Waterfalls

The past week has been amazing. We got picked up hitching out of coremandal by two really great people, Faye and Julian. Faye is from the UK and Julian from France.

Zach and I had no real destination to head to, and neither did they. We drove south for a while and ended up at a DOC campsite. The first night we hiked up to a waterfall for a swim, and afterwards proceeded to rock hop our way down the river back to camp.

 

The next day we went to a crazy park full of art, sculptures and musical instruments hidden in the trees. A place for anyone to leave art. It was awesome. We found a bunch of bells and drums made from scraps of metal, wood, and plastic, and played music there for a while.  

(We have a video of us playing, but it takes to long to upload right now. I'll post it in a day or so.)

That night we got to another campsite. There was a mass of kids there, and when we pulled up, they were all over us. Julian had his poi out, I pulled my hula hoop, and we had a bunch of juggling balls. They thought we were a circus. They were the sweetest kids ever. All from 3 years old, to 12ish. Zach pulled out his guitar and and as soon as he started singing they all sat around in full attention. We played with them for hours, and their parents invited us to their camp for dinner. A plethora of food, including a traditional Maori Hangi. It was all amazing. That night Faye, Julian, Zach and myself, went for a night hike up to another waterfall to see some glow worms.
There are few times in your life when you get to experience something so beautiful you don't know what to do. The glow worms were without a doubt one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. We were walking through a jungle by a quietly babbling steam alone with thousands of little glowing dots all over the trees and under over hangs. They looked like blueish green stars. It felt like being in a fairy tale. It was unbelievable. There is no way to describe, or explain it. No one else was out there. We got to the waterfall, climbed down, stripped naked and dipped in pool under the glow worms. It was one of the purest experiences I've ever had.
Staying true to our seeming tradition of waterfalls with our new traveling partners, we drove down to a place called Rainbow Mountain. I had been given directions to this "secret" hot spring the third day I was here on Waiheke island. I've been waiting to go for a while. Just as the days before, my mind was blown. Unlike every other hot spring I've been to, cold rivers with pockets of hot water, this was an entire river of warmth. Every part of the river was warm. We walked down to a place where the water dropped. A good sized waterfall of pure natural hot water. Amazing.

 

We swam there for hours, jumping off the falls, swimming, laying in the current. Without a doubt the best hot spring I've been in.
More adventures to come. Zach and I now part with our friends in a place called New Plymouth. A strange place to spend new years, but we'll see what happens.

Talk to you next year!