February 20, 2010
Mt. Maunganui has been my home since Friday. I don’t really want to leave. It is perfect—all of the small town charm of a central California beach town with the weather and “island time” attitude of Hawaii. On a map it looks tiny but walking times are twice what you would expect. In town the shops bustle but three blocks away neighborhood streets sit silently. Supposedly the population doubles for the month surrounding Christmas but I am having a hard time identifying tourists anyway since everyone sports a harsh red sunburn. Early morning, you can find half the town hiking the Mount or in the water. The beaches stretch forever in long sweeping brush strokes of paradise white and what-day-is-it blue. Random small islands sit offshore like a cosmic game of Battleship.
In my last entry I had arrived, taken refuge with Ben and Bobbi, surfed and BBQ’d with their friends. Saturday morning started much the same. Sally—the girl from the bus—and I surfed for a few hours in the morning, changed clothes, ate lunch and went for a hike. The Mount was the obvious choice. Rising above the relatively flat costal planes and the sand spit that makes the platform for town is the Mount. The lower half looks like it was trimmed of trees and replaced with grasses. Sheep(!) dot the hill, grazing in such a lazy and slow manner that they almost blend into the surroundings. I tried to go pet one but they are really skittish. The rumors about Kiwi men must be true, or at least word has spread through the sheep community. The hike up the Mount is a well worn dirt path spiraling around the hill for the complete panoramic view—a spectacular view to say the least. The west side of the Mount is likely the weather side as the vegetation grows over the path to form a canopy and ferns and snaking vines replace the waxy leafed, woody trees on the rest of the hill. At the top there are several plateau clearings with benches. On the ocean facing end paragliders dance back and forth in the updraft just out of reach of the trees.
After hiking the Mount, Sally and I walked over to Leisure Island. It’s a small, rocky island that’s close enough to shore that there is easy beach access. As we got closer to the point, we ran into a wet and flustered Jen and Kip. They told us they had just jumped off the rocks by the blowhole and then took off. At the time, I just figured Kip didn’t like me and didn’t want to hang out and talk. He’s English and an engineer and his manner the night before was stoic, polite and reserved where the rest of the group was more jovial and relaxed.
Later that night we found out the reason for the hasty passing. Caleb, with help from his roommates Kip and Shane, created an Amazing Race type adventure for the girls in the group. The scavenger hunt/race took all day and concluded at the top of the Mount where Caleb proposed to Becs. To celebrate, Caleb hosted everyone for a bbq.
I still can’t tell if Kip thinks I’m a tool.
