I love Te One

This place is awesome. It is so nice to wake up to the sun rising out of the sea. I sat in bed for a long time reading a good book and listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. When I finally got up, everybody wanted to go down to the beach for an early morning swim. I was tired from several days at the beach and Maia waking me up in the night, so I decided to take a break from the beach. I walked down to the sand just to check out the beach, and it turned out that it was a good day to take a break. The waves were massive and closer together or more frequent then I've ever seen waves before. Uncle Phil was the only one brave enough (or dumb enough :) ) to go in, and he said that it was strange - one moment you'd be standing ankle deep the next the water would be over your head. Later, Uncle Phil broke a string on the guitar he brought with him, and, not having anything else to do, decided to go and get a new one. I came along so I could ride in his car - a Holden (New Zealand's GM) Commodore SV6. It was awesome. We found that the nearest place that sold guitar strings was in a town on the other side of the hill, and the road there was a long winding mountain road, normally a half hour drive (or more). It only took us 20 minutes. He drove really fast and aggressive the whole time - at one part we reached 160 kph (about 100 mph) - which was really fun, but by the end I was really sick. I barely made it home, and it took an hour for me to feel normal again.

There's Keiren and Georgia trying to catch a free ride (sorry about the bad quality, its from the video camera).
After lunch we went and used the kayaks they brought with them at the estuary. I didn't want to at first, but it was kind of fun, if hard work. After that I learned how to play cricket, which looks interesting.
We got back a little before dinner time, but my dad and Uncle Phil wanted to try skimming again, even though the waves looked a bit the same as the morning. I came along just to watch, but after one minute, I realized that the beach was actually very good. So good, I had to sprint back to get my swim suit on. And yet, when I got back.... it was even better than I had thought! after ten minutes, for the first time in my life, I rode a wave. I sprinted out, happened to get lucky with the timing, hit a three foot wave, curved around on the face, and got pushed back onto the sand. It. Was. Incredible!! I was so happy! It is really amazing though how much you improve by practicing every day.
After dinner, Uncle Phil created a treasure hunt game, where presents were waiting at the end. I got a bag of chocolates that you can't get anywhere except New Zealand, which are the best chocolates ever.
It's interesting, I've noticed that even after just a few days of being here, some words I involuntarily pronounce with a slight NZ accent. Of course, everyone here thinks we have the strong American accents, but after six weeks, I wonder what everybody back home will think of how I talk...
The next day, my dad, Uncle Phil and I ran down to the beach for an early morning board meeting. The surf was almost identical to the night before, although cold, and I sort of caught a few waves (though none as good as the first one), which is so awesomely gratifying (I actually sort of did it with my old yellow, too). After we got back, we all went on a hike to the top of Mt. Paku, the strange pointed one I mentioned before. The were some awesome views from the top. We didn't have the camera, but we did have the video camera.

We learned about a GeoCache worldwide sort of treasure hunt game and I found the cash box hidden a few years ago. After lunch we drove to Cathedral Cove, which was very cool, because that's where the scene in Prince Caspian where the train station turns into a beach was filmed.

We stayed there for a while, then went to a beach called Hot Water Beach. It's called that because of there are large pools of water two km underground that are heated by magma near them, and water seeps up from these pools onto the beach. If you go when the tide's out and dig a hole in the sand, hot water fills up. The water is anywhere between 30 and 60 degrees Celsius (85 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit). Some spots are warmer than others though, and if the water gets too hot, either step out or wait for a wave to come. It was very cool, I would say it is a must-do for someone visiting New Zealand.