We woke up to the sun beaming on our tent and we all got up and got going. Down at the hostel, everyone was awake and moving too. They had fresh brewed coffee made which was incredible compared to the instant coffee I've been having. We had breakfast and talked to Otto about all the areas we should check out on our way to Golden Bay. We said bye to everyone and headed to the police station. We found someone's wallet on the bike trails so we added him on Facebook and he said he'd pick it up there. We were going to head to the airport so that Eddie could give us a ride in a helicopter but I guess the winds were too strong so we went on our merry way. We headed towards Golden Bay to begin checking things off the list that Otto gave us.
On our way there, we saw a solo hitchhiker on the side of the road so we picked him up. Somehow we had room in the car and we were able to fit him and all his stuff in it too. He needed to be dropped off on Motueka which was of our way. He was from Germany, personable, and happy we picked him up. After dropping him off, we headed for the Resurgence in the Kahurangi National Park. We found the parking lot and then walked a few minutes down the trail to a beautiful stream and a blue pool that people were jumping into. It really wasn't all that big but you could certainly tell it was deep. We walked further to another stream attached to a pool. This one was smaller but also appeared to go deep into the earth. These holes along this stream are connected by a series of caves that people explore with proper scuba gear.
Next, we drove further and down a narrow gravel road to a big open field. We had a snack and then headed on the trail. Now we were in the Abel Tasman park near Takaka and were on our way to Harwood's Hole. So this just isn't any hole, it's New Zealand's largest vertical shaft, or sink hole. At the top its 50 meters across and in total, 357 meters down. It was about a 30-40 minute walk to it and the first part was through pretty woods with a flat, well-groomed path. We passed a dark black, eerie lake that we all thought dementors from Harry Potter were going to come out of. Then the path turned into big rocks we had to climb around and over. These rocks were polished and in all sorts of neat shapes. I thought they resembled giant dinosaur bones and massive molar teeth. Once we came to even bigger rocks, we were close to the sink hole. The walls around it created huge cliff faces that rose up meters and meters above us.
Near the side of the hole, a couple big boulders were stacked on top of one another and Michealla climbed to the top. I was down below her, kind of off to the side and I heard something like a good size rock fall down the massive hole or something a bit like a small gun shot in the hole. I look up at Michealla with a questionable look and she doesn't say it right away, but she tells us that was her phone that dropped. I said oh no, and not a moment later, she dropped her new favorite sunglasses down too. They both slipped out of her pocket as she was climbing up and peering into the hole. She starts laughing out of angst and disbelief of what just happened. Not only did she drop her phone that has pictures and her notes for work on it but in the case held her credit and debit cards and her drivers license. We were all bummed out and we were careful when we went to look over the edge. However there really wasn't a good spot to see down into the hole so I'm not quite sure how it looked but I got some pictures of the big walls around it. We retreated back to the trail just because we didn't really want anything else to do with the area and the hole that swallowed Michealla's belongings forever. The walk back to the car over and between the big cool rocks was the best part, however.
We drove out and headed towards the next destination. We were really hungry by the time we got to the parking lot of the Labyrinth Rocks so we sat on the ground and made tuna fish lettuce bowls and made fun of the obnoxious sheep in the nearby field. We went into the Labyrinth, which is a maze with walls of rock. We grabbed a map and started out. It was soooo cool because rocks were great and the place was amazing. We walked through the whole thing, finding all the routes, and trying not to get lost. Michealla and I tried to lose Cassela then Cassela and I lost Michealla, all was quite humorous. Back at the car, we drove to The Grove.
We walked through the jungle and through bigger rocks than at the Labyrinth. Almost like that was a kid's maze and this one was an adult's. We went between a small spot through two massive rocks to a lookout point that gave us a view of the ocean, mountains, and fields below. We walked the loop back to the car. We were near Motueka so we tried to find a campground or hostel. None suited us so we decided to go to Shambhala, a quaint hostel that Otto recommended. It was a bit of a drive away but we found it. It was a big two story house up on a hill over the ocean with a laid back, hippie vibe. We picked our beds upstairs which had a sweet little balcony looking over the water. A couple that was staying there mentioned that there was live music down at The Mussel Inn so we changed and got ready to go there.
Just a few minutes down the road, we arrived at the Inn. The parking lot was overflowing and many people were parked on the sides of the road. Cassela tried to park by the road but got stuck in the wet, muddy grass so she tried shimmying it but there was just not enough traction. Three or four people were nearby and came to help push us out and we got unstuck! We reparked elsewhere and walked up to the bar. Music was playing loudly inside and there were tons of people hanging out, drinking. There were a lot of benches and tables, a fire going in a pit, and an outside bar. We got drinks there and attempted to get a spot amongst the crowd inside. We ran into the people we talked to at the hostel and hung out with them. The band that was playing was from Wellington and their genre consisted of folk/jazz/reggae/rock and was made up of a ten member band. The place was packed and everyone was having fun dancing and soaking up the atmosphere and tunes. The three of us were the least hippie dressed people there.
The band took a quick intermission break so we went outside and hung out amongst everyone. There was a big tire swing in the corner that all three of us got on. A few guys spun us around and around. We sat at a nearby picnic table and chatted with a group. Once the music started again, we went back inside. Cassela was up front by the stage dancing while Michealla and I were a few rows back. I liked the band, I liked the music but it was definitely different. With almost ten people playing different instruments, there were a lot of sounds and beats and it was hard to groove to just one. There was too much going on, almost. The night went on but we were tired so we drove back to the hostel. There, we chatted with a girl who just arrived in New Zealand and was from California. Bed.
