The Bay of Plenty (Plenty of Wonderful Times)

I loved it here. Not only is the town, the water, and the general area really wonderful, but my hosts were really amazing. So far, the Bay of Plenty (Tauranga, to be specific) has been my favorite place. I arrived and my hosts were incredibly welcoming (bringing me to their Christmas party where I got to meet and talk to the rest of the family) and they carried on their welcoming attitude all the way through my visit. We did and saw a lot during my stay and I wish I could have stayed for so much longer (but alas, I had already bought my bus ticket onwards.)

My first full day, I started the morning with work in the garden.

I even had a cute cat friend help with the weeding!

(This is Lui)

We went for a kayak paddle around the water and explored so far along the water that it felt like we were in a different place all together.

My host brought me to Te Puna Quarry Park (what used to be an old quarry is now this beautiful park filled with sculptures and different families of flowers (with some of the old quarry equipment still there!)

They brought me to Mount Manuganui and I climbed right up to the top! There were several runners along the trail (actually a really nice trail to run), and many sheep, just freely walking about. I got a bit caught in the rain on my way down, but I didn’t mind at all.
We then got ice cream and when the rained had discouraged the idea of an outside picnic, we  drove back to the house and made a picnic inside on the floor. We had dinner and a show while we watched the French movie The Intouchables (super funny, 100% recommend)! 

On New Year's Eve, we explored even more. We went on a bush walk to see a 600 year old Rimu tree (very beautiful) and then we drove down to the water and played in the ocean.

Then we prepared a very large (and incredibly delicious!) (all of the food was absolutely AMAZING, by the way) Mexican styled dinner, and we prepared the table for some family guests to attend as well.

I quickly made friends with the other (supposedly) very skittish cat (we were friends in 2 minutes).

(This is Bobo)

I made homemade pasta for the first time and it turned out wonderfully! (the second time through.. haha)

And we watched a few more French movies while drinking tea and eating some lemon squares that I made from the lemons off their tree.

I loved it there so much and I hope I can go back someday in the future. Leaving this house felt like leaving family, and I cannot express how grateful I am for their generosity and kindness. :)