Monday 28 November 2016

Nov. 22 & 23- Hiking to Cathedral Cove, Separating, Hot Beaches & Trailer Life

Boy it's been a busy couple of days. Let's go back and see what I can remember. We did freeze at night and the girl in the car with a warm blanket was overheated. and my cabin smelled of mold but I had a whole bed to myself so that was nice. The Tofino BC like roads were winding, and twisting and very much deja vu of scuba diving with the upset stomach. The driver lend me their German version of Gravol. She showed me it would not put me to sleep even if I took a whole one but I don't read German so of course I took a pill I don't recognize and I took my chances and within minutes I was sound asleep.  Yes I know it's way too fast but I'm very impressionable. The scenery when I woke up was unbelievable like we're at the top of the world or I guess bottom of the world looking up. Oh I'm so confused.

It's very hard to find any Bed and Breakfast in New Zealand and just as I had that thought it was a sign for a bed and breakfast but of course there was no vacancy.

So we finally arrived in the Coromandel to stay at Hehai in a tent and they slept in the car. This was not a real camping park but it worked.


This was our view from the campground.


 So we packed up our beach walking hiking stuff and they never leave home without their backpacks. I just packed a fanny pack full of essentials and tossed in an emergency twenty dollars just in case. Just in case what? I had no idea but I'm a mom and it's what I do. So they're in their big hiking boots walking along the sand beach and I'm in my Crocs with my feet in the water loving it and then it took a turn for the worst. We had to climb the steps; me with sand  that I hate so much and we had to climb.  I was told it was an hour to climb. They lied. It was a very steep hour-and-a-half which doesn't sound like much but In the Heat of the day it was excruciating and my knee was acting up and I don't want to complain- you know me. By the time I got to the end I didn't care if I lived or died. The people that had finally been there and were returning looked absolutely bloody freaking miserable because they knew what was ahead of them.






So we got to the destination and it was unbelievable -Cathedral Cove and we took a bunch of pictures and the two girls looked at me and said they were not swimming! WTH! We came all this way for nothing and I'm hot and sweaty.

I looked over and the Sea taxi had just arrived $15 to go back. Oh my God best $15 I've ever made in my whole entire life. I'm really glad I did the work I'm very proud of myself. My Phone even congratulated me all day long that I reach my health potential and my knee did not give out. I think the phone was a little over the top cuz she was worried I'd keel over on her watch.

While they were gone I went to the corner store and bought a feast which we cooked up together and it was really good. I think it had been awhile since they'd consumed meat. Then they told me they didn't want to go to the hot water beach that I had my heart and soul set on. I was so crushed but I tried to be upbeat. At that moment something seem to change. I think we both looked at each other and decided it's time to go our own separate ways so they made plans to go to a Homestay in the next day that only had two spots. I told them to drop me off along the way as I would take the tourist bus back to the big city stay at an Airbnb and catch my flight out the next day. Stayed up half the night trying to book it and it didn't work but at least I knew the place I had to catch the bus in.

Nov 23
I even had my daughter working on it but to no avail. I finally figured out with her help how to call the company on my Canadian phone and the lady tells me that stop does not even exist. I give up. They suggested I go with him to the home state  case we could come up with something .
 Before we went we made a pit stop at the  beaches Hot Springs  that I wanted so badly to go to.  Paid for parking lot only 10 minutes and saw  a full Beach of people scrambling to dig their own  hot spring pool.  Most of the people had been conned into buying a shovel used it for a bit and then put it in the sand and forgot about it. We started to do our own new pool and it's hard work and because we didn't build the walls properly the cold waves kept coming in and it was getting colder and colder. I begged a couple of shovels from somebody but still we sucked at it. Another group invited us to join their pool but while I was standing in the empty portion I was burning the hell out of my feet. Nobody else was complaining but then they explain where I was standing with a little hot bubbles coming up which means I was due for some first degree burns if I didn't get out of the way. We got pictures two of us and were thrilled. The third person just stayed on the beach in the shadows. So sad.

On the way to the on the way to the home stay there was a hitchhiker and we agreed to pick him up. He was a scrappy looking youngin’ and sat beside me. He dislocated his shoulder so in no time at all we switched places in the back seat I was giving him a shoulder rub then Voltaren then the bed of nails and finally a sheet of Advil until he could get to the pharmacy. He was only in the car about 20 minutes but he made out like a bandit medically with Doctor Cathy.

Finally we went to the Homestay and the young lady there said well why not go on the website Trains Buses Ferries that all the commuters use. Apparently I can take the train from an hour away to go into the city where I want to go for $3 or $10. I was excited and they dropped me off right away. But not until after I convinced the hostess of Homestay to advertise with Airbnb and told her how to do it. I am hooking people up to Airbnb one person at a time. Soon we will have world domination.

Of course there's no office to buy a ticket so a young woman taught me how to book the ticket on the platform online then told me she was going my direction and she was going to take me right to the house I was going.

Tina was 15 years old and the cutest little thing. I told her all about traveling and how she could afford it with very little money and she said to me, “ I have never met a world traveler before. I will never forget this day.” how cute is that?  She assured me that although she's never traveled anywhere, Canada is now her number one place to go to see me. Then when we were talking about something else I said yeah but I'm old and she goes,”yeah but you’re cool for an old person.” Hmmm that was a “nice” thing to say. I think.
I made it  to another overnight accommodation and it was not quite exactly what I was expecting. The pictures were very limited but with nice furniture I assumed, big mistake, that it was their oversized trailer that they lived in and rented out space in. Not so. It is an older RV in their backyard for $50. Thank gawd the family is fantastic. Those are always the hardest reviews to write.

The host met me with a very welcoming glass of wine that got me quite shnockered and since I didn't have a scrap of food, I ate pizza. If I'm not exercising I might as well go to hell in a hand basket. Watched some TV and went to my cave. They joke about Canadians apologizing for everything and being afraid of the dark. Well I'm sorry but that's dumb. Okay maybe I am afraid of the dark and things that go bump in the night and most especially, the 8 leggedy creatures in confined quarters. It's only a top bunk, quite coffin like and quite dark. I kept hitting the ceiling and was oh so afraid since I hadn't given the place a proper viewing. It's going to be a loooooog night. My worries were all for naught. The bed ended up being incredibly comfortable.

I spent a few hours trying to track down the only person I had met who might put me up as a couch surfer...yes, looking to freeload. Eureka for Facebook. And he accepted my friend request, and then radio silence. Sigh, I would be paying after all. Guess I'm not getting the free bed and a bang special tonight. Oh stop rolling your eyes….did you see his picture? No, and you won't.  Find your own hottie on FB.

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