This week was a lovely rollercoaster of emotions and I found myself bouncing between intense depression and intense happiness bordering on mania. I’m not sure what was up with the energies this week, but they played me like Johnny plays the fiddle.

This particular rollercoaster did manage to get me out and exploring Auckland though! I went to two different beaches and did a hike, all on the west coast. It takes me relatively the same amount of time to get from my house to the east and west coasts and there’s a lot less city going westward so I have the feeling that’ll be my go-to direction. I love driving through the mountains and loved that I was able to still get that feeling while I’m here, even though there aren’t really mountains.

I did learn that it’s a different beast driving rural here. The roads in New Zealand flow with the landscape so there are lots of twists and turns, often with no shoulder. I’m a pretty confident driver and have been driving windy mountain roads for a long time so I figured it would be a breeze for me. Not so much. It’s pretty obvious to spot who’s a tourist because they drive with lots of caution through all those twists and turns while the locals hardly tap the breaks. My first drive out the the west coast had me with both hands on the wheel and I got to know my breaks really well. My second time out, though, I felt like one of the locals. I even had to park in a pull out spot for a few minutes because the person in front of me was going 20 under the speed limit. I have some road rage issues and it defeats the purpose of going out into nature if you spend the whole drive out yelling at the driver in front of you. I get going slower if you’re not feeling safe, but to pass THREE slow car pull out spots? All with multiple signs telling you they’re coming up and you should pull over if there are people behind you? Unacceptable.

After I pulled over, though, all was good and I got to Kitekite Falls in a good mood. The hike was labeled “easy” on AllTrials, but half the hike was stairs. And doing 10 minutes of straight stairs is not easy. Nevertheless, I didn’t black out and eventually made it to the top. Because it’s a waterfall, you can hike to the top or the bottom. I decided to go to the top first then the bottom and it turned out to be the right choice because I was alone at both spots. It was so relaxing to just sit and listen to the sounds of the waterfall.

After my hike, I realized I was right next to Piha beach so I drove the few minutes down there and just walked on the beach. It’s probably one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. The pictures I took don’t come close to doing it justice. It’s not a swimming beach, but it was nice to walk along the shore and enjoy the scenery. There was more beach further down, past the giant rock, so maybe that has less dangerous waters but I didn’t walk all the way down to check.

My other trip out west was to Muriwai Beach on Halloween. I was going through a mental dip and one of the best cures is fresh air and sunshine so I packed up my Costco beach towel and spent several hours just relaxing on the sand. This beach wasn’t as striking to me as Piha beach, but it was fun to have something different. There’s a huge distance different from high tide to low tide because the ground doesn’t dip very fast. Since it was low tide when I went, I was able to walk out really far in water that barely came above my ankles. It also had very foamy water, which would blow down the beach with the wind.

I also got to share the Schroeder love a little more this week. I did a homemade pizza and movie night on Friday with a few girls from my ward and it was so fun! My friend Keisha graciously offered to host since my place doesn’t really have seating for more than 3 people so we got all comfy in her living room and watched Austenland. If any of you haven’t seen it, you really should. It’s a romcom that is actually funny. A lot of romcoms focus more on the romance than the comedy, but Austenland doesn’t skimp on either. Then we stayed up late just chatting for awhile and I didn’t get home until almost 1am! It was a great night and a good way to end the week.