Tuesday 31 August was the first day of our epic north island trip. Jess and I were in rough shape because the day before was her birthday. We’d gone bungee jumping and then out to dinner, then finished the night by chilling at her apartment. We had to be on the bus at 7:45am, and we made it just in the nick of time after a packing frenzy. After picking up all of the other passengers, we headed toward Hahei for our first stop of the trip. We’d decided to do the bus tour route because that way we didn’t have to worry about driving or directions.
We arrived in the adorable tiny town of Hahei, dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and headed to the beach for a kayaking trip. The day was cool and comfortable, and we hopped into our kayaks with a couple of fun kiwi guides and about 8 other bus passengers. Jess and I shared a kayak and got the hang of rowing together pretty quickly. We were feeling better and the exercise was awesome, and after a while we pulled into a little cove where sting rays darted around us in the shallow water. Then we steered to a beach and parked the kayaks for a bit while the guides fixed us coffees. As part of the experience, the guides have a little shack where they can boil some water and stash supplies, and they fix you whatever you like, latte, cappuccino, flat white, or tea, right there on the beach. Adorable.
After the coffee break we headed out to sea, paddling around a giant rock where seal pups napped on a rocky outcropping. We looped around the rock while the wind picked up, and when we came back around, the pups popped into the water, swimming around us and showing us their bellies as they played and dove. The guides smacked the surface of the water, and the pups darted around us, peeking out and making eyes at us as we sat and watched.
But soon it was time to head back to shore and hop on a bus to meet up with the rest of our bus people that had elected not to go kayaking. We took a quick trip over to Hot Water Beach, aptly named for the hot springs under the beach. You grab a shovel, dig yourself a hole, and you’ve got a cheap hot tub. It’s a bit tricky though because one square foot of beach might be above a scalding hot spring, while three feet away the water’s ice cold. It takes a little work to get a pool that’s just right. Luckily we arrived just after sunset, and the beach was already filled with holes dug by previous visitors.
Back at the hostel we showered up while a great barbecue was prepared, and dinner consisted of steak, sausages, sautéed onions, salad, grilled bread, kumara, and veggies. I could tell that it would be a beautiful clear night for stargazing, and since I’d been dying to get out of the city to get a better view of the stars on this side of the world, I talked a handful of people into venturing back to the beach late after dinner. We clanked our way back to the beach armed with bottles of beer and wine and camped out. Everyone saw this giant shooting star right after we arrived, and as people broke off into conversations and drinking, I kept my eyes upward. The shooting stars were streaking in every direction. I counted ten before the crick in my neck was enough to make me stop craning upward.
Our bus driver had alerted us to the fact that this was a particularly good beach to watch the sunrise from if the weather was decent, so we set our alarms. Not only was the weather decent in the morning, but the sunrise was spectacular. Hahei will always hold a special place in my heart.
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