Pauanui, New Zealand (March 17-18)

Coramandel - Pauanui

So, for the first time in the trip, I think I have made the wrong choice. Instead of staying in Aukland for St. Patty’s day celebrations, I followed the initial itinerary, which I thought was flawed. We spent the night at Pauanui, a small vacation town on the Northeast corner of the North Island. We were about as close to the international date line as one could get. However, that was about all that was exciting about Pauanui. The ride from Aukland was taxing. The winding roads traversed gorgeous scenery, but they would have been difficult on the right side of the road. On the left side, they were outright scary. One thing you never think about when driving, because it comes automatically, is how close you are to the curb on the opposite side of the driver. This, it turns out, is not the same situation on the other side. As Glenn and I took turns driving, the non-driver would yell “Drift!” to alert the unsuspecting driver that we were about to hit a tree, person, or fall off a cliff. This was a useful technique and highly recommended for all those planning to travel to backwards nations where they drive on the wrong side of the street.

The scenery was amazing along the water, and when we finally got around the Coramandal peninsula to see the ocean, it was breathtaking. And, as any traveler learns pretty quickly here, the entire country is beautiful. Except Aukland. It’s dreary. But the rest is spectacular.

Pauanui was a silent town. I meditated by the water, on a grassy backyard that backed up to the bay. The sun was streaming through clouds and over the mountains in the distance, looking like a motivational poster, as it prepared its final few miles for sundown. I focused on nothing and was soon completely relaxed.

We went to dinner at the only place that was open past 8 PM in the town. It was not the American Grill, which had already closed. Instead, it was a pizza joint. Two Jewish single guys did not exactly fit in among the goyisha families, newly weds and teenagers. But it was only one night.

We left in the morning and drove the four hours to Rotorua and flew to Queenstown.