Best Day of My Life..Part 2

I stepped out for a nice breather..not much to see out there. There is a bright half moon out there. You can only see a few lights behind the boat in the distance..I’m thinking its other boats..you can see them moving up and down..I would say the boat is moving a good bit as I type this…I have only been on one cruise when I was young..I remember some parts of it..like the free ice cream..it was a Disney cruise. I remember there was a basketball court on it with netting all around it..If you put too much arch on the shot..it would hit the net. My parents could turn to channel 23 or whatever it was and it was showing live footage of the court. I remember roaming around aimlessly on the boat. That is a core..”exploration”memory actually.. I also remember playing foursquare on the boat with kids younger than me and I was slamming the ball and winning every single round. Dad whispered..”ya know they aren’t quite as big as you” lol. I remember the excursions. It was fun! But I don’t remember paying much attention to the motion of the boat in the ocean. It was so big that it felt like you were on land. On this ferry…its smaller..its nice..but you can feel it going side to side..I’m inside with no windows..they even have rugby on and great food options. It’s a little weird being on a boat like this. But I like it. There is a magician named Zappo doing balloon animals over there for the kids. There are about 3 trips a day..and on one of those trips they allow a band to play for free in exchange for free ferry passes. The band I saw this weekend actually did that as they are from Wellington and were starting their tour of the South Island. I think it’s a wonderful thing for all parties…they are helping out local touring artists get down or up to either island..and then they are getting the artists exposure to everyone on the boat. I wish I was on one where they played. I’m not talking just an acoustic guitar..they let them bring all of their gear and they play loud full band music. Alright lets dive back in…

Best Day of My Life..I pay for another night at the holiday park in Collingwood…I head straight back out to Wharakiki beach..it’s pronounced “far-ah-ree-key” btw. A little confusing.

The peacocks are in the parking lot again..there are more cars in the lot as well. It’s about 2pm. Remember..I did find out a day or so before that there is special place out here…I’m on a mission to find. I didn’t look up exact coordinates or even what part of the beach…I just know it’s in this general stretch of a few miles of a beach. I’m treating it like a game..I’m excited..I start down the same trail towards the beach that I took the day before..I make it to that same fork in the trail. The day before…I was a tad worried about how far out and remote I was with it getting dark..so I did pick the path to the right that looked like it was a little more travelled. I had a great time as you know by taking that path…and I stuck to my guns once I got the beach as well..I stayed right..I explored all the way right. Never found the spot. My friend Chase Adams messaged me on instagram after he saw a pic I posted of the fork in the path…he said “Go Left. Left is always right”..its funny..but I was like..in this situation..I think you’re right. The sky is still a little gray..drizzling off and on. I go left this time. I watch all of the people ahead of me and behind me(like 8 people in total..still felt like a lot for out there) go right. I’m off on a Zack journey all alone. I’m wearing my teva sandals today so that I can easily get in and out of them on the beach. There is sheep and cow poop..mostly sheep poop everywhere..my sandals have never seen such slippery poop before and I’m sliding all over the place. I’ve got poop between my toes at this point. The trail gets skinny…it fades in an out. It reminded me of tracking down a shot deer..you find a blood trail and then it disappears..and then you find a red spot on a leaf and you keep moving forward to put the pieces together…this version is another fun “challenge”…I’m not worried about getting lost on this one either..I can hear and know where the ocean is…worst case I’ll force my way through the rainforest bush between me and the beach to reach the beach and then I’ll keep going right until I make it back to where I was yesterday.

I’m coming across these windblown trees…all of them leaning in the same direction..all the way from the trunk.. very cool. Pics below. I reach a beautiful pond with ducks in the middle of it..I’m also a little perched up on the ridge at this point..I can see rock formations in the distance..I’m excited again..I make it to the fence line..climb over..take off under the bush..it’s a tunnel of trees..and then BAM. There she blows…coves..the beach..rock formations..and I have it all to myself. I’m giddy again. I start left..because today is all about left.

I’m wading in the water..the sun is beginning to peak out. Poop covered sandals are off..hanging off of my back pack by a carabiner. I’m in the water with my pants on. Waves big out there and then they settle in nicely…I’m surrounded by rock and ocean. I go as far left as I can…tide is a little high..actually..I imagine it’s pretty high. I get in around knee deep and bask in it for a while..start working my way towards an arch to my right. I’m thinking the spot I’m looking for is over there…to get over there was tricky in this high tide…it was a mix of scrambling(all 4’s) on the rocks and then on the sand when you could. By the time I reach the arch…I have forgotten that I’m even looking for something specific…I sat by the arch for a little while…water is still coming in good and now I’m kind of out here..I need to start making my way to higher ground. When I sat at the arch…I thought I had found my favorite spot in New Zealand…15 minutes later..I slip on the sandals..head to higher ground to get a higher view point. I did have to work for this one..and there were a couple times where I thought about stopping…but I strapped in and created an “escape plan”…Scrambled on all 4 fours..using chest..and all parts of my body..to get here..man was it worth. I was treated with panoramic views. The adrenaline was pumping. I sat there longer than anywhere else on the trip. I think in this spot…I decided…that this was the exact reason why I came here…I arrived to a point where no one could find me..no one could contact me..I had a playground of rock and ocean before me..I had no where to be. I was able to breathe.

The thoughts roll through of how blessed I am…I try not to feel guilty about that in this moment..I wanted the moment to remain peaceful. I found a load of triumph in this spot. I found a load of confidence in this spot. I was able to release all of the things behind me….I was proud of myself for surviving and making my dream a reality. I was able to envision a bright future in this spot. It wasn’t even the spot I was looking for…my thought processes have propelled so far forward after this spot. I am going to be okay. I am not crazy. I am human. By surviving life..I believe I treated myself to a reward in this spot. I feel like I had a cathartic moment in this spot.

I have to climb back down before the ocean erases my only exit point. I am absolutely on fire for life…..my pants got hung on a rock and ripped a hole in my crotch…do you think I care? Not one bit.

I’ll take all the fresh air I can get these days!!!

Part 3 coming to a theatre near you…maybe tomorrow. I’m a little tired and want to rest my head. This writing and this blog has been very therapeutic for me on this trip btw. I would like to elaborate more on that at a later date. But dang..this is all very fun. Stay tuned friend.