Waiheke Island and Devonport, New Zealand

As I went to post a new entry I discovered this unpublished draft of a brief adventure in New Zealand. It might be two years late, but here ya go!

Our second day in New Zealand, we took a ferry to an Island 30 minutes off the coast of New Zealand called Waiheke Island. It was a small country island with curvy roads, rolling hills, and sandy beached sprinkled with shells. We walked to the quiet town of Oneroa, and searched for shells off Oneroa Bay. After a peaceful walk we caught the ferry back to Devonport, a town across the harbor from Auckland. Devonport was filled with shops and restaurants and hikes up hills where the view of the city center, and the panorama of the volcanic Rangitoto Island proved to be majestic. We hiked up to the lower of the two major hills, and frolicked in the grass. When it started to rain we watched the city almost completely vanish under the misty gray fog. After the storm let up we hiked back down to Devonport and caught our ferry back to the city. We went for a farewell dinner with our friends and we're packing up our bags to head home. See you in the snow!!

Waitakere National Park, Auckland, New Zealand

We left Australia the other day. It was a tearful goodbye, mostly because I left great friends, some of whom I may never see again. But never the less I carry with me great memories. My time in Australia was nothing but memorable. I am riveted by the amazing things I saw and experienced. I am educated in new ways by different professors. I was stretched and challenged only to be grown and strengthened. I can only hope I will be able to express in words what the experience was for me. But for now, I'll tell you about our holiday in New Zealand.

Our first day n Auckland we went canyoning in Waitakere Nationonal Park. We started the day by suiting up in full on wet suits, harnesses and helmets. Then we hiked for about 30 minutes up the mountainside until we reached the falls. From there we repelled down three waterfalls, and swam in ice cold pools of fresh water.




We dove through caves, and jumped off cliffs and we even fed and pet an eel named "puppy"!


The day proved to be exhausting, but magical.