The Royal Wedding and Piha

THE ROYAL WEDDING

Half way through the trip I met up with my roommate at UBC. She is doing her exchange in Auckland, so I got to stay with her in her university residence, which is always a good time! On Friday afternoon, on behalf of the wedding, we decided to go for afternoon tea in the garden, which was rather lovely. Turns out the Royal Wedding was part of prime time television in NZ, as it was playing at 7:00 pm. We ended up playing a Royal Wedding drinking game that night, which was pretty comical. Examples of some rules were: drink when you see Posh and Becks or Elton John, drink when you see a ridiculous hat, drink when you see an all-matching outfit, etc

TRIP TO PIHA 

Piha was amazing. It’s a small coastal settlement located only half an hour from the city. It has a really cool atmosphere – it feels so rugged and isolated. Definitely one of my favorite places thus far. I will always remember it, as it was the first place I EVER WENT SURFING! Funny how I live in Australia and the first place I ever surfed was in New Zealand. 

Piha <3

We rented wet suits and boards from a local company and got an awesome deal. We then headed down to the beach and the water was freezing! At least if you’re in a wet suit you automatically kind of look the part - until you get into the water, and you can’t figure out how to carry your board across the waves without it smashing into you. Surfing is frustrating. It is definitely a sport designed for patience… something I sort of lack when it comes to some things, such as yoga. My friend was an excellent teacher. She took me onto the beach and we did a few practice waves and got the technique down. 

Ready to Go! 

Looking the Part

It was a great experience, but a challenging one. I hate sucking at something! I am determined to try again, hopefully in Australia when it’s warm. The weather was interesting. For a while there was a bit of thunder going on… so that was a bit worrisome. That’s when I decided to head in… All of the really good surfers go later on…. or really early in the morning. Well, I think it depends on the beach actually. But it was packed. When the sun came down, it was simply stunning. 

Post-Surf 

Sunset 

Piha is by far one of my favorite places. We went for a little walk along the rocks, which was, hands down, the most painful experience for my feet EVER. I was with a bunch of adventurous people who apparently have feet of steel, so I couldn’t be a baby and express just how painful it was. I felt as though I was stepping on knives. Got some great photos though… Now for a pedicure!

SO PAINFUL!!