Piha

Yesterday we went to the west coach black beach called Piha Beach. There was a Billabong Surf Competition going on when we got there for ages 19 and under which was really interesting. We have heard many people talk about how dangerous Piha is, as is evidenced by the TV series here called Piha Rescue (sharks and powerful riptides make it a little risky). But we went mainly for the scenery and beautiful NZ beach.

We hiked (if you can call it that...it took 5 minutes. my kind of hiking) to the top of that rock, called Lion's Rock. It gave us a really nice view of the black sand!

Rebecca and I on top of the rock. The black sand is from volcanic rocks that line the west side of NZ. All of the beaches on the west coast are black and all of the beaches on the east coast are white (aka normal).

They have a Maori statue on top of Lion's Rock because they used this rock for safety or something....I don't really remember haha. They would hide on top from enemies and have a piece of higher ground in case the water rose to dangerous levels.

The black sand was beautiful, but SO hot at midday. I thought regular sand could get pretty hot! If you wanted to walk barefoot in it, you had to be in the water or else wear shoes because it would burn your feet.

A short drive from piha was Karekare beach and waterfall. The beach was like piha, but the waterfall was cool because it was fresh water (less than a kilometer from the ocean). It was refreshing to swim in because I am used to water without salt. I've gotta admit, it is nice not to be all sticky when you get out!

It seriously was another 5 min. hike. I could get used to this. Little work for beautiful results :)

Another successful day in the prettiest country on earth!

The best part of the night though was Danielle's baptism. We got to participate in it (doing music stuff) and interact with a lot of the ward members. Janet and I are starting to feel like we really belong here! It was great to go to something so familiar, but still learn and grow as our testimonies were strengthened!

P.S. It's a great day to be a cougar!