Ryan & U'i's Pacific Odyssey: NZ Day 33

June 7 (Day 33)

Day – Ui’s NZ birthday, hike lighthouse, Waipiro Bay, birthday party

Night – Tolaga Bay Holiday Park

My birthday day was truly a day to remember. It was actually more like a culmination of 2 amazing, fun-filled days. I woke up to take a walk on a beautiful beach located on the eastern most point of New Zealand with Ryan, taking pictures of the now fully risen sun that lay hidden within a blanket of thin cloud cover. The beach was located on the Eastern most tip of New Zealand, where the sun first touches and warms the lands. Hilary woke up quite early to view the sunrise, but I was very tired from the long east side drive the day prior and so Ryan and I missed the sunrise by about 20 minutes. The East side of New Zealand reminded me of the Northern part of the country, where we visited Cape Reinga. Both areas displayed such a raw beauty, with wild horses roaming the fields, majestic, rushing waterfalls, and thick mists that lined the empty coasts.

After Ryan and I’s long walk on the beach, Hilary and Jason met us and we walked to the camper van. When I opened up the van, there were dozens of pink balloons and I screamed with joy at the surprise. Hilary also pulled out green and pink party hats with my-little-ponies covering the front. We wore the hats for the rest of the day!

Apparently the paparazzi were out for our morning walk

U'i and her birthday surprise

After the lovely surprise we drove to the lighthouse at the end of the eastern most peninsula for a short hike. It was truly worth the hour long walk. At the very top there were plaques describing the small island off the cape. In English the given name is the “East Island,” obviously because it is the Eastern most island, but the Maori had several names for the island, Whangaokena, Hauroa and Teke o Kaiawa. In mythology, the island was used to hide many different types of plants and the New Zealand lizard (forgot the native name) for a chief whose name was Wheneke? He had a male dog guardian who watched over and protected the island so that no one was able to enter and take any of the unique species. Contemporarily, the island was the location of the first light house, but the families who had to live on this tiny motu (island) struggled with loneliness and also safety issues. There were deaths that occurred on the island, one accident being a child who fell off of the steep precipice. The lighthouse island on Teke o Kaiawa eventually fell to ruin and the lighthouse was formally moved to the end of the eastern most peninsula.

The crew at the lighthouse

East Island

Our vans and a few sheep in the valley below

After the hike, we drove along the East Coast to Tikitiki where I had wanted to visit a church. It was very similar to St. Faiths, but Hilary was able to gather pictures of the inside. Beautiful, magnificent carvings were displayed and the pews were covered in crocheted blankets and pillows of various colors. It was a beautiful sight. We continued our way down the coast to find a place to stay for the night. After hours of driving we finally pulled into the small town of Tolaga Bay. The oceanside holiday park had very clean facilities and was right next to the historic Tolaga Bay wharf. When we arrived, there were waves coming into the bay. We walked to the end of the wharf (the longest wharf in the southern hemisphere) and could see right peaks breaking near the horizon off tha distant peninsula. That night we had a party in Hil and J’s van, with apple pie, ice cream. It was definitely the best birthday I could have asked for. Who knew that this place would bring the most spiritual of all surf sessions and be a place where we would return for our last days in New Zealand. A very peaceful place that had a very rich, deep history.