Part 7: Undiscovered Paradise & Chatty Rowboat Captains

RAGLAN IS A 3000 person surfing hippy town. People keep telling me that I should leave soon or I'll never get out. But of course, I have an airplane to catch on April 8th and because I'm not an expert surfer or have anything tying me to Raglan, I'm not too worried about being caught here. Actually, I'll be leaving tomorrow and going to Tauranga, on the other coast of the North Island. Driving from coast to coast is easy here, and without stopping it will take around 2 hours and 15 minutes. 

I've spent most of my time in Raglan walking on the black sand beaches. Sometimes I'll strip down to my bathing suit and wade into the salty, turbulent water. Then at night I'll go to the small club by the beach and listen to New Zealand bands play to small audiences and sometimes be distracted by the vibrant stars. I love the stars in New Zealand. It fascinates me how they are all different ones than I am used to seeing in the northern hemisphere. 

Friends in Raglan

The first day I was in Raglan (about 5 days ago) I realized that my camera bag was missing from my purse. I traced everywhere I'd been and thought over how it could have disappeared but never came up with a plausible solution. Finally I reported my loss to the police and a few days later I received a phone call. My excitment was lowered when the suited woman pulled out my black and red case. It was damp and covered in sand. I opened it and saw my electronics in the same condition but still felt relieved that I was once again in possession of my camera and phone. So in short, the universe has given me an opportunity to be exceedingly descriptive with my language and you the ability to add unique personalized visuals to my journey.

Listen below to part 7 of Aviva's travels in which she introduces us to a couple of Kiwi characters...