Unlike America, Easter Break is a thing here. So of course we took advantage and decided to get out of Auckland and see more of the beauty of New Zealand.
A few of our friends went to do the Tongariro Crossing, but we chose to check out Lake Waikeremoana. (Don't even bother trying to pronounce it-- my friend Lizzy to this day refers to that weekend as "When we were at Lake Wai-kre-re-mamuahmleleloooa...") The lake is near the middle of the North Island and towards the east coast.Because we took so long to book our campsites and it was Easter Weekend, we had to delay our hike shortly and start on Sunday morning rather than on Friday which was the day we left. So we decided to take our time getting down there, and make a few stops on the East coast along the way.
About 2 hours from Auckland is Waihi Beach. The beach is very nice with some of the most beautiful shells I have ever seen. My friend Lizzy and I spent forever picking them up and searching for whole sand dollars. We were doing just this when we saw a hiking trail that looked like it might provide an overlook of the beach and bay. Barefoot, we thought, "Hey, let's go up there and see!" We got to the top and had a great view. But the trail kept going. I am not one to let a path go unexplored, so we continued.
After about 35 minutes, we were thinking of turning back but we kept passing surfers and hikers who told the best was yet to come, keep going! So we did. For another 30 minutes. And boy, were they right! We found the most beautiful beach. The sun was going down, there were a couple of straggling surfers, and a family having a picnic. The sand was like a marble cake; the white and black sand swirled together to make such a pretty sight. Lizzy and I didn't stay long because we knew the crew would be worried, but we decided right then and there we had to come back when our friends from home came to visit. Or get married there, either one. I'm fairly certain my Dad would be willing to fly all of my family there....Right Dad? ;)We got back to the crew with our feet killing us with every step and got in the car to drive about 45 minutes to the camping facilities/park we had booked. The place was called Saphire Springs and supposedly had hot spring pools. You would think this would be really cool, but in actuality, I was kind of dreading it. In case I haven't mentioned it, hot pools smell like farts. But we hadn't seen any other places near by when we looked up the area online, so I figured I would just have to suck it up and plug my nose for the night.
Upon arriving, we all climbed out of our two cars and went inside to pay. But the owners were convinced we were cheating them, that one of us had not paid. As Americans, we said screw this, we'll go somewhere else. We are not going to be scammed by you, give us our money back.I was kind of nervous at this point because you aren't exactly allowed to just pull over and set up camp on the side of the road in New Zealand. We started driving down the road, and Brett (the driver) and I had recalled passing a sign that said "Naturist Park", so we thought we would go back and check it out.
Rolling down the dirt road into the woods, we come upon a building. We parked the car and Brett and I went inside while the other girls and the other car waited. We walked up to the door and rang the bell and were let into the lobby by this nice old man with a beard. Here is the interaction:
Old Guy- "Yes we do! Its $16 per person and the showers are free."
Now, this was cheaper than the other place, and the other place cost $2 a shower. So Brett and I look at each other thinking, Yeah, this sounds great!
We look at the man and I say, "That would be wonderful. We have 10 people total."
Old Guy- "Sweet as! We just have one rule here... No Togs allowed in the pool, sauna, or hot tub."
Brett and I think for a second... and it dawns on us. "No Togs... means no bathing su...Oh... wait..."
Old Guy- "You do know this is a nudist colony, don't you?"
I couldn't handle it, I just started laughing. He explains that its cold tonight which is the only reason he is wearing clothes. The crew came inside and we all got the giggles as we paid the nice old man and took his directions to our spot.
Simple as that- On Easter weekend, I stayed at a Nudist Colony. And yes, I did enjoy the pool, sauna, and hot tub. Sorry I'm not sorry!
I will say this though, it was incredibly awkward when we left early in the morning and Old Guy came out to say goodbye. He wasn't lying when he said he only wears clothes when its cold.
The following are pictures from the KatiKati Naturist Park website. The photo of the two people behind the counter are the owners A.K.A. Old Guy-- or as this website claims, his name is Kevin.
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