Life is a Journey: May 14, 2008

May 14, 2008 – Rotorua to Piha Beach

Weather: Mostly fine

Today we had to hit the road again. Some headed to the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves but Joan and I decided to head directly to Piha Beach with a stop at the build site where we are going to work. I had done Google Map directions to get there trying to avoid the main Auckland Motorway interchange but after driving the alternate route that I had selected I was starting to think that the Motorway would have been the better way. The route was OK but a lot of winding around in suburban areas with traffic but with only two stops to ask directions were required.

We had a call and were advised during the day that the affiliate had not been able to secure building permits yet and we would not be able to start on the build the next day however they had a welcoming lunch for us, the partner family, past partner family, and a number of people from the local affiliate for tomorrow (Thursday). So we decided to go on to the campground at Piha Beach and stay there at least one night and then if the permit didn’t come through we would go ahead and sightsee some more through the weekend and return to the Auckland area on Monday.

The trip down to Piha Beach from the build site was an adventure. It was about 45 minutes of twisting turning roads but the most interesting was the last 15 minutes or so as you go down the side of the mountain to the shore. It was the most beautiful scenery that you could find anywhere. As the others got in I could tell that it would be a hard sell to stay there for the next two weeks. The campground was not quite up to what we had been used to but would probably have been OK except the timeout on the motion detector for the shower room lights was set for about half the time that the control for the shower water was set for. The shower timer we could deal with as it worked with a security card that also worked the gate to the campground so you could just reach out and swipe the card on the control again. But no matter how much you waved your arms or jumped up and down in the shower you couldn’t make the lights come back on. So you then had to walk back out to the entrance in the buff, wave your arms to turn the lights on, dash back to the shower, swipe your card by this time and then finish the shower.

The president and director from the Auckland affiliate drove down to the beach to welcome us and brief us on Thursdays program and we set the plans for the next couple of days. It was decided that if the permit didn’t come through Friday we would return to the Manukau area on Monday and work at the Habitat ReStore there in Manukau.

After a walk on the beach (the movie “The Piano” was shot around this beach) at sunset and trip to experience the showers it was to bed and listen to the surf.