Coromandel Peninsula!

Hey everyone! Last weekend we went to Coromandel Peninsula which is directly east of Auckland (although you have to drive south and then back up north because there is water in between). We rented a van which was made me a little bit nervous because it was my first time trusting someone who wasn't used to driving on the wrong side of the road. My friend did an awesome job with staying to the left though. Anyway, we left for Coromandel on Friday and went straight to Tairua to get some dinner to cook on the grill. We went to a campsite near the Hot Water Beach and set up our tents there. We spent all night cooking on our little grill (it took a really long time!). The next morning we woke up and went to Hot Water Beach. When it is low tide, you dig a hole in the sand and make your own jacuzzi because the water underneath the sand is so warm! I tried surfing that day. Needless to say, it isn't for me. I tried a longboard which was way too big for me. The waves were rough (it is one of the worst places in New Zealand for rip tides) and I couldn't even hold the board. I didn't even try to ride a wave because it was scary so I just got out of the water. Kelsey and I traded our surf board for a boogie board. She had a lot of fun but I still wasn't too thrilled about going in the rough water so I stayed on the beach. After we finished at Hot Water Beach, we drove up to Cathedral Cove. It was absolutely amazing! We did a 40 minute hike each way and walked down to the cove. It is really beautiful. Then we went to dinner and back to a different campsite close to Coromandel town. We set up tent and got a good night's sleep. The next morning we woke up and went into Coromandel, stopping along the way to take some beautiful scenery pictures. We had breakfast and continued on our way to Coromandel National Park. We found a great place there to camp and we even found a cliff that you could jump off of into the water (completely safe!). It was really scary but I did it! After I did it once, it was a lot of fun. We spent the rest of the day walking up the rocks along the river. We found a bridge to cross the river on which only held one person at a time. I didn't like walking across that because it looked pretty old and rickety. After exploring, we went into town to get some dinner and found a place to camp. After setting up camp, we spent the night playing cards and trying not to get eaten alive by the millions of mosquitoes! We had a great time! The next morning we woke up at 5:30 am and got ready for our long hike up the mountain. We wanted to climb all the way to the top because you could look out over the edge and see this beautiful waterfall. We began our climb and it was really intense from the beginning. It was really steep the whole way up. At one point, it got so steep that they had to put a railroad track for people to climb up and not lose their footing. We got all the way to the top and had lunch looking out at the beautiful waterfall. It was definitely worth waking up early and climbing all that way. After our hike (the way down was really hard because you had to worry about slipping), we got in the car and headed for home so we could have the van back on time. We had such a great weekend! Then we got back to reality which included classes and school again. This week I set up a date with the kindegarten (I'm going on Wednesday!). I am really excited for that. Also, I got set up with a girl from Germany who is struggling with her English. I told her that I would help her with that. I went to the International Office and they set me up with someone who is really into volunteer work (which I am too!). This girl is going to meet with me tomorrow and show me some things I could be doing around Auckland. I am really excited for that. I am also going to get more involved with the International Office. They play soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I'm going to start with that! I will write more soon!