Waihi Beach: Day 7

 

1 Dec2024

Once we were dropped off at the Hamilton airport and exchanged the rental car, we were on our way to our next destination, Waihi Beach, a one and a half hour drive! We arrived around 7pm to a gorgeous Airbnb at the end of a street. It was a short 10min walk to the beach! The AirBnb hosts were Jo and Pete and they had left us a beautiful welcome basket with homemade marmalade, cheese/crackers, homemade granola, chocolates, etc. It felt like the tide was turning from a challenging couple of days to something more easy going. We were very grateful!

Raglan: Day 7

 

1 Dec2024

The day was squandered trying to get a disabled rental car to the airport in Hamilton, an hour away, in order to exchange it for a drivable car! It took all day to find the means to get a towing truck to pick us and the car up and drive us to Hamilton. The highlight of the day were the Belgian waffles we had in town!

 In case you've never seen it, as I hadn't, below is what a blown out tire looks like! I made two of those! :(

We met a very nice towing driver, Marianne, who told us many interesting things about New Zealand during the 1hr drive to Hamilton.

Raglan: Day 6

 

30Nov2024

We got up early excited for what looked like it might be our first "Good" day of surfing conditions! We headed over to Manu Bay and were shocked to see only a couple people in the water! Everyday we've been in town there have been so many people (not a lot by San Diego standards, but more than we expected!) in the water, no matter the conditions! But today, the surf was small but clean and winds were down. We suited up and paddled out, so HAPPY!

We stayed in the water for almost three hours, it wasn't big surf, but we had FUN! More people did show up but all were really friendly. 

It was later that afternoon, after we had gotten back to the cabin, that we had the mishap! Two blown out tires on our rental car! Driving on the left side of the road and having the steering from the right side of the car takes some getting used to! Unfortunately, because the mishap occurred during the weekend, we were in a very challenging position to locate help in the small village of Raglan. But a very kind local named Stu actually rescued Patti who was stranded and needed to be rescued! Stu drove me back to the cabin and joined us for another delicious dinner compliments of Colin who grilled chicken and asparagus and I made salad and baked potatoes!

Raglan: Day 5

 

29Nov2024

Friday morning we decided to take a drive to the only real 'tourist' attraction we were interested in seeing, Wairenga 'Bridal Veil Falls' (like at Yosemite!). The drive was beautiful and arriving at the car park for the falls was another instance of realizing how unpopulated this country really is, because there were only a few cars at this very well publicized 'tourist' attraction! And what a wonderful, magical place! It was really worth the car trip and the sounds and energy of this mystical area cannot be conveyed in pictures.

Wairenga Bridal Veil Falls was formed by a volcanic eruption and there is still a lot of mystical energy in that area. It is said to be guarded by forest fairies and I actually think I saw one! Couldn't get her to show up for a picture, though! LOL.

Raglan: Day 4

 

28Nov2024

Our first day of passable surf conditions! We paddled out in the early morning to a full crew of people in the water, still not like the crowds of California, but fairly crowded.

Colin caught the "longest lefts of his entire surfing life!". I was riding a rented board that paddled great and I liked, but I wasn't catching much of anything. I think most of it was because I was feeling a bit anxious about being at a new spot and not feeling very confident surrounded by strangers. Two days later we returned and the conditions were much better for me. Smaller waves, virtually no wind and fewer people.  I have no pics of the morning surf, but later in the afternoon, we went to look at a couple different spots, Whale Bay and Indicators and we got to see some really great surfers and a group of older surfers who seemed to live in the neighborhood (a very nice neighborhood!) that we really enjoyed watching!

Later, we went back to the cabin and Colin grilled a couple of delicious New Zealand lamb chops and mushrooms. I made a salad and toast and that was one of my favorite Thanksgiving dinners!! :)

Raglan: Day 3

 

27Nov2024

The surf (or lack thereof) was starting to bum us out. Winds were still very unruly and surf was blown out, so we decided to drive north to look for better surf. Colin had found a place called Port Waikato about two hours north. So we packed our surf gear and headed north. We couldn't believe how stunning the countryside was, we arrived into Port Waikato only to find the surf was actually worse than where we had come from, but we didn't regret the drive. On the return to Raglan we took the coastal route, which was a gravel country road. Along the way, we stopped at the "Lord of the Rings Lookout"! A beautiful valley full of livestock and birds.

We saw so many beautiful things along the way. We hoped for a possible sunset surf when we got back to Raglan, but it wasn't meant to be. I took a brief swim in the Tasman Sea and we called it a night!

Raglan: Day 2

 

26Nov2024

We woke early to watch the sunrise and hoped for signs of rideable surf. But no. Since the weather and surf was not cooperating, we decided to check out the nearby Te Toto gorge which we heard was worth checking out. It was a short 30min drive to Te Toto gorge.

Raglan: Day 1

 

25Nov2024

Arrived into Auckland on Monday morning around 5am. It was still dark but not for long. We picked up our rental and drove straight to Raglan. An easy 2hrs. Drove about this small village for awhile then went to look at Ngarunui beach which is right next to where we will be staying.