Wow what a week it has been! Today marks the completion of our first full week in New Zealand and I can hardly believe the adventures we've had already. I could write a book on everything that has transpired thus far but I'll try to keep it brief and just share the highlights.
We spent a few lovely days in Auckland before buying a van (her name is Rita) and getting it ready to head out on the road. Once we left Auckland we headed up to a friend of a friend's house outside Paparoa, a beautiful house full of beautiful people. We spent Thursday to Sunday gardening, cooking, playing with Mayana and Keiran's wonderful daughters, Billie (3) and Danu (1) and getting used to life outside of the city. Thanks to them we built a bed to put in our van so now we can camp out wherever we feel like stopping.
The feeling of getting out of the city for the foreseeable future was a bit scary at first- like staring into a void, no idea what may come. I hadn't realized how accustomed to city life I had become, once the city started to drift away I felt a lightness and openheartedness I hadn't felt in a long time. It was wonderful.
Mayana is an amazing cook and used mostly local ingredients (she gets whatever she can from her huge garden). In addition to some of the best food I have ever eaten she taught me how to make raw sauerkraut, I won't know for 2 more weeks how it turned out but I'll keep you posted. If you want the recipe let me know and I'll email you.
We also learned a bit about Maori culture as Mayana and Keiran both know heaps about it. It is always so exciting to hear about different healing modalities. No matter where in the world they come from, the Maoris of New Zealand, Chinese Medicine, Yoga- there are so many similarities it always makes me take a step back and appreciate the healers of this world.
After the farm we headed north to the Bay of Islands. It is glorious here. A bit the San Juans in WA if they were tropical. Lush forest, turquoise water, warm weather- we've been walking and swimming and doing lots of yoga. The beaches here are white sand and shells and the water is cold but refreshing. I can't really describe it in words so here are some photos.
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| Wharangei Falls |
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| Maori carving at the sight of the treaty sighting- Wataingi |
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| Coastline near Opua |
xoxo
Kaityn
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