The rest of the road trip was so neat - I got to see a whole lot of countryside and coastline. We drove all the way around the outer edge of the east cape, and even made trek out to the easternmost lighthouse in the world! After that we camped out one more time and got to have a fire on the beach, and I had a quick crash course in surfing before it got dark. I did actually manage to stand up and ride a wave in a straight line for about 4 seconds. Hooray! I surfed! technically, anyway....
We stopped in Rotorua for a couple of hours, just long enough to do the Luge there. It was a little rainy, but we didn't mind. It meant we were almost the only people there, and we had a blast. Then we stayed in Te Awamutu for one day and two nights with Hayden's parents, and I got to meet some other relatives and friends as well. On our full day there we decided to do Blackwater Rafting at the Waitomo caves. Basically you are in a wetsuit and boots, hiking into a cave with water rushing around your feet, and then you get to hop on an inner tube and float along for bits of it. It was really dark, we all had headlamps on our helmets, and we got to float right under some of the glow-worms.
On our way out of town we picked up a hitch-hiker, someone Hayden actually knew from growing up in Te Awamutu. The three of us had a merry road trip down the coast, took the long way around to take in a bit more scenery, and stopped for dinner with Hayden's cousins in Wanganui before pulling into Wellington late last night about 11:30pm. I can't believe these two weeks in NZ have passed so quickly, I could have easily stayed longer!! But today I am off to the airport and moving on to the next part of my travels, up to Airlie beach in northern Queensland, Australia to visit my friend Matt. On to the next adventure!!! Goodbye, New Zealand....I will miss you. You really are quite possibly the most beautiful and friendly place on earth.
