In his delightful kiwi accent he asked me what we were doing… and then I put on my tiniest, most pathetic little voice and told him we had no idea where the camper park was and had nowhere else to go. He gave me a little bit of a loathing but understanding look, said it really wasn’t okay but “OK” and drove off. Well played.
In the middle of the night apparently it absolutely poured. I was sound asleep through it, enduring my nightmare about people coming and mugging us. Cozy.
This morning was foggy, but it was incredible seeing the beach from where we had parked. Brushing my teeth while looking out onto the ocean and seeing the day slowing grow lighter was just fantastic. Heeding the words of the policeman, Annie and I left Raglan promptly after getting ready for the day.
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| The morning view |
Next stop: Bridal Veil Falls. We drove for a good 13 km off the “highway” before reaching a middle-of-nowhere carpark where I haphazardly left Congo while we hiked to the falls.
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| The view opposite the park entrance |
The gravel walkway meandered through the ferns and over a muddy creek until we reached the dropoff.
Breathtaking.
This stunning waterfall actually drops 55 meters until it reached the pool at the bottom, 5 meters deep, occupied with eels and fish. Annie and I took some timid photos from the top lookout before climbing down the 261 steps to the bottom vantage point.
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| It's big. |
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| The view from halfway down |
Thoroughly pleased with our decision to stop and see the falls, we headed back to our awaiting Congo. We both plopped in the seats, ready to go. I turned the key. NOTHING. Dummy here had left the lights on.
Annie, much better with motor vehicles than I, began to look for jumper cables. Me, being the more panicky sort, immediately thought of the worst case scenario and did a mental checklist of how much food and water we had to get us through a day of walking to find help. As Annie was rummaging through the van (something we should have done before departing from Auckland…) I waved down a car. The truck, speeding along, smoothly swerved into our little parking spot and had a look. He greeted us heartily with a smile and exclaimed, “What did you two do this time?” Without a second thought he told us he would return in 5 with jumper cables.
In the meantime, another park-goer planted her rental car next to us. The woman was from Germany, surprisingly Heidelberg! Without getting too much more information from her, our savior, Zaine returned with jumper cables and his daughter Zara in the passenger seat. In a quick blink he had our car running and raring to go! What a blessing!
Calming down from the aforementioned panic attack, we journeyed south through several little towns and got stuck behind an adorable old lady. Just precious… but SLOW. Now I know how all the other kiwis feel as they zip by us at warp speed.
Driving along, we traveled for hours through winding mountain roads speckled with rock fall warnings and a few little tunnels. We passed through several scenic reserves which practically take over the half the land here- no complaints from me. Of course it was dotted with patches of cattle and sheep as well as sheer cliffs, valleys, rolling hills.. the list never ends.
Stopping in a local town along the western coast we made a little pit stop for photos. Feeling the time crunch, we didn’t stop long until another “OOOHHH” moment came up right before the official “Three Sisters” stop.
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| Just hanging out.. on the side of the highway |
After what seemed like forever and a day, we finally reached New Plymouth which was like an industrial surf town. We wanted to see the Sugar Loaf Islands, a marine park, so we continued to drive in circles, abiding by the frustrating one-way streets (I got to drive on the right side of the road!) when we finally gave up and drove straight. Seeing as it was 4pm already I felt quite defeated having missed seeing some GIANT islands. Annie saw a sign reading “Beach, 2km”. She recommended we turn, settling for “generic” beach scenes instead of turning around completely empty handed.
Right as we passed the cow pasture, we saw it. Somehow again we managed to literally accidently find our intended location. How this keeps happening, I don’t know, but it surely is a blessing.
I’ll try not to waste my breath on how amazing the sights were, but instead let the pictures show you a little. It’s quite hard to explain though, since it was just so spectacular.
Along the way we saw a beached blue-bottle and stopped to chat with a cute old man walking his dog. The beach was near vacant but dotted here and there with families and their canine companions.
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| Perfect timing |
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| Annie taking in the scenery |
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| Absolutely terrifying in the water |
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| Glorious |
Reaching the end of the beach, we did some rock climbing along the edges before it began to rain, watching the glass green waves crash against the gigantic rock face. The sights were so incredible it was hard to make myself head back along the sparkling black sand.
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| End of the line |
Freezing, wet, and confused we drove over to the McDonalds, as any American does, to get some internet. We were able to connect with the real world for a bit and then headed further south, to Stratford.
Now Stratford is interesting. It’s a little town with Shakespeare lights and a small glockenspiel which plays scenes from Romeo and Juliet. The streets are named from Shakespearian plays and if you blink, it’s likely you’d miss the town entirely.
Arriving a lucky 15 minutes before the next playing of the “famed” glockenspiel, Annie and I awaited the moment with excitement. Finally when the moment came, 7pm sharp, we were waiting in the cold, cameras in hand. I’m not sure what was more entertaining, Annie’s comments of “OMG this is the COOLEST THING EVER” or watching the little plastic figurines act as the speakers played behind us an interesting version of the last scenes in Romeo and Juliet. What. A. Riot.
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| Annie enthusiastically snapping picture after picture |
AT LAST! Hot water! Indoors! It’s heaven- we arrived just in time at the Stratford Holiday Park where the jolly little man provided us with a site for our van. The visitor table was precious- covered in China collectables and little trinkets from all over. It feels like a real home and more importantly, very secure. Hooray for a good nights’ sleep!
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