyone, particularly Marie, enjoyed the hot pool in the morning. There was a water aerobics class full of older local ladies. If I had had a swim suit I probably would have joined. But since I didn’t, I just put my feet in the hot tub for a bit and watched the ladies do their circuit around and around the pool.

After a bit of discussion, it was decided the best plan was to call AA (automobile association), have them open my car so I could get the spare key, and then we could all do whatever we wanted. Andy was an AA member. As long as his car wasn’t with me when he called, he would be able to get the car unlocked for free.

I was a bit disappointed when the boys stopped at the grocery store for lunch. If they waited just a little longer I would have a wallet and could buy everyone lunch. At the beach (still sunny and still windy) we had a bit to eat while we waited for the AA guy to show up. Within 5 minutes of his arrival, my car was unlocked and the spare key in hand! So simple! Now only if I everyone was still hungry! Somehow we got on the subject of ice cream. Not one person in the group had eaten ice cream in NZ! Denny had been here for a year! So, we walked down the beach for a bit and then into town. I bought everyone an ice cream cone and we sat on a bench in town. Denny – being the total hippie – warmed his bare feet in the sun while telling me about a German treat called spaghetti ice cream (vanilla ice cream pressed out to look like noodles, topped with strawberry syrup, and coconut - so it looks like spaghetti, tomato sauce, and parmesan!).

After our sweet treat and a look around the “op-shop” (thrift store) we headed back to the beach. Denny took out his sugar high by dancing down the street, then got us to see if we could click our heels together in the air. He and Andy played leap frog on the beach before Denny stole Marie’s video camera and got goofy footage of us all. I practiced a few French phrases. Since I can only remember a few things at a time, I gave up practicing “I love you” – as I won’t be needing it anytime soon. Instead, I focused on remembering a very important phrase – “F***ing Seagull sh*t”. ha ha ha Yep. My mom is proud right now J I think Marie got quite tired of hearing it too!

Eventually, the day started to fade. My friends still had to get back to Thames (an hour away) and they wanted to see some sights on the way. So I gave hugs and well wishes to all and got in my car. I didn’t drive far, only to the car park nearest the beach trail head. At 2:30 I headed up the coastal trail once again. I kept a sharp eye out for anything metal. As I said earlier, I was pretty sure I had been playing with my keys on the stretch before the waterfall, so when I reached the fork in the trail I made no hesitation in taking the waterfall section. I was quite glad we hadn’t tried to hike it yesterday when everyone was tired. There were about 6 stream crossings (one way) that required balancing on rocks not to get your feet wet. There were only 2 areas with wind fall across the trail – one of which required climbing through an entire tree! The waterfall was quite nice, but I didn’t but my head under it. It took some pictures, ate some food, and then headed back. I managed to slip on one crossing, ending with both feet in the water. Somehow, even though the water was above my boots, I managed to keep my feet dry. It must be my cat-like reflexes ;) ha ha ha – ya right, only if my reflexes are as good as Gizmo’s!!!

When I got back onto the beach from the trail the sun was setting and the wind was up. I pulled out my jacket and put it on. It occurred to me that, while in town, I had kept my wallet in this jacket pocket. I wondered if I had taken my wallet out and left in the car before my hike. Hmm? No point worrying until I could find out for sure. I received a text from Dave just as I was approaching the carpark. He wanted to know if I had gotten into my car. I was still texting him when I got to my car. I finished my text, pressed send, and then looked up to unlock my car. There, on the driver’s window, was a white sheet of paper with lots of writing – taped up using yellow pieces of tape, that if put together would spell the world POLICE!!!! What??! The note told me that I had lost my wallet in town at the shops. It then gave me step by step instructions on how to collect my wallet – turn around and go to brown house behind car. I really have no idea how it all worked out. I keep my car registration ticket in my wallet, so I guess they managed to find my car and match the registration to my wallet. A retired police officer lives in the brown house across from the car park, that’s who had my wallet. Whoever found my wallet was kind enough to leave all my money in it! How ridiculously lucky am I?

Before leaving for NZ, my parents threw me an awesome going away party. One of the gifts I was given was a beautiful “guardian angel” pin. I pinned it on my laptop bag that day; there it stayed it until a few weeks ago. It was the day before I lost my BSU jacket that I realized I still had the pin, but the guardian angel that had been attached to it was gone. I was bummed, but just starting to get used to losing things (I had just lost my headlamp case, along with the red filter that is needed when looking for nocturnal animals – such as kiwi). So, I guess it’s really the thought that counts. I may not have a cool material angel to keep me safe, but I definitely have some good karma checking in with me!! Thank goodness New Zealanders are so nice!

After such a stressful day it was really nice to relax in the hot pool. I went straight to the ultra hot tub, chatted with Wayne and Sue – recounting my luck and airheadedness – and then cooled down in the big pool. I warmed up again in the hot pool, took a shower, and then changed into my fleece. When I went back into the pool area to pick up the swimsuit I had forgotten, Wayne wanted to know what I had lost now. My phrase to him for the rest of the night – during dinner, while watching a DVD – was “forgetting something is not the same as losing something”.

At this point, I’d probably lose my head if it weren’t attached!

A Day of Business (Thurs. 7 August)
As I type up this section I am sitting in the Waihi library. They have free internet access and wifi!! Waihi is about 20 km from my campsite, less than ½ an hour away (where I was a few days agolooking at a hole in the ground). It was the nearest post office at which I could renew my car registration for another 6 months. I was quite nervous about it, as I am still waiting for my 3rd bad thing to happen. Guess it’s really the 3rd thing to go missing though. So far, so good –car registered and spare key made. Really, I can’t even say I’ve had 2 BAD things happen – since my wallet was returned! I am very fortunate in the fact that I didn’t have any other keys to lose – no house or office keys. I just lost my Juneau carabiner and my “mr yuck” bottle opener, but that’s fine with me. After posting this blog (minus pictures because the wifi doesn’t seem to be working for me today L - I think it has to do with my anti-virus software not working properly) I will wonder around town, maybe doing some grocery shopping, maybe pick up a key chain, but definitely checking into how to become an AA member!

Before coming to town, I did a few laps in the pool and soaked in the hot tub. I attempted to organize my car, but then got antsy and left ½ of it undone. Tonight is my last night at the camp site. I am going to go to a yoga class with Sue! It should be fun. Tomorrow I will explore this area some more before meeting up with Dave. We’ll stay in the Tauranga area, hike Mt. Manganui, and see what other cool stuff we can find before he heads back to Thames and work. I expect I’ll go check out Rotarua and then the eastern Bay of Plenty area – but that’s planning WAY to far ahead!!!