One of the most relaxing days we've had by far, we got to venture outside the city today. After us girls trekked the mile to the boys' apartment building in pouring rain while avoiding the bike race coursing through the middle of the city, we started the day with a fun breakfast at a little cafe. I had a refreshing plate of seared lamp and Mediterranean rice. We walked to the underground train station (sorta like a subway except not because the majority of the tracks are above ground) and boarded a train to Henderson. It was fun watching the scenery flash by in the windows of the train. When we got to Henderson, Auntie Megan picked us up and took us to her niece's netball game. The easiest way to describe netball is a game played by girls who pass a volleyball-like ball and attempt to throw it into a backboard-less basketball hoop. It's...interesting. Apparently netball is New Zealand's biggest autumn sport. We left the netball courts and drove up into the Arataki Mountains to the Waitakere Forest Reserve, where we got to see stunning views of the forests. It was so relaxing to stand on the observation decks and look out onto the river and trees below while listening to the loud hum of the tree beetles and the songs of the birds. I never realized how loud silence can be, but when you're out in nature with the noise of humans toned down to near nothing, nature itself is quite vociferous. I enjoyed getting to learn about the effort put in to preserve this place and its native species. We took a stroll through a plant ID garden-type area, and it was really cool to listen to Ms. Arce point out the Aotearoa counterparts to our Hawaiian species. We continued our adventure outside the concrete jungle by heading to the beautiful, sparkling black sands of Piha Beach. The expansive views were stunning, and there was so much so explore at the beach. The water was kinda chilly and the wind was pretty strong, but I still had fun splashing and running around in the water in my street clothes. We did some mild hiking up the huge rock mountain on the beach, and the views were incredible. This is the Aotearoa I wanted to see on this trip, and I finally got to experience it. I'm so glad we took this chance to connect with nature because there's nothing comparable to standing 200 feet above the waves, gazing at the long white clouds that give this land its name. We ended the day with a trip to a local shopping center for our procurement of hokey pokey ice cream and lolls (chocolates and other sweets). The ice cream was interesting. Vanilla with little bubbles of candy that taste like something between caramel and toffee. The candy aisle at the grocery store was impressive. Cadbury and Whittakers as far as the eye could see. It took a lot of self-control to not spend all of my money on Crunchies, Cherry Ripe and Turkish Delight. Our last stop of the evening was dinner at a restaurant hotel only a few blocks from the girls' apartments. Finally! No treacherously long walk back to our apartments after a long day's work! -Katie K. Sakys
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May 2015
CategoriesContributorsThe members on the Mālama Honua journey will maintain this area to document their experiences. |