September 1

So the night before I called a man named Peter from the Piha Surf Shuttle website. I say yes 2 people at 10:30. Perfect, cheers mate! So I wake up to Katy coming into the room saying "Diablo, the guy is here." "What time is it?" "9:30"........ So I roll off the top bunk put my bandana on and stroll out the door still blinking from being so unexpectedly woken up. Peter Gillespie is his name, random facts is his game. On the drive down to Piha he tells us all sorts of interesting things about New Zealand.

Interesting Fact 1: NZ doesnt have 4-way stops, they have round-abouts..... cool

Plant Fact 2: The Manuka and Kanuka plants are similar but Manuka is used similarly as aloe vera, and produces a unique sweet smell, bees that pollinate it make Manuka Honey... awesome will have to get some Manuka Honey

Awesome but kind of Scary Fact 3: Piha Beach has its own tv program "Piha Beach Rescue" about the lifeguards... almost like a Cops/Baywatch and Piha is the most popular beach and has the most drownings in New Zealand.... neat.... hmmm

Slightly Racist Fact 4: Asians don't care about the environment and destroy all the wildlife and are the reason for all the fishing bans.... okay?....

Really Racist Fact 5: Asians drown the most cuz they cant swim... and their bodies dont float back to surface and onto the beach. You know what they say... asians dont float..... ok now im uncomfortable.

The drive is crazy as Peter is racing through the backroads of Waitakere Ranges and on the wrong side of the road no less. Roads are extremely small and extra sharp turns. Totally wish I had my car as this road would be such a blast to bomb around corners. The Ranges are huge and it a complete change of scenery from the conrete jungle that is Auckland City and the sprawling suburbs surrounding it.

Finally make it to Piha Beach and the view is astounding. And the word astounding doesnt even match what it actually is so bare with me here. It is like looking at a painting and saying, "wow I wish that place were real, cuz i'd go there." Its like watching a movie where they pan back and you can tell its all Computer Generated but then have second guesses as you see a person waving at the helicopter camera... Words and pictures do not have any way of capturing how amazingly beautiful it is. And this is just on the drive in.

We drive on down the road Peter pointing out the little quirks of the place on the way and the surf shops, club houses, and little grocery store. We head down the road further and goto the Piha Beach Stay where Geoff lives (The guy I will be staying with) and there is a note that states he is gone and will be back at 4:30. Okay cool we will just wander around a bit till then. Peter drives us to the Grocery Store and heads back to the city.

The grocery store is really small and less groceries and more like a couple refigerated counters with various sandwiches made from local gardens and fish. I grab a ham sandwich and a brownie as well as a chocolate milk. After Katy and I get some food we walk out the door across the Piha Domain (large field for gatherings and field day type stuff with a playground). At the end of the Domain is a small concrete bridge that goes over a freshwater stream that meets the ocean. The bridge looks fairly new construction, their are cute surfboard shaped metal details embedded into the path as well as what could be kelp or eels of the same material. The handrail appears to be made of Cor-10 steel for a rusty orange look that really gives the bridge some character. So the bridge goes over and goes between some dunes as a wood plank boardwalk. Then up and over a dune with black sand.

I have always HEARD of black sand beaches and many places advertise... luxiourious spas and black sand beaches...ooo waving their fingers about magically. As if the term black sand means its like normal sand but it is way better... you walk on normal sand... you romance your feet in black sand. My feet were indeed in needing of some romance so off came the shoes and my feet made love to the black sand...ooo (insert magic finger motion) On closer inspection the sand was indeed mostly black, there seem to be shiny flecks (possibly shells) and what I guess is a normal sand mixed in. It does have a very shiny quality to it. There are also tons of sea shells scattered all along the beach... Not being used to this as most of the beaches I have been to are in LA or FL in both cases the shells are picked clean and the only thing remaining is shell fragments... or broken bottles that look like shells. There is quite a variety of shells to be had. There are little white spiral ones, white thin mussel looking shells, multiple colored pointy ones, sand dollars, conch shells, clam looking shells, and green lipped mussel shells. Another thing to be noted seagulls here are either small with red beak and legs or enormous and yellow features.

Never got to meet Geoff but Peter came to pick us up and we headed back to the Brown Kiwi. That night I ate some beef thing and mashed potatos from a Chinese place... not bad but stick to the rice please. Talked with the UK kid again about the snow watched some of the old version of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and then off to bed.