The Naked Bus and Feet in the Sand

Woo hoo!!!! After sleeping through our first alarm, Shelby and I jumped out of bed, in a hurry to check out of the private room Base Auckland had upgraded us to late the night before (Thanks Jason!).  (P.s. We slept harder than rocks…. We slept like diamonds!)  Then at 7:30, we jumped on the Naked Bus, and premire bus system that offers some tickets for one New Zealand Dollar (that's about 75 cents american money) and headed south on our way towards New Plymouth.  This exciting trip was full of twisting roads, road construction, and two hundred or so pictures of beautiful New Zealand landscape out the window of a bus going 100 Km/hr.

Although Auckland was alright, it seemed that the further we got away from that city, the more excited we were to be there.  As the Naked Bus traveled down the west coast from Auckland to New Plymouth, we made several stops to add passengers and use the “toilet” ( they are not bathrooms, they are toilets).  One of my favorite stops however was our stop for lunch!  Yes, I know those of you who know my appetite are probably saying “duh” but the lunch stop was my favorite stop for a different reason than the food part.  At our stop in Mokau, I hiked down the trail to the beach.  This beach was especially cool because it had black sand!  This sand, which I was told is iron sand that is from the volcanic activity around the area, is completely black and feels different from the normal, white-sandy-beaches sand.  It is found mostly on the west side of the north island.

After this forty minute break, we hopped back on the bus and a short time later arrived in New Plymouth, where we were greeted by the lovely Ms. Carolyn Ann Aish. (She’s an author… you should check out here work by clicking here! )  This Kind Kiwi (the name Kiwi is used to describe people from New Zealand) took us to the water front where we were able to see this here Wind wand…..

She said that when the wind is really blowing, it looks like it’s going to break in half!

 We also walked part way down the New Plymouth coastal walkway, a 7Km walkway beside the ocean.  

Next, we went to the Dairy Shop where we had the most amazing ice cream.  Mine was passion explosion, this white and orange/yellow swirl ice cream that was made with real passion fruit…. And they left in the seeds!  It was delicious!  Following this, we still had a little bit of time before Ms. Aish had to pick up her grandsons Dwight and Ethan so she took us to her most favorite place around,  down onto the beach where the water from the Tasman Sea was coming crashing in!  We took off our socks and shoes, rolled up our pant legs and headed in!  Here’s just a few pictures of this leg of journey!

... it came in a little further than we thought it would.....

Last of all, we headed home.   Ms. Aish made us buttered chicken (which reminded me of curry) with rice and a salad.  We also got settled into the Caravan!  In New Zealand, a caravan is like a camper.  This particular one has two places to sleep and is just perfect for Shelby and I to catch some much needed Z’s.

 So, so long from the Caravan!!!  Good night New Zed