Best Day of My Life..Part 4..Ripping Bandaids

Here we are almost a week later from when I experienced what I’m talking about..I’ve already experienced so much in between now and then…but my memory is strong..and this memory sticks forever in me. I am typing from Mount Maunganui on the Bay of Plenty. I have been making some ground as my trip nears the end…I have had to make some tough decisions in skipping certain places..in order to ensure I see the places I want to see the most…without being rushed. So for us Americans to just give you an idea of how we have really changed up the scenery….Since my Monday morning…Its now Thursday here….I have driven 491 miles. 7hours 45 min driving time.. and 3.5 hours on the ferry. I unfortunately have skipped more than I like…but there is still plenty to see. I am in the Bay of Plenty after all.

Continuing best day of my life…now.

I am chasing this rainbow..barefooted..I make it back to the fork in the trail and go right again…just like I did the day before…more people out today…the beach is deeppppp…You can walk ankle deep for hundreds of yards it feels like…there is a Frenchie off leash following every waiter that brings out a juicy burger as I type..very cute. Distracted very easily lately.

The sun is making its way down towards the ocean…I think sunset is maybe 6? They just had a daylight savings time change the week prior…feels like late October for us Georgians. I’m back on the beach..same one from the day before…the rainbow had disappeared when I first arrived on it….20 minutes later…I turn around to look back inland…and its back! and its HUGE! Full arch..and its really…really close…on a video I took it seems like its touching on each side of it…on the beach…I don’t recall ever being that close to one…idk rainbows are like optical illusions to me anyways. But I’m on my favorite beach in the world…standing center of a magnificent rainbow…and I feel like….its a sign telling me I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Remember thinking… again..and I’ve said it before….”I’m going to be okay”……I am going to live happier days. An analogy for this scene..that I have been thinking about lately….

Imagine a flower…maybe a single rose…long green stem with thorns…the red rose is a little wilted….actually…no………..we…….we are going to imagine a single..green..fern…like I’ve been seeing all over NZ.

I’m the fern…obviously.

The fern is suffocating under the pile of stones..or rocks..a bed of them..a flat bed of them…but its building up into mounds of stones as more of them surround the fern…but still….that freaking fern….weaves its way through small crevices to exist…it starts to show its face…it gains color back…and it rearranges the rocks around it so it can create more space to grow and continue upwards..towards the sky..towards fresh air..towards better life…and once there are breakthroughs and the fern starts to think its making some progress…more rocks from the hill above fall down on it again…out of the ferns control....suffocating it further..it can’t catch a break..the fern begins the process all over again..working its way up..coming up with different strategies to reach sunlight…sometimes…it makes a mistake and moves the wrong rock and it causes a chain reaction that buries the fern even further…its own fault…but all the fern is doing is just…trying…it never intends to make the situation even worse for itself. Its desperate…it starts over again..and again..and again…and eventually it tries enough different ways to reach the sunlight…that it breaks through…and embraces the sun.. and it thrives…and its stronger than its ever been…and its weird to feel the sun on its leaves…its been so long..and its nice…and the fern doesn’t quite know how to handle all of the beautiful things…its a relief..its almost euphoric…it is euphoric

I believe thats the best way I can describe my thought process and feelings on Wharariki Beach.

I walk back over to the seals..hoping to see all of them…the water is much higher today…their pool is much deeper. I see 2 pups in the cove behind the pool…and I see their Mama way up on a ledge…not even sure how it managed to get up that high..considering how steep the rockwall was…I did watch one of the pups tumble down the wall…they must have extremely tough skin as I’ve watched them just beat themselves up on the rocks. So I called out to them…cause you know I’m trying to join their club remember. Btw…I have recently been educated by my beautiful cousin Kate Houston..(love ya Kate! Thanks for always being one of my biggest fans and supporters. You and PG are always in my prayers.) that these are in fact sea lions and not seals!…but my story will be referring to them as seals.

I shout out to these sea puppies…”Hey you guys! What does it take to become a part of your squad? Where do I sign up?”….I wore all gray today so I could blend in..they always wear gray too.

This Seal gets off his butt and swims my way…pokes his head out of the water…and he just stares at me…I say hello…and he gives me the whole up and down…like who the heck are you….He finally says…”what do you want”…I respond…well I’ve always wanted to be a seal and it looks like you guys are the coolest of all the seals in the area…so I was wondering if I could join your club…

This seal btw…the way he carried himself…and the way he looked at me…he must have been the “enforcer” of the crew..he was so intense…he was like…this is my rock..this is my crew..

He laughs at my request..he says…”well there is a long wait list…and we just got done initiating a few other seals….”

He seems pissed about it though…he says…”they are legacies…we didn’t want to let them in but apparently 2 of them....their dads served 2 tours in Sea World…so we had to let them in”

He says…”they once tried to get me to go off to sea world…I stayed under water for 2 days straight to avoid that bs. I've been here ever since”

I asked him…what’s your name other than Mister Seal. He says. “Syl..Sylvester”

I say…”wow…thats…thats interesting.. I haven’t heard that in a long time”

He said…”yea mate its a family name…there are about 30 of us around here named Sylvester…but I’m the only one nicknamed ‘Rocky’…and right now….you’re on my rock buddy boy.

*Zack takes a few steps back*

I say man…I’m a cool guy I swear..I can help you guys out with whatever you need

Syl says”Well…we are full… at the moment but cash is king so what you got? Got any fish?”

No sir I don’t have any right now but I guess…I guess I can go get some…here I’ll be back real quick.

Syl says “Ah bloody hell….look at you…you couldn’t catch a fish if your life depended on it…..see that crosseyed seal over there….his name is…shut up I know…his name is Sylvester as well…and he is the ten time reigning runner-up in the local fishing tournament…and guess who he lost to every single year…me….I don’t need you”

Well…is there anything else I can do…I really want to join you guys..

He swims off…he completely ignores me…for ten minutes..chases this seagull around who kept pooping on his rock.

Syl comes back and says…”well…you are pretty tall and we have the sealy games coming up..and we could use your length...but I’m going to have to ask the chief. One of the things I know he’s going to ask me about is how well you can sing our anthem…”

I mean..I’ll do whatever it takes to live on this beach forever with you guys.

Syl says “Alright…lets hear an acapella of “Kiss from a Rose”….I look up the lyrics…and now its just me and Sylvester….I’m singing “kiss from a rose” in front of a seal with a full rainbow behind me….as loud as I can. He’s like Simon Cowell…I’m nervous…and he looks like he wants to kill me…but at the end…he claps and gives me a backhanded compliment like….”pretty good singing for a four legged freak”. I respond..”thank you so much, Sir.”

Syl says “Let me see what chief thinks…its ultimately his decision”…Syl turns around…we are now both looking at Chief perched up on a rock…he’s just a silhouette in front of the sunset….Syl makes a weird gesture towards chief…like..weirdly rubs his pants leg over and over…I guess this was asking chief if I could be admitted…

Chief breaks his stoic manner…like Joaquin Phoenix in “Gladiator”….holds up his fins very slowly….and then….the final judgement strikes….his fins become an X. I’m denied. I’m….rejected…again.

Syl…turns to me….with a fake frown…it turns into a grin…and then he slowly descends back in the water…but like..cheesy slow…like grinning…and slowly going under water……never to be seen again.

Idk what the heck just happened on this blog…it was much funnier in my head…thats all the seal jokes I can think of right now. So sorry you had to suffer through that. I’m cringing and laughing at myself right now. The sea lion…chasing the seagull at sunset will be a core memory though…and I genuinely think that this sea lion was the “enforcer” of the group. He wasn’t playing around.

Finishing this out…sun is heading down…I’ve had an amazing day…I need to give it one more try to find the spot…Listening as I type to Frank Ocean’s “Lost”.

I head left…wading in the water the entire way…find a few caves that fill up with water and then they go dry…so you time it right…you go through the little cave…and when you make it to the other side…the beach opens again…the spot isn’t here either…but I still don't care…I’m presented with a whole new set of views and perspective of a place I’ve fallen in love with so quickly…I know what I want…what I like..I go…and I go hard..…I am a lover after all…and when I fall …..unfortunately and fortunately…I fall hard. Thats another conversation.

I return through one of the caves…I never thought I was in danger but there was a wave that suprised me and was bigger than the series of waves before it…water got about waist deep…it was exhilarating. The sound of the ocean was echoing through this rock tunnel….I make it out….I’m headed back home..I’m tired…I’ve had the best day…as I walk the rock wall line on the coast…I peek into different crevices..caves..and what not…I walk past one…I take a second look…I explore in it…I think its the spot…but not sure…then I move a little to the left…oh its the daggum spot….I’ve seen it before…the picture is in my mind.

The spot is the photo on the Windows 10 Screensaver. We all know the original screensaver with the rolling grass hills and blue sky with clouds…that was taken in California…well the Windows 10 screensaver was the next version of that one…..I imagine every single one of us has seen that screensaver in real life before. The original shot is around 2010? maybe…I’m too lazy to research right now. But the shape of the cave and the rocks have changed a little bit….and the guy who took the pic must have climbed up or put the camera in a special position to get the shot…I got as close as I could to the original...all I have is an iPhone and a brokenheart anyways. The pictures from the spot will be the last ones I attach to this thread.

I have one more part to add to the best day ever. This is a lot of writing…and reading I’m sure..

Pause.

Unpause.

I arrive back in Collingwood..tired..but on a high from the day…I haven’t showered in a couple days. I use the community showers at the campground…the only one available is a handicap stall. It feels like a 10x10 storage unit….there is a sink..a toilet..a shower head next to the toilet…and a drain in the middle of the floor. Its one big shower..I’ve stayed in a couple places on this trip with this set up…it always cracks me up…I feel extremely naked and violated in this big bathroom as I shampoo my hair while looking at a toilet…I flush it just for fun as I turn the hot water even hotter…I’m probably using more hot water than ten guests do during a day….but I need it. My mind..and my body need it. I put on semi clean clothes…walk 10 steps into town…hear about a rock band playing up the street…well…lets cap off the night with one of my favorite things in the world…live music….

I get a ride from Collingwood to a fork in the road…she’s going the other way…there is a bench with a sign under a street light..that has a thumb on it…its a hitch hiker bench. I get a ride…this guy didn’t talk much. I’m headed to the Mussel Inn. He was headed back to Nelson…he hardly said a word…it was…oh you’re an American..what do you think of NZ…I tell him my thoughts…and then he turns up the radio…not in a rude way…just a socially awkward way. I was happy and grateful for the ride. I get to the mussel inn…the band doesn’t start for another 1.5 hours. I eat spicy goat ragu with garlic bread…old people all around me..I see the drums and band setup in front of me…I looked up the band as the backdrop of the room has their name on it….they are called “ Dartz” I listen to them on Spotify for a sec…I can’t believe that this unique little place is about to host “dartz”….go up to the bar to order a beer and a guy taps me on the shoulder….”hiya mate…good to see ya again!”. I don’t recognize him….after a few exchanges I put the pieces together….in the beginning of the hike at Wharariki beach earlier today I passed them and went left…I remember looking back and they went right..it was a couple.

He said…we stopped in our tracks when we saw you go left…and everyone else went right…and we wish we followed you left. He invited me to sit with them..he’s German…his girlfriend is French. They didn’t know a band was playing tonight…they were at the Mussel inn for a meal and beer…turns out they love live music too. The Mussel inn is in the middle of nowhere and after looking on the walls….they have had some big acts play in their tiny little venue…apparently its a popular intimate venue stop in the South Island for all shapes and sizes of music acts. Very special venue…I went the next night as well.

I sit by the fire…get to meet the band..they are from wellington..they play punk rock…they are about to go on a euro tour…they want to tour the USA but its hard to get through the visa process…unless they get picked up by a major artist as a supporting act for the entirety of the tour. Crispy was the guitar player who I mainly chatted with…really like crispy. Cool dude.

I hang with Frenchie and German for the night and get lost in the show…having a great time…some of the lyrics are a little funny to hear coming from a punk band in a New Zealand accent…alot of it was politically charged(NZ politics) even though I had no clue what they were talking about in between songs…DARTZ…fun band….I hitch a ride back to Collingwood with a group of older punk locals…its a ten minute drive…not much talking…listened to Nirvana all the way. I’m digging it..

Pause

Unpause..listening to “Show You Something” by buffchick…epic part 3/4ths of the way through.

I settle in my bed..a bottom bunk of a room with 3 other beds. No one has filled them.Room to myself. I lie awake…happy…and thinking…..that in one day…I was able to do all of the things that make me happy…and of course there could be some things added like family or friends..or a lover to experience it with…but to Zacks core….everything that he loves and even more…were present..in a single day.

Adventure, scenic beauty, freedom, adrenaline, rainforests, FERNS, rivers, waterfalls, rainbows, caves, giant rocks in the ocean, sea lions, sheep, solitude, fresh air, punk rock/live music, and a realization that I’m not crazy..that I am human..I am the author of my own story and I’m going to be okay..in fact I’m going to be better than okay. I’m going to live.

There are people who had the worst day of their life on that day…and the next day was maybe even worse…I have had many “worst day ever”’s and the punches just keep rolling sometimes it feels like. But one day…you will again..experience a good day… and it may just happen to be the best day of your life. You don’t have to travel to NZ to find it either. For me though…it just happened to be in NZ. I am beyond blessed in so many different ways. I think about that often. I will have another “worst day ever” and one day I’ll have another “best day ever” when I have a child.. but for now..

I’m going to attach a lot of pics from the rest of the best day ever…and then maybe some random ones from the past couple of days.

I’d like to get a few things off of my chest and on here before I leave in two weeks. I find it therapeutic…(I also know that hibernation is near…and I’m open at the moment…)..just like Wharariki beach…which apparently…Brad Pitt bought a house at………I saw maybe 4 houses on the way out to that beach…and they weren’t what you would think Brad Pitt would live in….so I’m imagining that he fell in love with the place just like I did…and has hidden himself somewhere around there…and I don’t blame him.I remember thinking…if I was a writer, musician, or some type of artist…that finding a bungalow in the midst of all of this beauty, peace, and isolation….is where I would be… And as I type that I feel guilty on blowing his spot…the guy who told me this…was feeling the same way…he felt a little guilty in telling me that info. You have to cross a mountain to get to this part of the country…in stores(and i’m talking like one store in each little town) you will see coffee mugs or t-shirts that say…”Its just a hill…get over it”….If you ever make it over here…come to Abel Tasman…regardless of the weather…I will be back here one day with my future partner. I will be back here with my kids. I will be back here with my family…..or as we know…you never know what the future holds……life is not a straight line..its unpredictable…I very well may visit Abel Tasman and Wharariki beach…all alone again…and that will be okay too….because I can’t think of another natural place that has brought me that much happiness before. I’m so tired….

I have one more day of travel and then I’m staying put in a place for a few days…doing some laundry…sleeping…and immersing myself in whatever community I find myself in. I’m applying for jobs in Texas. I’m applying for places to live in Texas. I want a dog. I miss my dogs. I switched my phone background from Bodhi..to a scenic picture from my trip..today.. feel like I’m just ripping bandaids off left and right over the last….. 8 months…with the pain..but the acceptance that it has to be done in order to move forward…I hurt…alot ..for many reasons…I get lonely.Not homesick…parts of me wants to disappear forever….but …. I miss alot of things. I miss alot of things that I will never have again. I’m excited for a lot of things. I’m scared. I’m hopeful. I’m at times pessimistic…but most of the time I’m optimistic….like that fern fighting its way through the stones…I refuse to give up.

Much Love. I’m going to rest my body..rest my mind….and rest my soul. Future Zack I love you and other reader…I love you too. and……..and…..I do believe that April 13th was the best day of my life up until this point.