The final Road Trip Part 2

We have finished the quest of destroying the ring and made it back to the Shire! Now what do we do, except make our way to the sea to catch the last boat/plane across to the "West" (you LOTR people will understand this). Therefore, we started off. There is this beautiful peninsula on the north east of NZ called the Coromandel Peninsula. On this peninsula, there is a cove named Cathedral Cove, where the two sons of Adam and the two daughters of Eve re-entered the land of Narnia when Prince Caspian blew the horn for help. It was this train tunnel that turned into a cave to the beach that we drove to. It was a 40 minute hike to the cove, but worth is! It was like a little secret beach hidden from the rest of the world. As we stood there in the tunnel, it was almost like we really had ventured into the world of Aslan and talking animals. As we made our way to the city of Coromandel on the north tip of the peninsula, we noticed how the beach was a gorgeous bright green, with lots of island rocks jutting out sporadically. It was a rainy day, so we didn't get to really play in the water, but treated ourselves to a hot drink and yummy lunch in a cafe in Coromandel and read a Sherlock Holmes mystery (We have been reading a lot of those this trip). It was nice to escape the rain and eat some fresh food after dwelling in our car for the past few days.

Back on the south side of the peninsula, we had heard of a hot water beach that was there. This is made from a hot spring that is right under the beach sand, so when the tide goes out, you can dig to it and hot water will ooze from the ground, creating your own little make shift hot tub. :) We wanted to try it especially since it was a colder day. There was quite a crowd of enthusiastic travelers all with spade in hand. We all stood around for a bit not knowing for sure where to dig. It was like we were all hunting for gold and wanted to be the first to find it as shovels and hands started digging anywhere their feet took them. You would here some shout with glee as they discovered a hot spot on the surface, while others determinedly kept digging on a cold spot, convinced that they would strike gold at any moment! A bit later, as new comers joined our little group all dressed in togs (swim suits), they would come across a collection of cold puddles of water where diggers gave up, small groups of people who were content to just dig their feet into a warmer section of the sand, and a great crowd of people all digging together making a huge trench, where it was discover one of the bigger springs was located! With everyone working together, it wasn't long until there was a shallow pool full of people young and old enjoying the hot water. It was so neat to stand there and observe how water really brings people happily together. :) It was such a comical site! Here was a huge group of people dressed down to their togs, sitting in close quarters, sharing the hot water they had all worked to find with complete strangers; people who, otherwise would probably have never talked to each other or even met. Brought a smile to our faces as we joined them in the hot springs.

After our wonderful experience on the hot water beach, we drove the rest of the way to Auckland, where were stayed with Elijah and Kristen (such fun!!) before making our way up to Whangarei, where we visited with our New Zealand Grandparents, Keith and Jill, the first farm we stayed at. It was so great to see old friends again and neat to look back to when we first started our travels to now, as we were nearing the end, and what adventures lay in the middle. We told them stories of our experiences and things we had only dreamed of before this trip that were now a part of our past and a part of us. All these experiences have added to what we have become. It was neat to realize this as we talked with our friends in Auckland and Whangarei. But our trip wasn't over quite yet. We still had to make it up to Cape Reinga, the top of New Zealand.

We left Whangarei after breakfast on Wednesday and made our way up to Kaitaia. Along the way we stopped at the big Kauri trees that were mostly likely around in the time of Christ. We met a rooster, who likes peanuts, at a lookout in Northland Forest Park. Then that night we went to 90 mile beach and witnessed the most beautiful sunset we ever did saw! :) The next morning we woke up early and headed up to Cape Reinga. It was a lovely drive and when we got there we had our breakfast and walked out to the lighthouse. It was very cool to see the place where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. There were these great whirlpools at the spot where they colided. On our way back south, we had to stop at every bay that we could find and we went swimming in the ocean! So now we can say that we have swam in the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea in the same day! There were even these great big sand dunes that people can climb and slide down, the cardboard that we took was too wet by the time we reached the top of the dune (because it was raining) so we sat on it and pretended like we were flying down the sand at crazy speeds, complete with sound effects. We also built a sand castle and Mickey Mouse ears. There was just too much sand around us to not build something with it, plus because of the rain the sand had just the right amount of water in it to be able to keep its form. Since that night was to be the last we would have on our own, we decided to splurge and stay in a cabin at a Holiday Park, so romantic! :) We had a hot meal, hot drinks, and hot showers, it was a nice last night. In the morning we started our trek back to Whangarei, stopping at some amazing toilets, Rainbow Falls, Haruru Falls, and some lovely rain that we drove through, making it back to Whangarei in time for tea. That night we talked to the McLays and it brought tears to our eyes. We miss them so much! In the morning we started cleaning their house with their nine year old granddaughter, Ella, who we had met on our first visit. We spent the day cleaning and at tea time Keith and Jill surprised us with going out for a chinese food picnic that we ate in a park by the bay. It was so good to see them again, they will be missed so much! Sunday morning we went to church with Keith and Jill and their family. It was a commemoration of Anzac Day, which is their version of Memorial Day. Pretty cool to learn some of the history of New Zealand, rugby is a very big part of this country. After lunch with their family, we said good-bye to Keith and Jill for the last time this trip, and drove back to Auckland. We stopped for ice cream along the way and made it in time for church with the Peters' family. So good to see everyone there.

These last couple of days we have spent with Alice and Liz, having sleepovers and vegging out after our crazy travels. We baked so many sweets, vacuumed the house, and organized our bags for the trip home. It is crazy to think that today is our last in the fine country that we have called home for the last 82 days, a sobering thought, but we have things to do back home that we are excited to get started on. Once we get back to LA we will fill you in on the wisdom we have gained on this trip and tell you all about where the Lord is leading us next. Look forward to seeing ya "in the west" (LOTR term). Farewell, New Zealand, or in Moari, Aotearoa. We are grateful for the honor of sharing these past moments with you. Hopefully, someday we may meet again.