Week one is almost over and done. It's insane to think that we've only been here a week. EcoQuest feels like a home I never knew I had. I love getting to experience completely new things with new friends. The first few days were very peaceful. We basically explored our backyard, which includes a beach on the Firth of Thames, a national park (Waharau), Kaiaua (whose stores sell hokey pokey ice cream!!!!), and Thames aka "town". Whakatiwai has the most amazing landscape I have ever seen.
This past weekend, we went hiking in the Pinnacle mountians on the Coromandel Peninsula. Just getting up to the hut took all day (it was marked as a 3 hour trail) and the fact that we made it alive is amazing. The region was logged for the Kiaua tree in the 1920's and the trails were created for horses. Naturally, the steps were bigger than anything I am used to climbing. We spent the night in the Pinnacles Hut and got up at 5 to hike up to the top of the Pinnacle to watch the sun rise. Hiking in pitch black was the most thrilling thing I've ever done! You could barely see the stairs and ladders, let alone the person in front of you. At the top, you could see all the way out to the ocean once the sun rose.
Tomorrow, we go to the local marae (basically a sacred place for the Maori) and will be greeted in a traditional ceremony of sorts. After that, I can officially say that I'm from Whakatiwai wherever I go in New Zealand. This weekend is Waitangi Day (the equvialent of our 4th of July). A bunch of girls and I are planning to go to Rotorua for the weekend to see what's all there. Our next weekend off, we want to go to Cathedral Cove. It's all very exciting!!!
I should get to work on my assignments...
