Views // Mt Maunganui, NZ

Not gonna lie, I shat myself taking that photo. I don't know where my irrational fear of unstable ground at heights came from. I was the kid that climbed to the top of the playground when playing grounders because a) the others couldn't get me and b) I wasn't scared. Fast forward to somewhere in my teen years and that fearlessness somehow disappeared. It actually took everything out of me to stand up completely on a high ropes course. I am now terrified to jump off of things, specifically things that are not nice and flat. I feel justified at this cliff but Nathan gets rather annoyed I don't go cliff jumping, preferring to stay comfortably watching from the sidelines or swimming in the lake.

With the weather we've had this last week, I can't imagine being on anything other then solid ground. It was reported that in the two days of heavy rain that hit the Waikato we had a months worth of rain. ONE MONTH IN TWO DAYS! Needless to say it was possibly the best time to be sick. Netflix was a lovely companion. However, I find that it's often when your stuck at home that you decide that you need to organise your life, and thats exactly what I did. In fact, I handed in 3 months worth of assignments, made time for doctor/osteo/physio appointments and identified where my wasted time was going.

When the sun finally decided to show its face, my sister and I decided we would go to the beach. Oh and this is my other sister, Jo! Thats right, all three of the 280 sisters are here in the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately Trice was tied down with work and we were not letting this day go to waste.

When I told Jo that we were going to the Mount, she came down dressed for a hike. I had to inform her that we were infact going to the beach. Now I will not be to blame if any of my Canadian friends come to NZ and then go to the Mount without comfortable walking attire. I feel the number one rule of traveling New Zealand is that you must have a bikini, running shoes and a rain jacket on hand 24/7. Okay this probably isn't rule number one, as I have a feeling that remembering to stay left when driving is more important, but its up there.

Saturday was a B-E-A-U-TIFUL autumn day. Sunny and crisp, the perfect combination of what we love most about summer days without all the things we hate - such as humidity, hot wind or worse, no wind at all! Lucky for us the Mount is only 1.25 hours away and when we got there the main beach wasn't packed at all. There was definitely enough going on to be entertained and we had our fair share of people watching. Infact, if anyone that is reading this has any idea why a Native guy was in war paint and riding his horse through town and on the beach, please let me know!

Though we have officially entered autumn and daylight savings ended last weekend, the water was so warm! Jo and I had a great time ducking under waves. Everytime I go to the beach, I find myself reminded of a childhood memory. I absolutely loved swimming in the waves when I was a kid, the bigger the better. I wouldn't be able to count the amount of time I spent getting pushed over by waves and inching slowly along the beach waiting for my mum to yell at me, and I quote, "get back here, if I have to come get you this will be the last time we come to the beach". My mum however was sacred of the waves, a fact I didn't find out until later in my life.

As the sun started to go behind the 'mountain' we decided that it was the time to climb it. It is a beautiful walk up to the summit of the Mount but I wouldn't call it easy, though it isn't too hard. Believe it or not, this was the first time I actually had time/wanted to climb the Mount. As a first timer, I 100% do not recommend going up in jandles/flip flops (though alot of people do). The whole way you are greeted with gravel. Oh, and if you want to take cool cliff-top photos jandles are definitely not the way to go.

While on the beach, we could see para-gliders having a great time circling the top of the mount. When we got to the top we were able to see them take off. Now going back to that scared of heights thing, I was crapping myself watching them from the cliff never mind actually jumping. Really they don't 'jump', the wind catches their parachute and they just get swept off the cliff. Thankfully their adventure makes for great photos and a rather nice reward at the top, as if the view isn't enough.

It really was the perfect day to go for a tiny hike because I find that I often get a bit bored of long walks. When I cant see the end game Nathan likes to call me 'hoha', which is Māori for annoyed, and he would be right. We usually go ill-prepared and I'm either hungry or need to pee. Lucky for me the Mount is only a 25min uphill walk. Doubly as lucky, at the bottom is my choice of food and ice cream! We spent a good 40 minutes at the top just looking and laughing. Watching as an old man was purposefully hanging off the cliff by holding the grass growing on it (not even joking).

I think many people feel the same about being at the top of a mountain. There is alot to admire about people who do this on the daily. The Mount isn't even really a mountain. My sister actually laughed when I said, "that's it" (remember she was not beach ready earlier). But the hike sure builds up a sweat and you get a great reward when you get to the top! It was definitely the perfect end to an awesome autumn beach day. Better still the day ended with a solid burger and iced coffee.

People often ask me why I moved back to New Zealand from Canada. They tend to accentuate the first 'a' as if it makes Canada sound more fancy. Canada most definitely has its perks and it is bloody beautiful. My provincial slogan is "Beautiful British Columbia." Not even kidding. Yet when people met me they wondered why I didn't immediately introduce myself as a Kiwi. This current country of mine is stunning. Adventures take time and sometimes I don't have it and because of this I have decided that I will now be posting fortnightly. I need to focus on study but also make time for the things that make me happy.

I cant wait to meet the rest of you Aotearoa but I will have to do it slowly. After all, I didn't leave Canada to go back empty handed.