October 20

This morning we woke up and decided to head down to the beach to eat breakfast. We walked over the black sand dunes and down a remote path to the beach. The landscape looked completely surreal and the water was so choppy. I wouldn’t even put my feet in. There was a small river running partway down the beach and we sat on a log next to it to eat breakfast. The black sand was amazing to me. I had never seen it before.

(It’s hard to tell, but the sand is actually black!)

After we finished breakfast, we headed back toward Auckland. We decided to drive up the east coast toward Pakiri where we are going horseback riding tomorrow morning. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a cute beachside town. Then we stopped to use the wifi in Warkworth. We visited a coffee shop (where the wifi password is godisgreat123, believe it or not) and a craft beer bar, where the owner offered to take me on a tour of a local brewery if I come back to this town. It was nice to have a little break. We are heading toward a campground near the beach for the night. Then tomorrow morning, I will have my first experience horseback riding!