I left Taupo on Monday to begin my trip around the East Cape. The East Cape is probably one of the most beautiful spots that I have seen in NZ. The bus was nice because instead of being 35 of us there were only 20 so we were all able to just relax and get to know each other. The first night we stopped in Gisborne which is the surfing capital of NZ. Unfortuanetly the weather was crap so no surfing was done, just lots of wine drinking. I was sitting at the table eating dinner when I turn around and see my friend Andrew. I hadn't seen Andrew since my first week in Auckland but we had kept in touch via text messages. It was great to see him since we were able to catch up on all of our experiences over the past six months. It definetly felt to me with seeing Andrew that I had gone full circle on this trip which was nice.
From Gisborn we went to a farm in Rangituka. We stayed at the farm overnight and had a blast. I rode a horse for the first time. His name was War Lord and he was fantastic. We rode on the beach and up in the hills for about two hours before dinner. It was so relaxing and I had a smile on my face the whole time thinking how great it was that I was finally riding a horse. Les, the horse guy, told me that me and War Lord fit each other and it was totally true. I felt completely comfortable on him even when he started to gallop. The only awkward part was getting on the horse. I am not very graceful when it comes to stepping up onto high things. It was a sad sight that involved me basically leaning over the horse and then Al, the kiwi bus driver, pushing my butt onto the saddle. Not graceful I admit but it got the job done. After the horseback ride we sat around a fire on the farm and just chilled out. It was really relaxing. We were at the easternmost point of NZ which means that we saw the sun rise first in the hemisphere. Well we would have saw it first if it wasn't foggy, but we were the first to know that the weather was going to be crap all day in the southern hemisphere.
The next day we went to possibly my most favorite place. It was a home stay in Te Kaha. This guy Paul O'Brien is half Maori and half Irish and he opened up his home to us to enjoy. It was beautiful. The house is set right on the shore and there is a hot tub that sit right on the beach so you can fish and watch the sun set all from the hot tub. I swam in the Pacific and then warmed up in the hot tub until after sunset. Then ate a delicious meal that Paul's mom made for us. It was so good. Al, the bus driver, went out fishing and caught snappers which we had for breakfast. It turns out that I love fish. I woke up and had my coffee (instant, boo) down by the beach and then had some fish. It was a perfect end to my east cape trip.
I am back in Taupo to celebrate St. Patty's day tomorrow. Then I am off to Auckland for a day and then off to my last stop on this trip, the Bay of Islands. It should be good. This trip is almost over but I am not processing any of it right now. I am just enjoying the moments and I figure I will think about it all when I am in Fiji. Here are pics from this past week. Happy St. Patty's Day!!
From Gisborn we went to a farm in Rangituka. We stayed at the farm overnight and had a blast. I rode a horse for the first time. His name was War Lord and he was fantastic. We rode on the beach and up in the hills for about two hours before dinner. It was so relaxing and I had a smile on my face the whole time thinking how great it was that I was finally riding a horse. Les, the horse guy, told me that me and War Lord fit each other and it was totally true. I felt completely comfortable on him even when he started to gallop. The only awkward part was getting on the horse. I am not very graceful when it comes to stepping up onto high things. It was a sad sight that involved me basically leaning over the horse and then Al, the kiwi bus driver, pushing my butt onto the saddle. Not graceful I admit but it got the job done. After the horseback ride we sat around a fire on the farm and just chilled out. It was really relaxing. We were at the easternmost point of NZ which means that we saw the sun rise first in the hemisphere. Well we would have saw it first if it wasn't foggy, but we were the first to know that the weather was going to be crap all day in the southern hemisphere.
The next day we went to possibly my most favorite place. It was a home stay in Te Kaha. This guy Paul O'Brien is half Maori and half Irish and he opened up his home to us to enjoy. It was beautiful. The house is set right on the shore and there is a hot tub that sit right on the beach so you can fish and watch the sun set all from the hot tub. I swam in the Pacific and then warmed up in the hot tub until after sunset. Then ate a delicious meal that Paul's mom made for us. It was so good. Al, the bus driver, went out fishing and caught snappers which we had for breakfast. It turns out that I love fish. I woke up and had my coffee (instant, boo) down by the beach and then had some fish. It was a perfect end to my east cape trip.
I am back in Taupo to celebrate St. Patty's day tomorrow. Then I am off to Auckland for a day and then off to my last stop on this trip, the Bay of Islands. It should be good. This trip is almost over but I am not processing any of it right now. I am just enjoying the moments and I figure I will think about it all when I am in Fiji. Here are pics from this past week. Happy St. Patty's Day!!
My horse War Lord
The lovely beach that I swam at.
Another view of the beach
The view of the hot tub from the top part of the backyard
Sunset from a hot tub. Sweet as.
The Kiwi crew in the backyard.
4 comments:
Wow you are the luckiest girl ever.LOL. I want to do all of these things. I love horses and fish. When you get back can we go horseback riding?
So you have to fill us in on what St. Patrick's Day is like in NZ. I'm sure you have friends there to celebrate with. Have a "cheers" for us.
Miss you - HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
Okay, I'm back in Jersey, and let me tell you...there's something missing...Oh, I know...it's YOU! I realize you like to tell people that I sent you away in the first place, so if I have that kind of power over you, then get to Fiji, have an AMAZING time, and come home and play with me. AC and Middlesex are closer than you think!
UGH War Lord is friggen adorable and I adore the ... crappy weather in the southern hemisphere line hahahahah!
Enjoy your last leg of the trip and get home woman!
Hey Hey! Great pictures, as usual! St. Patrick's Day is mos def not going to be the same without Elyse Fosse this year! Jesse and I don't even think we're gonna go to the parade :( But, Big Jerr is cooking his usual feast and we are all going to drink green beer and head over to good old Kerwinws, ha! We will toast to you, cheers Fossemeister!! hope you have fun whatever you do! I can't belive you'll be home so soon, yayyy! we miss the fosse! anyways, ttyl!!
~Erin
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