Raglan

Yesterday I drove down to Raglan, a surf town about 2 hours Southwest of Auckland, to spend the day. This is where I meant to go on Tuesday but was too hungover to accomplish the drive. I'm glad I went Wednesday - the weather was spectacular! I left Auckland about 9 am, pulling into Raglan around 11. On the way down I stopped at this amazing cemetery along the highway. I had seen the cemetery last week when I drove to the Hakarimata hike but didn't stop. This cemetery is built into the side of a hill - and it's stunning. It is so well maintained and so beautiful, I want to spend the rest of eternity in this place. I parked on the road and walked up to the gate which has a sign reading "No tourists." I ignored the sign and entered anyways but felt so uncomfortable I wasn't able to stay more than a few minutes. I did take a few photos that'll I'll share with you here. I wish it was allowed to explore the cemetery because it is just so amazing, but I guess it's just not in the cards.

When I got to Raglan I decided to go straight to the beach. I pulled up to one of the three surf beaches there and spent some time watching the surfers and then read my book for a while.

When I was leaving one of the surfers started chatting with me, a guy named Michael from Oregon. Turns out here's here in NZ on vacation for 2 weeks. We chatted for a bit and he invited me to dinner. I didn't agree but he said he was going to watch the sun set up the road and if I decided to go to dinner with him I could meet him there for the sunset before hand. I kept this in mind. He also suggested a good place for lunch, The Shack, and I took him up on his suggestion. I headed straight into town for lunch, as I was quite hungry, and The Shack was good.

After lunch I went to Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfall outside Raglan about 20 kms. It's a very skinny but tall waterfall, coming in at 55 meters tall. It's so stunningly beautiful. I just can't believe how many waterfalls they have in this country. How much fresh water! This waterfall, however, is full of polutted water. There are signs saying no swimming because the water is full of agricultural runoff. You can definitely see it when you look at the river, the water is all cloudy. Yuck!

I decided while I was visiting this waterfall that I had nothing to lose by going out to dinner with Micahel - and Raglan being only 2 hours from Auckland, I could still drive home after dinner. I went to meet him for the sunset.

After the sunset (and a few beers) we went into town for a drink followed by dinner. We had a drink at the local hotel/restaurant (the Raglan equivalent of the Top Pub where I worked in Coromandel town). We went to dinner at the local Cambodian restaurant. All was good. After dinner I decided to stay the night in Raglan so we went back to the local hotel/restaurant (Harbour View Hotel) to check room prices for me and have another drink. The girl working the desk definitely undersold the room. She said it was very simple and only had a bed but when we went to look at it, turns out it had a shelving unit and a sink too. :)I stayed the night there, wasn't bad. This morning Michael took me out for a nice breakfast at The Shack and then I had to head back into Auckland for work. Always nice to meet a fellow American abroad.

Work today I had some interesting customers that I'll write more about tomorrow. It's just getting late now and I need to get to work. Here's a high lever description, I'll write more when I can:

- the Americans here on work.
- Phil, Debbie, and son.
- Tracy and Lorne.

After work I went out for a drink with some work peeps - Anthony mostly, as he's leaving in a few days. Not bad but I'm really getting sick of drinking more than once every few weeks. This just isn't my scene anymore at all! And I had to take a taxi home which is just such a waste of money. I'm very upset with myself for staying out and not taking the bus home. All the money I would've saved!

Anyways, off to bed now. I'll post photos and videos tomorrow of Raglan, no time to wait for them to upload now.

Best!

I have videos that I will upload soon, I just need to clear space on my computer before I can download them and then upload them.

P.S. I talked with a high school friend today on Skype, Allyson, and she told me she's buying a house. How crazy for me to think about this. I'm so excited for her but man, she's really becoming an adult at the same time as I feel like I'm turning more into a child. Not that I'm getting more immature, rather I'm backing about for serious responsibility like this as she's taking it on. I'm happy I'm doing what I'm doing, and happy she's doing what she's doing, but it's just so weird to think how similar our lives were only 8 years ago and how different they are today - and who would've predict all of this?! It's just so amazing to watch your life unfold, and the lives of those around you!