The beach

You can’t believe all the things I’ve done today.  I worked, did laundry, went out for coffee, walked for two hours, and went to the beach.  I was so tired last night too and I didn’t sleep all that well.  I did not want to go to work, but I knew it would only be for a short while.  They just wanted me to get the hang of checking out a group.  

I came home exhausted, but I put my laundry in right away because I wanted it to dry in the sunshine.  Then I sat down in the sun at the kitchen table to devour some breakfast/lunch and read an old OK! magazine laying about the house.

Caroline and Paul (a glacier guide who lives near us) invited me to go bike riding with them but I just couldn’t.  I didn’t want to move.  After their ride they came back and Josh (another roommie) joined us and we just chatted.  Living in a small town consists of just a lot of talking and saying the same things over and over again.  At least this is what I’ve learned in my first few days in a small town.  You basically look for anything to fill up your time with.

Caroline invited me out for coffee so we walked down in the sunshine to Cafe Neve.  We sat on the front porch and enjoyed the scenery and the people watching.  It was lovely and the coffee gave me the energy for the rest of the things I did today!

Caroline and Paul told me about the path that they biked on and said I should check it out.  It isn’t finished yet, but you can walk on it on the weekends when the workers aren’t there.  The walk was so beautiful and I look forward to doing it again.  It was just a good place to think and sing.  I only saw one other person on it.

I almost turned back after half an hour, but I think the coffee kicked in and I just wanted to see all that Caroline had described to me.  I eventually made it to the carpark for the view of the glacier.  It was another few minutes until I made it to the actual view.  First I had to cross a suspension bridge with a sign that said maximum 5 people on bridge! 

The view was really nice with the bright blue sky, the rainforest, and the glacier.  By the time I made it there I was truly tuckered.  A sweet tourist couple offered me a ride back to the township, but I declined.  I was kicking myself for that though.  They were also going to take me up to the area closer to the glacier if I had gone with them.  I decided I had said no too many times!  No to bike riding and no to this offer.  I decided I needed to start saying yes.

I was almost back home when someone called out to me from their porch.  It was a man I had met earlier when Caroline and I were having coffee.  He and I talked for a bit while I played fetch with his dog. His name is Chad (the man’s, the dog’s name is Sprocket) and he rents out his house and does roadwork.  Chad invited me to come to the beach later in the evening.

I’ve really wanted to see Gillespie’s beach but I have no way of getting there.  It’s a bit too far to get there on bike.  I would have said no, but because of earlier I decided I should say yes and go.  I just told him maybe.  Then I went to ask Caroline if she thought it would be OK.  Caroline encouraged me to go and since I really wanted to see the beach I decided to go.

When I got to Chad’s house later I played with Sprocket again and then Chad and one of his boarders, Christoph, and a friend of Chad’s piled into his vehicle and headed to the beach.  Christoph was a nice man from France.  He and his wife are on a nine month honeymoon!

The drive out to the beach was a bit wild because it isn’t paved and it has a lot of loops and turns through the forest.  But I actually felt really safe because Chad is the one who fixes the road so he knew it like the back of his hand.  I thought we’d just get to the beach, park, and walk around.  But Chad drove up onto the beach and stopped just to turn on his four wheel drive.  Then we went roaring onto the beach.

The only thing is the beach isn’t really sandy.  It’s not like driving on the beach at Long Beach.  The beach has large, perfect orb-like rocks on it.  We went tearing all about.  We almost got stuck and it was quite the adventure sitting in the car while he tried to move on the rocks.  

Eventually Chad parked and we just walked around and enjoyed the waves.  I love being near the water and this felt really good.  This beach has black sand with gold flecks in it.  I didn’t see any gold, but it was still beautiful.

The ride back was pretty uneventful.  I stayed and had tea with Chad and his friends.  They are kind of a wild bunch, but friendly.  They love to tell people about New Zealand.  They talk a lot about the birds, the sea life, and the plants.  The whole way back to town Chad’s friend told Christoph all about logging trees and sawing them up.  I kind of just sat in the front seat and wondered how I had gotten to this place where I’m roaring through the rainforest with a Kiwi in the back seat explaining the ins and outs of lumber to a honeymooning Frenchman!  This is what travel is all about I guess!

I wonder what adventures tomorrow will bring!