Byron Bay

The day that we drove to Byron Bay, we decided to play it by ear as far as accommodations so we ended up pretty much homeless...not realizing that schoolies were in town. What's schoolies, you ask? Hmmm, how to explain it...just imagine a bunch of high school graduates away from home and all parental guidance for a week in a beautiful beach town filled with nightclubs and bars in a country where the legal drinking age is 18. Pure chaos.

Anywho, we found ourselves in Byron Bay with absolutely no place to stay. Every holiday park and hostel is called just about laughed in my face that we had waited till 8:30pm to find a place to stay. Thank God for the Byron Bay police...and for the couch surfing website. A young Byron cop messaged and asked if we had a place to stay, and we of course took him up on the offer. Best way to have fun in Byron?! Be friends with a police officer! Ha, kidding, but he did help us find our way around. 

The next day, we put on our bathing suits, found free all day parking close to the beach and leaped and bounded into the water. We had been informed that the most recent (September 2014) shark attack (great white, fatality) was the first in 30 years so we were safe till about 2044. 

After wandering around a few of the shops, we sat down for coffees at an open air cafe to do a bit more planning for our travels up the east coast. 

The next day, we drove again to Byron Bay, only after I made Don stop at a few (5) yard sales :) I have a weakness for secondhand clothes, especially in stylish beachy surf towns like Byron! I purchased a Nixon watch for $2 that normally retailed for $200!!! 

We parked again in the free spots we had found the day before and started the walking track that leads up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse. It was a beautiful walk up and around the lighthouse. It was on this track that we found the most easterly point in Australia!! Went to the beach again after we finished the walking track and then got some food at a great restaurant right on the beach. 

That night, our host, Ben (the Byron police officer) had invited us to his to younger brothers costume party. It was 'm' themed since his brother was named Mitchell, so we went as 'mericans! Pretty good, right?

The next day, a distant relation of Don's named Doug Greene and his wife Tiffany, took us to a giant farmer's market about a half hour from where we were staying. Doug and Tiffany own a absolutely breathtaking house in Lennox Head, which is about 15 minutes from Byron Bay and after the farmer's market, they took us to spend the afternoon at their house.

See the lighthouse behind our sweaty faces?

Whattttttt?!

Pretty psyched about this so I had to do a few different poses...

South Island Recap

Here's a quick recap of our travelings through the South Island of New Zealand...lots of kilometres and lots of hours driving but definitely the most beautiful holiday we've ever taken...

Whanganui...where dreams come true - part 3

Day 3 in Whanganui. Woke up to birds singing again!...oh and there was as lamb 'baaaaah'ing at the window. It was precious. We spent the majority of our morning planning more of our trip and cleaning up the house that we had been staying in, nothing too exciting. In the afternoon, we went with the Todd family to this huge cable swing that swings out over the Whanganui River i.e coolest swing ever.

At the beach, we played on the huge (!!!!) playground and went on the small zip-line (which they call a flying fox here). Don and I pretended we were children again and it was lovely. I've always known that I love playgrounds even as an adult but in New Zealand, they have all kinds of cool contraptions and things that we don't have on any playgrounds I've ever been to in the United States.

Here's some pretty cool pictures from the day...

It was hard to capture the range of the swing over the river.

It was so much fun. I was scared at first but then I wanted to stay there and just swing forever.

Don on the flying fox zipline

Playgrounds are the best...nothing quite like revisiting your childhood on a swing set.

We got a photo with the wonderful Todd family! The sun was so bright that Caleb couldn't open his eyes - ha.

Whanganui...where dreams come true - Part 3

We woke the next day up in the huge farmhouse in Whanganui to quiet sounds of nothing but birds singing. It was magical. We ate our muesli and yogurt outside in the warm morning sun. We drove into town around 10am to meet David so he could show us some of the history of the town. He told us a lot about the town and country's history with the Maori, which up until then, we hadn't known much about. It was a wonderful time learning from him but after a couple hours, he had to go back to work, and we went on our way to see a few more things in the town before heading back home for a late lunch.

I see the River and the River sees me.

Lover of Art

We also climbed up a beautiful tower that overlooked the whole town and Whanganui River. I have some photos from the top but I need to find them. 

After lunch, we walked the 15 meters to the neighbors house so I could help Caleb feed the lamb. During the majority of our time there, Caleb would come over to get me if we were home during the lamb's feeding times so that I could feed the lamb and also steal a few snuggles :) Kane got his bow and arrow out to show Don how to use it...if you know Don, you'd know he was thrilled to pretend he was like the Arrow superhero from the television show for a few minutes. I went back in the farmhouse where we were staying to do a few things and came back outside when I was hearing grunts and strange noises from the barn across the driveway. Come to find out Kane and Don were having a weightlifting contest; I think Kane might have won or they didn't want to keep going because when I walked in they made me bench press 40 kilos or something pretty puny like that. 

Here's some adorable photo's I took of Alesha's calf, Caramel, that second day in Whanganui:

So happy I was able to capture this moment...Alesha and Xanthia are desperately trying get Caramel back into her pen

Stealing a few hugs and kisses from Caramel when I found her wandering in the yard

Before dinner, Kane, Don, and I played a gnarly game of Rummikub, which I won! The BBQ dinner was wonderful; as travelers, anything that is home-cooked and consists of more than pasta & sauce is absolutely amazing! It was another late night hanging out and talking over wine with Linda and Kane...at one point an electric guitar came out and Don blasted us all away with his crazy good finger picking skills!

Whanganui...where dreams come true - Part 1

After Waitomo, we journeyed to Whanganui as a stopping point on our way to Wellington. When we arrived at the couch surfing host home, we really had no idea what to expect. The host, David, came out of his house and asked to get in our car so he could show us the place we would be staying. A bit confused, we continued down the long driveway. We had figured we would be staying with him, but instead he brought us to the five-bedroom farmhouse that he had grown up in. Apparently, when he is in between tenants, he uses it as a place to put up travelers and couch surfers for the night. He leaves it set up to be lived in...beds, linens, dishes, appliances. It was wonderful. It was so peaceful and quiet as we were probably about a kilometer from the closest road which was hardly ever used anyways.

Our first night, I cooked dinner for David and Don and we spent the evening talking with David and exchanging stories about our lives and experiences. From just a few minutes talking with him, it was clear that David was one of the most kind and hospitable people we had ever met. He was a Hospice Chaplin and you could tell that he cared about people so much. We made arrangements to meet him in town the next morning so he could tell us more of the history of the community. Before dinner, the neighbors (also tenants of David) came over and invited us to come over later that evening, which we took them up on. They were also wonderful people: Linda and Kane Todd and their children Caleb, 10, and Alesha, 9. First, Kane asked us to show the kids where Rhode Island was on Google Earth. They even wanted a street view of our respective homes! Kane had all sorts of questions about the United States, mostly stemming from what he had seen on TV about the USA and Americans.

So, for this part of the post, you may think I'm a little ridiculous because I might get gushy. Let me just tell you, and Don will vouch for this, during our travels driving through the rolling hills filled with cows and sheep and lambs, I had mentioned that one of my goals during this trip was to hug a lamb...little did I know that in Whanganui, I would get to hug, feed, hold, and fall in love with a 12-day old lamb named Dinner. A hour or so into our time with the Todd's, an adorable little lamb comes running in the room from outside, and I almost started to cry! I was having a Kristen Bell/Sloth moment like the clip from Ellen. If you haven't seen it, here you go. Watch it and you'll know how I felt when I saw the lamb.

They asked me if I wanted to hold and feed the lamb and of course I said yes! Don captured a few moments of glee...I could have cried the whole time I hugged and held the adorable fuzzy sweetheart lamb. 

My look of pure delight when Dinner 'baaaaah'-ed in my arms 

I love you, sweet lamb who has captured my heart. I hope you stay little forever. I wish I could fit you in my bag and carry you with me everywhere.

So yeah. That was one of the highlights of the trip so far for me. I fell in love with a lamb. 

Over a few (large) glasses of delicious white wine, we stayed up till midnight chatting with Linda and Kane after the kids (and the lamb) went to bed. It was a great night and ended with them inviting us over for a BBQ the next night. We went to bed that first night happy, content, and excited for whatever else Whanganui might have in store for us.