Piha Beach and Kitekite Falls

As a Lake Forest College group, we took a trip to Piha Beach and visited Kitekite Waterfall! We started the day with a short hike up Lion rock for a gorgeous view of the beach followed by some time relaxing on the beach and frolicking about in the sea! Then, we stopped for a brief lunch and walked a short trail to Kitekite Waterfall, a fall with a drop of 40 meters over 3 tiers. It was absolutely magnificent so I decided to take the plunge (in my dress) into the cold pool at the base of it and swim under the falls. Absolutely liberating!!!

To see many more pictures: Piha

Savanna, Katie, and I swimming around the waterfall! 

Piha, black sand beach

Savanna, Katie, and I at Kitekite Falls

Liberation

Getting out of the falls in my dress!

LFC group

Cape Brett Walkway

This weekend I had the amazing opportunity to hike the Cape Brett Walkway with the Auckland University Tramping Club. We drove to a campsite near the start of the walkway Friday night and camped out in tents. It was nice to hear the rain hitting the tent while falling in and out of sleep, but it's never nice to take down tents in the rain the next morning. Saturday morning, we divided into to groups and had an early start for the hike. It was about a 17K (10.5 mile) hike to the Cape Brett Hut. I was with the first group and it took us about 5.5 hours to complete the hike. The first half of the hike wasn't exactly pleasant since it was pouring rain and was incredibly windy. Whenever we got to what appeared to be lookouts, we couldn't see anything at all since we were basically in a cloud. In the later half of the hike, we were able to see absolutely beautiful views of the ocean crashing into rocks and cliffs. After a lot of hiking and falling along the way, we were happy to see our little hut situated at the end of the walkway with ocean all around. We spent some time reading about the history of the area and enjoying the ocean views. It was so unbelievably windy that we got cold pretty fast and spent the evening chatting inside before enjoying a delicious dinner. After dinner we did yoga by candlelight, which was incredibly relaxing and felt great after a long day of hiking. Before heading to bed, we did some star gazing. The night sky was incredible and it was really neat to see the lighthouse shining its light on the hill above us.

The next morning we took our time waking up since we would be the last group to leave. I ate breakfast overlooking the ocean and then got ready for another 17K hike back to base camp. We were fortunate that the sky was basically clear on the hike back allowing us to take in all the incredible views that we missed on the hike to the hut. The ocean cast so many incredible shades of blue! I wanted to stand there all day and just gaze out; unbelievable beauty. I did manage to see a manta ray gliding though the water, which was really exciting. I was bummed I didn't get to snorkel, but the conditions weren't right this time. I was definitely a little sore after a total of 34K of hiking over two days, but I had an amazing time. It was one my favorite tramps I've done so far in New Zealand.

To see more pictures from Cape Brett Walkway: Cape Brett

The red hut is where we stayed! 

Not a bad view to wake up to! 

Group 1!

Incredible view on the way back!

Whatipu

Spent a beautiful day in Whatipu, a remote black sand beach at the southern end of the Waitakere Ranges. I had never seen a black sand beach before in my life so it was really exciting to see a new type of beach. Martin, Matthias, Savanna, and I spent some time walking along the beach and then hiked the Omanawanui Track complete with stream crossings! The view of the ocean from the summit was absolutely gorgeous and worth the muddy uphill hike. The forecast called for rain, but we were lucky to only get a brief period of rain (I was secretly happy it rained so I could see Savanna in her obnoxious XL red poncho). It was one of my favorite days in New Zealand so far. Great friends with incredible views . . . Doesn't get much better than that! =)

To see more pictures from Whatipu: Whatipu Photos

Tree of Tranquility

Things are definitely picking up in the semester at Uni, but everyday when I see this tree I am reminded how incredible life really is. It may only be for a moment, but it's a moment that brings a bit of tranquility to my day.

"Beauty is nature's tool for survival because we protect what we fall in love with. It opens our hearts and makes us realize that we are apart of nature and we're not separate from it. When we see ourselves in nature it also connects us to everyone of us, because its clear it is all connected in one."-Louie Schwartzberg.

Otara Market

The Otara Market takes place every Saturday in South Auckland and is a collection of stalls, fresh produce, and music. It brings in a lot of people and I can see why because the prices are so good! Both the vendors and market-goers were very diverse, which made the market seem very vibrant and slightly overwhelming (in a good way) to me. I found it interesting that there were t-shirts with the Chicago Bulls logo on it and hats with Miami Heat. I learned that the NBA is actually quite popular in South Auckland, but I'm always surprised when I see someone walking around in a Bulls hat. Loved the market, and I would definitely go back!

Back Home in Auckland

The South Island is gorgeous, but I'm happy to be back in Auckland! 

Pictures Around Auckland: Auckland

Mt Cook and Rangitata

Mt Cook and Rangitata are the last stops of my 2 week south island tour! Unfortunately it was really foggy and rainy so we weren't able to see New Zealand's highest mountain, Mt Cook. On our drive to Rangitata we stopped at Lake Tekapo to do some snow tubing and see the gorgeous Good Shepherd Church, which was built in 1935. It offers such a fantastic view that there is a 5 year waiting list to get married there! Rangitata is famous for its Lord of the Rings landscape so we decided to watch Lord of the Rings that night as a group after going for a short hike. Tomorrow it's off to Christchurch and then flying back to Auckland.

Stray Bus

Church of the Good Shepherd (5 year waiting list to get married here!)

Lake Tekapo

Rangitata

Snow Tubing