Day 2: Whangarei (pronounced fvahngaray)
We took the bus at 8am to Whangarei to visit my old friend Monique, with whom I volunteered in Bangalore. The ride to Whangarei was beautiful - lush green hills, with grazing sheep and cows, beautiful mountains, awe-inspiring scenery. Again, we talked with some very friendly people (this is going to be a regular for us, I think (i.e. I hope).
When Monique picked us up at the bus stop, we immediately felt a warmth and joy. Seeing each other after so long, her opening her home to us, planning our entire three day/three night itinerary - it was so wonderful to know that distance and time can't separate friends. We came home to get Myles (her partner), and rested a bit in their gorgeous home before heading out on our first excursion in our packed itinerary.
We went to Tutukaka to hike (or tramp, as they call it here) up a mountain to an unbelievable view. We couldn't believe we were actually here, experiencing this! They set up a little blanket and we sat at the top of the mountain to eat lunch and chat. It was all so beautiful, and we were so happy to be surrounded by such beauty! We all felt so comfortable and the conversation just came so easily!
On our way back, we stopped for a coffee at a little cafe by the water, and then headed home for Myles to make us a yummy homemade pizza in his beautiful new wood-fired pizza oven with ingredients from their own garden! We had some drinks, some more great conversation, and then got ready to go to a concert in town.
The singer (Julia Deans) had such passion and strength in her voice! We were unfortunately still jet-lagged so we were nodding off (yes, that's how tired we were - we were falling asleep at a concert at a local bar)! But we made it through and enjoyed every last song before heading home.
Nothing like good friends and beautiful surroundings to make our second day of our trip so spectacular!
We took the bus at 8am to Whangarei to visit my old friend Monique, with whom I volunteered in Bangalore. The ride to Whangarei was beautiful - lush green hills, with grazing sheep and cows, beautiful mountains, awe-inspiring scenery. Again, we talked with some very friendly people (this is going to be a regular for us, I think (i.e. I hope).
When Monique picked us up at the bus stop, we immediately felt a warmth and joy. Seeing each other after so long, her opening her home to us, planning our entire three day/three night itinerary - it was so wonderful to know that distance and time can't separate friends. We came home to get Myles (her partner), and rested a bit in their gorgeous home before heading out on our first excursion in our packed itinerary.
We went to Tutukaka to hike (or tramp, as they call it here) up a mountain to an unbelievable view. We couldn't believe we were actually here, experiencing this! They set up a little blanket and we sat at the top of the mountain to eat lunch and chat. It was all so beautiful, and we were so happy to be surrounded by such beauty! We all felt so comfortable and the conversation just came so easily!
On our way back, we stopped for a coffee at a little cafe by the water, and then headed home for Myles to make us a yummy homemade pizza in his beautiful new wood-fired pizza oven with ingredients from their own garden! We had some drinks, some more great conversation, and then got ready to go to a concert in town.
The singer (Julia Deans) had such passion and strength in her voice! We were unfortunately still jet-lagged so we were nodding off (yes, that's how tired we were - we were falling asleep at a concert at a local bar)! But we made it through and enjoyed every last song before heading home.
Nothing like good friends and beautiful surroundings to make our second day of our trip so spectacular!
View from the top of the "hill"
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