Adventure #1 - Hawkes Bay, NZ

On a first of many weekend getaways we rented a car and drove up to Hawkes Bay. The drive was fun but at times it was scary - it is very easy to forget that you are supposed to drive on the left side of the road. Minus a few scares we made it to our hostel unscathed. 

We woke up the next morning and checked out the local grocery store to buy some food for the weekend. It is always fun to look through these stores to see what the snack food is like. For the record, the peanut butter is much better here. 

After eating breakfast and packing lunches for the day we hired bikes for the day from a local bike shop. It was a simple transaction but Rachel's (the owner of the shop) demeanor was so pleasant that it left us smiling the rest of the day. She was not simply kind to us, she mothered us. She took us in and showed us the routes, the best eateries, the best wineries, her favorite rides, etc.But here that is not going above and beyond, that is how interactions go, people want to help one another live their life to the fullest. When we were signing papers she only had one of us sign a waiver and when we asked for the rest of us she just laughed and said “It is okay, we don’t each other here”. People here do not seem to be out to get each other. Society is not a shark tank, they have enough of those in the water already.

When we took the bikes out we went north up a coastal route. The views were beyond spectacular and my words cannot bring it justice. I have never felt so free… wind in my hair, smell of the coast, sun beating down… true paradise. We rounded the coast and turned inland toward the valley. Here we were met by rolling hills and beautiful vineyards. Naturally, we had to stop and taste some local wine and boy was it sweet to our parched lips. From atop the vineyard we admired the view and decided to head toward the farms next. Riding through the pastures we saw our fair share of sheep; I even raced one (an adrenaline rush for us both). 

We finally rounded back up and returned to our hostel after five hours of straight biking. Needless to say our legs were quite jello-y. We cooked a nice college student dinner of spaghetti in the hostel kitchen. I was an impatient cook (as always) and took the pasta out too soon, but all in all it was still a good meal.

We closed out the day with a midnight stroll on the beach. The massive waves crashed at feet numbing our toes and sending chills up our spine. The sea spray tickled our noses in the darkness as we sat and gazed at the stars. Orion was out in full garb and we argued over whether it was Venus or Jupiter we saw on the horizon. The memory does not even seem real. 

On our way back to the hostel we fulfilled our inner child by sneaking into a playground and climbing, hanging, and falling to our hearts desire. No worries to give even a passing thought to just like we were children once again.