Bye Tauranga

After two months in Tauranga, I am leaving tomorrow. Before I tell you what's coming next, let's talk about what happened since the last update.

Ever since I got well again, returned fully back to work. So that's where I spent most of my days. Just a few days after I got better, I had to move out of the hostel. I tried to extend my stay here, as I always did. This time, though, I was too late. The hostel was already fully booked out, because of a Cricket game that many people traveled to Tauranga for. I had to move out of the hostel between the 14th-19th. I booked two nights at a hostel in a 10-bed dorm that's just 20min by foot away from here. When I got there I was disgusted. It's not that the hostel was overly dirty. Everything just looked very cramped and not very welcoming. My dorm room smelled like weed and people were not very considerate of others sleeping. Anyways, I was glad to move out after two nights. I moved to another hostel in Tauranga city. That was the total opposite. It was very nice looking, clean, good location. They even had a balcony and I had an ocean view from my first room! I stayed in that hostel for another two nights but had to switch rooms this time. The first room was a 12-bed dorm, the other a 6-bed. The 12-bed dorm was even nicer than the 6-bed dorm. After two days I had to move out of there as well. It was the 18th, but everything was fully booked out for the next night. Not even the most expensive hotels had a room available. I talked to a friend and she offered that I could sleep in her car if I can't find anything else. I talked to my usual hostel and they said that the most they could do for me is to call me if they have a no-show. I had to work all day, so I wasn't able to look into anything else. 15min before reception closed I called them. They told me they indeed had a no-show, so I did have an actual bed for that night! I was so relieved! I had to move two more times within that hostel until I was finally in the room I would spend the remaining days in. For the last 10 days, I mostly worked. It didn't feel like I was about to leave my new home.

A couple of days ago one of the regulars at the restaurant I worked approached me and asked if I wanted to join him on a flight on his private plane. Of course, I agreed. So Two days later I went to the airport and we headed off. It was awesome! It was like one of those planes out of those old movies. I had to wear a jacket and goggles. The plane just had two seats, no roof, and double wings. We went to the coast, flew over Mt Maunganui, and along the coast. He asked me if I was okay. I said yes. He then started flying kind of like loopings and similar stunts. That was incredible! We turned around and flew back along the coast. Then we landed. It was just 30min, but how awesome that was!

Afterward, I went to the beach with Sophia, a friend I had met back in Auckland. We joined others from the hostel when one of them asked me if I would like to go sailing. I agreed and we went to another beach to hire a catamaran and an instructor. We spent an hour on the ocean, learning how to sail. In the evening we went to some bars for a few drinks. What a day! Those are the kinds of stories I heard before traveling. It's crazy to experience them yourself. I am so grateful I got to live this day.

Today was very special. We went to MacLaren Falls as a group of 10 people. We saw the sunset over the falls. The falls had more water than the first time I saw them, which was cool. Afterward, we went into the national park. We did a walk next to the creek when it was dark. We were able to see glowworms all around us on the leaves and stones. That was so beautiful and the main reason we went there at all. It was like the night sky had come down. The most spectacular view was a waterfall with cliffs all around, and all over the cliff sat little glowworms lighting up that scene. Sadly, no photos can capture the true magic of the moment.

My time in Tauranga was great. The hostel was awesome and led me to meet many people from all around the world. Hostel life was great, although I am happy to have some more privacy now. I had my first job in New Zealand. One of the things I most appreciated was how close to the beach it was. I would go there all the time, even if it was just for 15min before work. It has always been my dream to live close to the beach and I got to experience that now. Can't wait for more. So, all in all, I did enjoy my time there. I was ready to go and explore more of the country, though. I haven't seen that much of the country yet, so I can't wait to go out and experience it all.