Castle Rock

We're almost finished with our first wwoofing location. We can't believe we've been in the Coromandel for two weeks. Yesterday we figured we better do something exciting, since most of the time we've spent sitting on the beach, sitting at the creek side, or huddled in our caravan pining for burritos. Our journey began with a quick hitch into town to stock up on the necessities: smoked mackerel, granola bars, and apples. After a 4k walk to the start of the 309 Road, we parked our butts on the side of the road, awaiting the assistance of a kind soul (see photo 1). In the background you can see our destination, Castle Rock. After 1/2 hour of twiddling our thumbs, a wonderful pair of kiwis picked us up and drove us right to the trail head. After searching for the trail head for another half hour (that's right, they dropped us right at it and we still couldn't find it), we did the hour climb to the top (see photo 2). It was a mildly challenging hike and was a good warm up for what's in store for us at the end of the week (see photos not yet posted). After another kind soul brought us all the way back into town, we picked up a bottle of wine and some artichoke hearts for a shared dinner with eight of our closest friends (Naomi, our wwoof host; Simon, German wwoofer; Ruth, Scotty and Roni, Naomi's kiwi neighbors who work at the market and garden with us; Naomi's son and son's girlfriend; Lynn, English herbalist visiting Coromandel). We'll definitely be sad to say goodbye to all our new friends but it's time to move on!