Whangarei, NZ

“Not all classrooms have four walls.”

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Driving

Every time I get into my car, I channel my inner Beyoncé; “To the left, to the left..” When you grow up driving on the right side of the road, switching over to the left is daunting. 

The day before leaving Auckland, I formally paid for my car, registered it in my name, and practiced driving. The woman who sold the car to me was kind enough to accompany me on some test drives, which I’m glad we did because I had to 1) learn to drive with the wheel on the right side of the car and 2) drive the car on the left side of the road. There was one point in time when we got to talking and I accidentally veered to the right. She quickly let me know and no damage was done. 

But, when I left Auckland the next day, you know it, I accidentally turned down a street on the right side of the road. There was honking. Some yelling too. But nobody was hurt and I’m hoping I’ve truly learned my lesson from driving on the wrong side of the road. 

Whangarei Falls

I drove several hundred kilometers north to a town called Whangarei. On the way there, I stopped by a Honey Centre and admired bees busy at work. If you have ever heard of Manuka Honey, it comes from the nectar of the Manuka bush which only grows in New Zealand. It is sweet and delicious and has a distinctive taste; I highly recommend. I also tasted some avocado-flavored honey and it was probably the most millennial thing I’ve heard of, but delectable nonetheless.

Whangarei Falls is a 26-meter (85 feet) tall waterfall. I thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures here with my tripod and trying out new settings on my camera; photography is my new favorite hobby.

Afterwards I strolled around the park nearby and I think I saw every type of tree possible; ranging from palm, redwood, pine, to canopy. At one point I wandered to a tall bridge called the Canopy Bridge so you could be on eye level with the trees. It was surreal.

The next day I meandered around the town of Whangarei and enjoyed lunch in a cafe by the harbor. Walking alongside there, I saw a boat from Marathon, Florida. Now that is a long journey indeed!

Whale Bay

I was advised by my Airbnb host to check out Whale Bay, which included some nature walks and beaches. When I arrived, I first walked down to a nearby beach, Matapouri Bay, where I saw a wedding taking place!

In general, I am amazed by how many different types of plants grow here; everything is so lush. It is also very humid and I constantly feel sticky, but it is worth it. 

I love how few people I see on these nature walks. I’ve been to plenty of touristy places in Europe, where it is normally very crowded. Maybe other parts of the island will be different, but my experiences so far indicate that there are considerably less tourists around than what I was expecting. I walked to a lookout point in the Whale Bay nature reserve, and never encountered another person. 

Unfortunately, I lost track of time at Whale Bay, and was photographing on the beach right before the sunset. Afterwards I had to run at least a kilometer or so to get back to my car before it became completely dark. This part was a bit nerve racking and I cursed myself for staying out there so late. Running through a forest of tall trees in the dark is not my ideal scenario. But I made it, and learned my lesson for next time. 

Missing people

Although it has only been a week, it feels like I’ve been gone for several. After leaving Marie, I was feeling a bit lonely and homesick at my next stay. I wished my family and friends weren’t so far so they could join me on these beautiful sights! But I suppose this feeling is to be expected and I plan on doing more social activities going forward. My goal for the next few weeks: make friends!

-Anastasia