We woke up and had breakfast. Cassela and I walked down to the beach through the gorgeous gardens and plants on the Shambhala grounds. Parts of the pathway had pretty rocks grouted into concrete and other parts were grass with nice hedges lining the way. We went to the left and it lead us up to the tea room. It was a little hut with seats and had a single stove burner and a sink in a wooden box for making tea. We continued down to the beach, removed our shoes and stuck our toes in the water. Back up at the house, I made coffee and started talking to a girl who just got to the hostel. Turns out she was a girl I met back in Tauranga at the hostel I was staying at there. Since then, she split up from the boys she was traveling with and is now just hitchhiking.
We left and headed for Wharaiki Beach. Otto told us that it was a really pretty beach and that we had to go check it out. It was real windy when we got to the parking lot but we started out on the 1km trail. We walked in between sheep pastures and the winds got stronger. There were a lot of people going to and from the beach too. We made our way down towards the beach and walked on marbled, wind blown sand. The beach was pretty with a big rock out in front of it but we didn't make it all the way down to it. The wind was blowing sand everywhere and we were kind of over getting blown around as well so we took a few pictures and returned on the trail.
We drove over the Takaka Hill to Motueka, went to the store, and found a holiday park, the same one Ryan and I stayed at about a month ago called Fernwood. We ate and opened a few wine bottles. Michealla stayed in touch with the hitchhiker we picked up a few days ago so we meet him in town. We all walked to Sprig and Fern (same bar chain as the one in Nelson) and we all got drinks. After, we went to the liquor store and then down to the beach. We sat in the sand, drank, listened to music, and watched the view. Near the shore, there was a broken down boat that was all rusted over. I like old, abandoned stuff so I thought it was pretty cool. The night went on and once it was nearly dark out, the four of us changed and got in the water. I had a thick "liquid layer" on so it wasn't all that cold. There were actually cold and warm spots in the water and the ocean floor in that area was muddy and squishy. We swam out a ways and around the rusted boat then back to shore. It would've been better if the stars and moon were out but it was still a nice night and a fun little swim.
Somehow we made it back to the holiday park and even though it was after hours, we all continued our swimming escapade and got in the pool. It was colder than the ocean we thought. We played around for a bit and then the manager caught us and kicked us out. The three of us stumbled into our tent and the German guy walked home.
