Final Stop: Tauranga

I went to Tauranga because I needed to head to a small town called Te Puke (pronounced like cookie) to meet with a yacht designer. It was one of my favorite cities and where I will probably end up living if I get the job in Te Puke.

I spent the first day in Te Puke meeting with the designer and then made the mistake of getting back on a bike to go to the grocery store. Hills and traffic (and then rain) do not mix with my bike riding skills. Especially carrying groceries on the way back. Fortunately I made it!

The next day I went and hiked Mt. Manganui with one of the guys I met at the hostel. It was one of the steepest hikes yet, but there were some really pretty views. He is one of those people who likes to go off trail and explore so we had a lot of fun and saw some awesome views. We went to go see a blow hole (which we still can't figure out where it was supposed to be) and ended up climbing all over some rocks (due to my knee, he was a bit more adventurous than me). We came across a seal that seemed really sickly and then we determined he was just mad we woke him up from his nap.

Kalon REALLY wanted to go to this island and kept coming up with ways to get there. He decided he was buying a kayak.

The beach at Mt. Manganui

The town of Mt. Mangauni

Our viewpoint from this awesome rock we found off the trail

Climbing around on the rocks. Kalon got a bit more adventurous than me and ended up getting soaked.

Mt. Mangauni

The next day was rainy so not much got accomplished. I tried to go on some walks and see some sights, but they were all pretty much a let down and not too exciting. I took the opportunity to sit around and read. Unfortunately a youth soccer team showed up and turned the hostel into a madhouse. It was great when they all went to sleep.... until they woke up at 7 am and were kicking the ball around in the hall (which included our door). Fortunately it was my last day, so I woke up and headed back to Auckland.

I have met A TON of people in Auckland and there are so many long term people at my hostel that it feels like a family. I've had an absolute blast the past month or so here and as much as I am ready to get out of the hostel, I will be sad to leave. I think my posts are now all caught up so you get to read in real time again. Woohoo!!!

Next week I head to Gisborne for a week for work and then I head to Queenstown for a few days with some friends I met in Auckland when I first got back here. I'm super excited about that and then when I come back I get to sort out my life one more (and hopefully final) time.