Back: Yvonne, Angela, Iain, Megan
Front: Me, Chris, Martin
The next day we stopped at two churches. One was the first church ever built on the East Cape. It sat at the edge of the beach and just looked like a scene from some old movie. The other church was just as amazing as it was built in memory of all the fallen NZ soldiers from WWI and WWII. The stained glass window was the best part. It had these two Maori soldiers (Lt and Cpt I believe) kneeling at Jesus' feet. The church was beyond peaceful and I wanted to stay for hours but we left within minutes.
We eventually made it to Tokomaru Bay where I attempted surfing again. Unfortunately it was a short board and I was beyond unsuccessful. Afterwards, I went for a walk with Chris. This was the beginning of mine and Chris' crazy adventures. I can't recall for how long we walked but when we got back, everyone was gone...including our bags. Now I know what you're thinking but imagine how I freaked out. My passport was in there! I had two locks on my bag though so if someone did steal it, they'd have a hard time with it. I just kept telling myself that everything could be replaced. There was a possibility that people took our stuff back for us, but we weren't sure. Without our bags and with no shoes, we walked back on gravel to the hostel. Imagine the relief when we made it and found our bags in the bag of the van. Sigh. It was a stupid move I know.
The next morning I set my alarm for 5:30 so I could watch the sunrise. I wanted to see the first sunrise in the world..why not???
I thought it was totally worth it. :)
When we left the hostel, we stopped at this 660 metre pier. I think it's the longest one in the Southern Hemisphere as well.
We later arrived in Gisbourne but quickly left to go to the Rere Waterslide and wow, it was so much fun! Sliding facefirst down this waterslide took me back to when I was a child and spent my summers at Big Canoe. My mother knows exactly what I'm talking about as I wore out many swimsuits there. Luckily they provide a raft for this one. They gave me a small wetsuit to wear and I put up such a fit about not being able to fit into it. After they all told me to fit, I tried not to be stubborn and actually got it on. Hmm...guess I should have shut up.
That night everyone was drinking again except me. That night I just got down and felt so useless. I felt like I annoy people and it was best to keep to myself so I went upstairs and tried to go to sleep. I actually started feeling like Yvonne all of sudden hated me and would have rather been talking to a wall than me. I can't explain it. I just kept telling myself that it was stupid to care what people thought of me. I just didn't want to be that typical annoying American and overthought everything. I guess I just sometimes feel like I need people more than they need me...
The next morning, the guy showed up to take some people shark cage diving. As it was $250, I declined. However, when the guy got there, I was the only one awake so I started talking to him. He asked why I wasn't going and I told him it's hard being a backpacker with a budget. He said, "I'll tell ya what. If you can get a few more people to go, all I need is $600 for the boat, so I'll charge $150 each." I couldn't pass that offer up so I hurried and got my swimsuit on, brushed my teeth and left.
When we were on the boat on our way out into the deep blue, I started to wonder if I would get sea sick. No sooner did I think it that Chris got sick. He actually threw up several times, but I was just sick to my head/stomach/everything. I wasn't so sure if I would throw up though. I think I have my father's iron hard stomach and I got through it. Chris, however, puked on a sharks head. Ha ha.
All in all, I'm glad I went...sickness and all. It was amazing being in that cage, the sharks coming up and tapping against the cage, then swimming away and eating the bait. Oh wow. I'm really glad I did that.
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