New Zealand Day 2

I'm a morning person so I was up and at 'em at 6am the next morning. I had a drive before me! I was to go from just about the tip of the north island to the Bay of Plenty all in a day. I packed up and I was off.


There was a town on the way back down south called Waitangi that sparked my interest. I saw this trail and didn't know how far it was until I saw a sign that said 1km you have 4 more to go. Ohh about that...I was in flip flops and knew that wouldn't work for a 6 mile hike. So I turned back around. (I hate not finishing what I've started but knew I had a long drive ahead of me and that it wasn't do-able.) I really wanted to see the falls. Bummer!




Waitangi is listed on the map of the location of the Maori Treaty House. Once a year they come to this location to celebrate the treaty that was signed by the Maori people and the British. See the red arch there? You are to wait underneath it until someone comes to get you since the Maori's consider it sacred grounds. (I learned this from an old wise Maori man later this evening) Well, not knowing, I just shimmied right on in and was taking pictures, just loved all the carvings. I hope I'm not cursed for life!






While I was heading back to my car I noticed a clinking sound on the beach. There were so many shells that when the waves rolled in it made the shells hit each other. I picked up a shell to keep and remind me of how peaceful it sounded there.

Driving through the town on my way out I saw this church, it caught my eye. A plaque outside said 12 Maori Chiefs came to this church to meet with the British religious leaders to ask for protection.



On the way to the Bay of Plenty I stopped by Whangheri, it reminded me a lot of Monterey, CA. (It's actually pronounced Fangaray. In the Maori alphabet they don't have the letter h so they pronounce wh as an f. Just a little fact) Charming town with the boats parked along the wharf. (Do boats park?)

It rained only a couple of spots during the day. Not to fear, only a few times I put on my blinker instead of my wiper blades, and vice versa. (They're on the opposite side)
Since I was only half full of gas I thought I should fill up. Once again I found myself at BP. There, at the Wild Bean Cafe, they had something called Crispies. It was a deep fried hash brown, like from McDonald's, with potato, bacon and cheese. So good! The man behind the counter asked where I got my silly little accent from...America, I told him. Can you believe it...we all talk like this. He got a kick out of that.

New Zealand has an abundant of Sliver Ferns there. It's like California and our palm trees. Well NZ has these ferns that are everywhere. Majority in the Northland but still everywhere. They're so green. I took an opportunity when I had one to pull off and take a picture.


There's a picture that I wish I would have taken but never had the chance to. The road construction workers there wear tanks and short shorts. I saw one and did a double take then as I kept driving I saw more. Safety isn't first there, staying cool is.


I drove back through Auckland and had to used the restroom. I went into a Warehouse store, like our Target. I asked a employee where their bathroom was. She said out in the car park, you had to have walked right by it. I pointed to outside and she giggled and yes, it's outside.





This bathroom is like a vault. Sturdy as all get out. You push a button once you enter and it seals you in. Never seen anything like it before. Very clean too. People were staring at me taking a photo of the toilets but come on...I'm foreign!
As I was getting back on the freeway, "Lee" my GPS voice with an Australian accent, told me to make a right and another right. I looked at how I was going to get back on the freeway. Oh, no problem. I've got the whole driving on the opposite side of the road..we got the green light and sure enough I turned down the wrong side of the street. As I saw my life flash before my eyes, I also noticed the on coming traffic had a red light, that saved me! I quickly and illegally hopped on the freeway and was so embarrassed. I knew that because I wasn't paying attention I could have hurt someone as well as myself. I was extremely alert the rest of the time behind the wheel in NZ!
At the end of my day it was around 8:00pm and I was in Tauranga, my destination. Once again everything was shut down and I knew that I'd be sleeping in my car that night since I hadn't made accommodations. I was actually okay with that. I drove around looking for a church, any church, that I could park at and begin my slumber.
I stumbled by a LDS church that was open and a few cars were there. Thursday night was their basketball night too. :) By the time I turned around most of everyone was gone but I entered the building and heard voices coming from a bishops office. I knocked on the door and then entered after I heard a "Yea?". I straight up said, "Hi my name is Kellie, I'm American and LDS. I served a mission in Spain and I'm here visiting" The bishop asked how long because he'd like to give me a calling. We all laughed. I told them I was leaving in the morning and if I could just stay over night in the church's parking lot. He and the 1st counselor said they could do better than that, Bishop Tata, you want to make the call or shall I? After the bishop got off the phone he said you'll be staying with my family tonight. Holy cow!! I honestly wasn't expecting that. I seriously was just ready to crash in my car. I followed him to his house where I met his wife Rachael. She embraced me with a bear hug to welcome me to their home. Wow! I thought...how cool is this?!? These people are putting up a complete stranger in their home for the night. Awesome!!
I was served NZ ice cream for the first time. DE-LISH!! It was smooth, thick, creamy vanilla that tasted like waffle cone too. So good. Rachel looked at me and asked if I was tired. I told her yes, so much I'm was starting to get dizzy. Their oldest daughter was spending the night at a friends so this is where I was able to enjoy my second night in NZ. Kiwi style!