On to the West

A huge day!  We saw the HUGE Kauri trees.  These trees are truly amazing.  However, the west coast of New Zealand is awe-inspiring itself!  Sand dunes the size of most mountains, turquoise blue water, forests so dense it's amazing that any human being was able to navigate them, and of course the beaches.  We started pretty early with a wonderful breakfast in our hostel overlooking the beach.  We then headed across the continent to marvel at the ocean and the forests.  We walked among them for a few brief hours.  Then on our quest to find Karekare.  John picks up from here...

 After spending 2 hours searching for this particular black sand beach desperately awaiting our lonesome footsteps, we were ready to call it quits and head into Auckland for the evening. The minimal signage pointing to the location of the beach only added to its mysteriousness and mystique, which consequently added to long hours of mind numbing navigation in back roads around New Zealand (not all bad I must admit). Anywhere hidden and difficult to find only indicates sacredness and creates pure moments at the crossroads of beauty and adventure creating the perfect formula for bliss.  The moral of traveling, and life I suppose; if you choose to dig in the  tailed dirt, don't expect to find gold.  Much frustration and small bursts of anger, tiredness and hunger nearly blunted our quest, but we finally made it to Karekare beach on the evening of January 12th, 2015.  While some are lucky enough to call this hidden NZ gem home, I was merely lucky enough to spend a brief and inspirational moment on the beach with my mom. Upon arrival, I quickly let my shirt fall easily to the sand and leapt into the inviting, infinite ocean before me washing away any previous skepticism of navigating the curvy mazes around the countryside. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, this adventure marks one of my favorite experiences in NZ so far (although everything has been exceptional). Our cold souls have remained in constant motion since we stepped into the kind NZ air only a few days ago. More stories await around every jungle ridden, left side driving, steep, rolling corner and the unexpected journey has only just begun. 

After leaving the beach, we headed into Auckland for a night in an EconoLodge downtown.  Not the smartest choice.  Noisy, expensive, and hot!