Camping in Coromandel

Friday January 27

Today was the last ride ever to school with our favorite bus driver Tua. We are planning on dinner as soon as we return from the south island. School passed by fairly quickly and before I knew it we were loading up to take off camping. Luckily since today was the last day of school we probably won’t be hanging out at the Pack’N’Save and more because I had a run in with the law. I was making one of those make your own bags of treats and filled it with chocolate covered raisins. While I followed Brooke around as she picked out some treats for our road trip to Coromandel I snacked on a few of them. Not thinking much of it, and I could not have eaten more than 10 raisins at most, but as I got to the register some creepy man, not in uniform, with a piercing through the middle of his nose and a bar just between his eyes, pulls out some badge, claims to be store security and asks me how I expect to pay for the raisins I have already eaten. Boy was it awkward…I was like what are you talking about. He then proposed I pay $2 more, which I refused explaining I did not eat many and then he said, “well you know it adds up,” I settled to pay one more dollar, but was not happy about it. Well lesson learned, when you get candies out of those clear containers and it says NO SNACKING, well it really means NO SNACKING! The car ride was not bad at all, but none really are because the entire time is filled with Ows and Aws as all the girls marvel at the amazing views and the sheep. We made it to the campsite just before dark. We got moved into our tents just in time for a fresh sausage we wrapped in cold buttered bread and added a splash of tomato sauce. Just before bed we were able to star gaze a bit for the first time since I have been in NZ. The sky was filled with more stars than I have seen in my entire life. It was beautiful. I am pretty sure I could see where the Milky Way began. I saw the 7 Sisters and Southern Cross for the first time.

Saturday January 28

I woke up before sunrise in order to make it to join the men for fishing. (Dad I bet you are so jealous I went fishing without you!) While I was all bundled up in sweats a sweatshirt and tennis shoes, they tell us to grab a wetsuit and wear flip-flops. Half asleep I stumble back to my tent grab out a swimsuit and change into sandals, grab a wetsuit off the trailer and get back into the van. I thought we were throwing out some fishing poles and trying to catch a fish that way, so I was confused why we needed this gear, but the early morning made it hard to think and I just followed along. I guess I had no idea what to be expecting, but I got when we got there they told us we had to change. We set up our own changing rooms with towels and somehow maneuvered into our suits and wetsuits. Freezing I slipped on a pair of oversized wet socks trying to keep in any heat I could. There was a breeze and the sun had not peeked up over the hills yet. We followed the men down to what looked like a small pond that ran off the ocean. The pond was no more than 2 feet deep at the deepest point, but the freezing water stung our bare legs. We quickly pulled the net out across the water setting up a trap for fish. At this point I was thinking our job was done, but I was mistaken. The men laughed a bit at us, especially when we asked if we were done. We followed them across the beach just as the sun had begun to rise up over the hills. The beach could have been taken straight out of Narnia or any other movie for that matter because it was green and tropical hills on one side, and the sand, ocean, and mountains on the other. We climbed over a bunch of sharp rocks. I was one of the lucky ones who had on the aqua socks, because I did not have the pain of walking across the rocks with bare feet. Looking out onto the water was amazing. I have never seen ocean water so clear. You could see directly down into the water. I slipped down into the water and the numbness wore off within the first few minutes. The coral was all over and you could see the rocks and fish in the water. With the goggles you can see everything under the water. The sea urchins covered the rocks and were quite poky. I got some amazing pictures with my camera and on the way out of the water, while holding my camera in one hand I slipped and hit one of the sharp rocks with my elbow and knee. They cuts weren’t terrible but the water made them bleed like crazy! So typical of me, I could have guessed that would happen, but lets just be glad it was not worse. We trekked back to the van and headed back to the campsite, filled up on cereal, and watched as the Joseph’s cut into the sea urchins. I tried a sea urchin tongue. I seriously felt as if I were on an episode of fear factor. I barely swallowed the dang thing. It tasted a bit like salt water, but thinking about it made me gag. I ate some fruit to get the taste out of my mouth….never again! We headed to the beach for a perfect beach day. The sun was out, but disappeared behind the clouds every so often creating a breeze. On the beach I got to layout and do some kayaking. It was amazing. The water was rather smooth and ice blue. I have never seen such blue water I felt like I was in Bermuda or something. I was going to try and surf, but I decided against it when I remembered I had the cut on my knee. I had to wear my cover up at the end of the day because I already had defined lines on my thighs from where my shorts sat and starting to look pink on my shoulders. My thighs and ankles sunburnt, which I think was a first for me; I should have thought to sunscreen them ha!

Sunday 29

After a not so great night of sleep on the ground we woke up early and began packing up camp in order to take off before any rain hit. We were lucky to have camp set up when we arrived because I forgot how much work goes into the tents. We had a separate tent just for food and one to cook under, so take down took quite a while. I got some more sleep in on the drive home and was able to skype my family, do some laundry, and pack before taking off again!