more Auckland
Monday morning I started making plans: I booked a bus, a few nights in a hostel, and a train (actually, the train the creator of Lord of the Rings took that made him decide to film the movie here). I didn’t feel so lost anymore.
My friend Gareth, whom I met in Cairns, his sister Jennette, and their dog Gunner picked me up to head to the beach. Murawai Beach isn’t accessable by public transport, so it’s pretty much only locals that visit. It has to be the most goregous beach I’ve seen so far-with the lush green all around, black sand, and a coast that goes on forever, until it got too misty from the sea foam. Now black sand is beautiful to look at, with its sparklyness and unique color, but damn is it hot! I’m pretty sure I burnt the bottoms of my feet while running across it. The color of the water wasn’t really altered by the sand, which for some reason I was amazed by the fact. The water was scary in a magnificent sort of way. Most beaches I’ve encountered so far have had flags on the beach showing the swimmers where to swim between, depending on currents, rips, and other scary things that common people don’t know about. The guard at this beach had to keep on moving the flags, and was moving them quite often. After we baked in the sun, we all went in and I learned why the flags kept on moving. After reaching about thigh-deep, I had to bend over a bit, and walk with all my might to walk even deeper. I was pumping my arms like a power walker and everything! A wave would come, and no matter how hard I tried to walk forward, I’d get pushed backwards. It was cool and I was laughing, but it was kind of scary. For a bit I let the waves take me where they wanted, but then I realized I was outside of the flags. I now know how important the presence of the flags is for everyone’s safety. If I thought the current was strong before, it was nothing compared to what I was feeling at that moment. I kept a clear head, and walked parallel to the beach and headed back into the safe area. Don’t get me wrong, I love the water, looking at it, being in it, but I have respect for it. And if someone says not to swim in an area, I won’t. Espeically now that I’ve felt the difference.
Gareth had to go to a martial arts class, which he’s casually serious about, (Is that an oxy-moron or what?!?!) so they dropped me off mid afternoon. I went back to the cemetary and might have picked up something-it could have been the glare from the sun…It’s wierd how my mind tries to find a scientific reason for matter instead of instantly assuming it’s a ghost. Years ago, I would have disregarded any reason other than that it has to be a ghost. It’s a shame what 10 years can do to the imagination. Or beliefs. 🙁 I didn’t stay long after my possible discovery and returned to the hostel while the sun was still high. I was so wiped out from the waves I instantly fell asleep once I got to my room.
Gareth and Gunner picked me up to check out the north shore area Tuesday morning. We went to Davenport and checked out some old Navy remnants-some dating back to the late 1800s. It was a mass of underground tunnels and a bunch of storage rooms, and actually pretty cool. Gunner is a Weimerheimer (sp?) and very friendly, and gave me a chance to see how Kiwis interact with eachother. Kiwis are super friendly to begin with, and even more so with eachother. After checking out the actual town of Davenport we drove up to Mt Eden, another extinct volcano and the highest point in Auckland. The view was nice but after climbing up to high points of the city and checking out the view, it doesn’t do much for me anymore. Gareth dropped me off, I read for a bit, and made it an early night.
If I’ve been informed correctly, today is Ash Wednesday. I’m not going to church, but I am giving up Tim Tams for Lent. Actually, I’m giving up anything made by Arnott’s (the brand who makes Tim Tams) and ice cream. I’ve been eating quite a lot these, and neither my clothes nor my budget is appreciating this. If I gave up drinking last year (which I was doing a lot of a year ago), I’m sure that a few sweets will be no problem this year. But, I have one problem: I don’t know when Easter is!
Tags: New Zealand
lauracat
Laura ~ you know what I find facinating are the names of the people your hanging with (so unique). Sounds like your still having a blast and you should definately write a book! Take care
Easter is on April 12th. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun! How was skydiving… did you go?
Skydiving?!??? I haven’t done it, yet. At least I think it’s a yet.
Speaking of ghosts and the supernatural, Easter is determined by an astrological calendar. It has something to do with the lunar cycles. Sounds rather pagan like, eh? Aunt Dianne and I played in the waves at the elbow of Cape Cod in Chatham. The waves and currents were coming from two different directions converging where we were standing and even though the water was shallow one could feel clearly the power of the ocean and it is a bit scary. You described it well. I knew exactly what you meant.