Day #5 (Mount Manganui)

Becky's phone continued...

Poor girl didn't sleep well last night. She was feeling pretty distraught about her phone. I can't blame her. I would have cried if my iPad was taken or misplaced. She got up at about 6:30a and went to the gym to see if someone had turned it in. Someone did. Mir and I were soooooo happy for her.

Alissa picked us up in her boyfriend's pimped out minivan at 8a.
The van.
Well, it looks like a carbon fibre bumble bee. The wheels are super snazzy (and yellow); the sound system was pimped right out and the whole thing was just black and yellow all over. Trust me, I will post pics of it. Alissa and Ross designed it together and it is great. We got tons of attention when we drove it down the street.

We picked up Kim and Alissa and Miriam's friend, Mel, and we hit the road for "the mount".
The drive was wonderful. New Zealand is so pretty. I sat in the backy back with Kim and we searched the hillsides for sheep. We found them. There were more cows than sheep.
We stopped first for breakfast and then in Paeroa for some L&P.
What in the world is L&P?
L&P is a fizzy drink called Lemon and Paeroa. Alissa treated us all to bottles of L&P and we took some pictures of all of us in front of a giant concrete bottle of it.
We hopped back in the car and drove through some more beautiful scenery. We stopped again soon after because the L&P went through me real fast and I had to pee.
About an hour after that we arrived in Tauranga and then at Mt Manganui. This place is beautiful. We parked the bee-car in a nirvana parking spot, stripped off our clothes, applied sunblock and ran onto the beach. It felt so good to soak up the sun and relax. We posed for some artsy yoga poses on the rocks and then went swimming. The waves were amazing and there was an outrigger canoe race going on today.
The race was entertaining because there were men walking around in their swimsuits and wearing the most ridiculous bathing caps. They look like the lifeguard caps that the lifeguards wear in Australia. Becky and I agreed that they looked weird and that we should bring back the whole outfit (including the brightly colored speedo) for my sweet husband. (Don't worry Alex, I forgot my wallet in Miriam's bag so I missed my opportunity).

While we were at the beach we met up with more friends: Dai, Will and their daughter Laz. Laz is adorable.
Dai came hung out with us for the rest of the day while Will stayed with Laz.

After The beach we had to find a hotel to stay in. The whole town was packed because of the long weekend in Auckland (for Auckland's birthday).
Dai found us a place and it is great. We are staying in a suite with two double beds and a separate room for a King! All six of us fit comfortably. It was wicked cheap too. We all payed $53 for the night.

We went for dinner and drinks at a Brazilian bar. The food was okay but the service was lacking. They didn't charge me for my drink. It was bizarre but they had a gluten free menu. I'm finding that its really great to eat here. I can be in the more remote place and still find GF food.
At dinner, Kim was lamenting about how she didn't get any colour. Well, after a couple of hours, she had colour alright. In fact, even with all our sunblock, all us Canadians toasted. Kim has a burn on her chest; Becky has one on her shoulders and chest; and i forgot to get my tummy. I look like an inside-out Carebear. I was so careful too. I was wearing SPF 45. I learned that it doesn't matter the SPF as long as you can remember to put it on everywhere.

After dinner Alissa, Miriam and I went out for Gelato. I had Cherry. It was good but not as good as some of the stuff I've had in Israel or even Toronto.
Everyone else was having drinks. I've learned something interesting about myself on this trip. If I am going to invest myself in consuming calories for an activity, I would much rather be eating than drinking alcohol. Me love food!

We met back at the restaurant and grabbed our swimsuits for a dunk in the hot pools. They are hot spring water pools infused with a cocktail of chemicals to keep them sanitary. It was okay. The pools were only open until 10 so by the time we got there, we couldn't stay longer than a half an hour. That was fine with me. I was tired and burnt.
We came back to the suite and half of us went for drinks while Miriam, Alissa and I stayed home. The town was dead so Mel, Becky and Kim came home around 11.