I ended up in Cathedral Cove a few short hours after waking up. Ah yes, an active day, WONDERFUL on just a little sleep, and it was HOT outside.

We had to walk to the Cove which only took about a half hour, but it was hilly and winding and as per usual quite stunning. When I figure out how to put a picture on this thing I will show you what it looks like. Very much like the Hole in the Rock in the Bay of Island but on land.

After that we went to hot water beach, where (supposedly) you can dig in the sand, find the hot water and make yourself a little bath. Well SOMEHOW I was nominated to be the digger, so like an eejit I am digging in the sand to find this hot water to no avail. But the beach was AMAZING and an American who was watching me dig offered up that you have to wade into the water a bit and then the hot water will just bubble up from below.

Lemme tell ya, the waves were at least 8ft high, there was NO WAY I was going in that water. It's really quite amazing to see waves that high, sometimes the tide would come in so far and so fast that all of us would end up wet up to the thigh!

After this we went to Whitianga (pronounced with an F at the front, like Fitianga) and went to this CRAZY water park. It was so weird, like someone's backyard with make-shift water gadgets strewn about. I slid down a couple of flying foxes and we had a sail boat race which was fun and then I stubbed my toe, and I can't even TELL you how much it's hurting! And it's on the other foot (for those of you who don't know my right foot has been really bothering me for some time now) so it immediately turned blue and now, two weeks later, it is black and still painful.

Oh well, I soon met some amazing people to take my mind off it. Janet and Natalie were travelling together from Australia, and Demetrius (henceforth we'll call him Dee) is from Brighton, England.

I love those rare moments in your life where you just seem to align with other like-minded people, even if it is only for a brief period, it is just so satisfying.

We were off to Thames, and Dee introduced me to a store called The Warehouse, and it is EEEEEEVIL! If you find one, run away, because as their jingle says," The Warehouse, The Warehouse, where everyone gets a bargain!!" Evil I tell you!!! And they are everywhere (Think of a Winner's Store but with EVERYTHING you can imagine in it for very cheap).

That night we had a BBQ at the hostel and the owner was telling us about how the hostel is Haunted. It's called Sunkist and it was such a great old building with high ceilings and large rooms. That night we went out for a few bevvies to a place called The Salutation, downtown (and I use that term lightly) Thames. In the end it was myself, Dee, Nat and 2 English blokes (one of which was CYCLING across New Zealand, and for anyone who has been here you know that this is not exactly a FLAT country!!!!). We drank to the Commonwealth and had an interesting time with the locals.

But the next morning in the haunted hostel I was sure I saw something in the bathroom although everyone laughed at me when I ran out screaming. Creepy but fun! Seriously, I was standing in the bathroom when the shower curtain, which was in an open position, seemed to yank itself quickly shut. Man, my heart was POUNDING and of course, as with all good ghost stories, no one else was around to witness it!