i had considered waking up early to walk out up on the hill and catch the sunrise, but once i heard the rain, i knew i would be sleeping in. then it just got really boring. it felt like we were never gonna leave the farm! others were bone carving and shooting at clay pigeons. we didn't leave until about 1pm or so. several of us were starving for lunch. they starting talking of all the foods they were craving. of course they were all heavily meat-based foods. argh. am i the only one craving a decent vegan burrito? so glad to leave the farm.

the east cape lighthouse in the distance

the east cape lighthouse close up

the first major place of interest we drove to, a place i was looking forward to, was the east cape lighthouse. it is the eastern-most point in new zealand. to get to the lighthouse, you have to cross private property. it's also a very steep walk to the top. i had to stop and take a couple of breaths. it really worked my heart/lungs. sweat! it was right after we had lunch (i only had fries), so it wasn't the best time to be climbing a hill. oh, you also have to walk around a lot of horse shit on the property before making it to the steps to the lighthouse. nice.

panorama view from the east cape lighthouse

facts about the lighthouse:
latitude 37 degrees 41.5' south
longitude 178 degrees 32.9' east
14m high
154m above sea level
originally housed on east island, shifted to present site in 1922

east island

the next place we went to was the christ church in raukokore. it's an old church and close to the water. i'm really not so sure what's special about it. i wasn't really in the mood for church viewing. earlier i had passed up going inside a different church. perhaps i should've went inside this once to see what it was about.

te pihopatanga o aotearoa, christ church, raukokore, nau mai haere mai

'east as' trip bus

somewhere along the way we passed through te araroa, hicks bay, waihau bay, and maraehako. i swear i can't remember anything that would help me to remember where was where and what was what. finally we arrived at our destination for the night, a family's home that they've turned into a homestay sort of thing in te kaha. they had two small rooms with bunk beds in their home, then an adjoining building had a really large room with several beds. we ended up in this large room. it was pretty dusty and moldy in there. it actually triggered my asthma. i think that's the first time i've wheezed since coming to this country. not good. the common fridge we could use was actually a cold room, reeking of fish and animal flesh. reluctantly, we put our stuff in that requires refrigeration. the cool thing about the place was the view. their home is right above the water and they have installed a jacuzzi tub in just the right location. the only thing we could find to entertain ourselves was a deck of cards. it was a pretty boring evening.

after dinner, one of the dogs, brewser or bruiser, jumped onto my lap and just stayed there. he originally was on twiddle thumbs's lap, but decided that mine was much nicer. he used my arm as a pillow and tried to fall asleep. he shifted positions a few times. he was a bit dirty and he started to get my allergies going. but he was a little bit of warmth so i didn't mind so much. eventually i had to kick him off because my breathing started to change and i was getting itchy.

sunset in te kaha

there was an option to have the family make dinner and breakfast tomorrow for you for $17. a lot of meat and fried foods. we knew it'd be like that so we came prepared with our own food. our meals would be much tastier and cheaper too. again, we were the only two who opted out. we had a modest meal of fried noodles and miso soup. we didn't bring produce to add to the noodles. total cost for both, no way more than $3.

we bonded a little bit more with the british kids but if i hear one more brit say that the american dollar is weak, i'm going to smack them. it's not that our money is weak, (though the republicans never fail to weaken it and fuck it up beyond repair), --we're not a third-world nation so it's not really correct to speak of our money in those terms--it's that your cost of living is outrageously high. you pay retail prices and we pay wholesale. if you come from an expensive country, of course wherever you go you're gonna think things are cheap. i don't need to hear another brit talk about how much money they are saving by being in new zealand. i also wonder if a lot of these kids are spoiled rich because they're not just in nz for a few weeks. they're on massive trips that are months long and span several countries. often without working during these trips. of course, a lot of these countries they are going to (thailand, indonesia, etc.) are butt cheap so a lot of first world residents could probably afford to spend a good deal of time there. but to go to several in a row? sounds like mommy and daddy are paying.