Kind Kiwis, and an adventurous German...

I am overjoyed and amazed by the hospitality and kindness of the people here. Whether it is letting me fill up my water bottle or offering a good meal and place to sleep, everyone I meet is eager to help me and hear of my travels. While in Takapuna, I met another backpacker like myself from Germany and we have been travelling together for 3 days now. When I told him about the meditation retreat in Kaukapakapa, he immediately wanted to join me and went to an internet cafe to sign up! So, together we have been making our way up the coast to the retreat center. We took the bus/ hitch-hiked across the country to Piha Beach, famous for its great surfing waves. A family picked us up on the side of the road, took us to their house where they have an incredible view of the Auckland and the surrounding areas and gave us some coffee. Then, they drove us down to the forest to look for a trail head, but when we couldn't find it, they took us down to he beach where we found a place to camp! That night, Phillip, the German traveller, and I camped out on White's Beach. In the morning, we hitch-hiked all the way back to the main rode after walking for only a few minutes. Then we made our way up the coast by bus and camped out in the Woodhill Forest along the NZ West Coast. That was last night, and this morning we were picked up by a man who happened to be driving to the exact town we wanted to go today! We are staying at his house tonight and then will go to the retreat center tomorrow. Michael and his wife, Karina, stay on 20 acres of land with horses, sheep, cows, and pigs. Maichael works in construction and has a big shop out back. What an amazing place to live! For lunch, we ate ham and bacon (fresh from his own pigs) and will have lamb for dinner. Phillip and I are so pleased that everything is working out so well. We often tell each other how lucky we are to be on a good wave length with the universe. It's unbelievable how welcoming people have been to Phillip and I. The landscape is beautiful here and I am so excited to spend more time here. I could not have dreamed of better people to meet or places to see!