Mount Maunganui

March 2019 – July 2019

I’m interrupting my normal travel recaps to tell you about the place I’ve been living since March. Mount Maunganui in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty (aka the most beautiful place in the world). I left a week ago and I can’t stop thinking about how magical it was and how much I miss it.

I don’t know how many people get lucky enough to say they’ve the perfect environment on earth for them. Hopefully many of you have, or someday you will. I stumbled into mine almost by accident. I felt trapped by a series of events (my car breaking down, a not-so-pleasant volunteer experience) and pretty much fled to Mount Maunganui with a one-way bus ticket and a panicky plan to find a job as soon as possible. The month of March was a rough time for me, jumping back and forth between overcrowded hostels, trying to sell a car with a blown head gasket, and running low on savings. But in spite of myself every time I’d go out exploring, I couldn’t help but notice special things about the Mount. My anxiety would melt away whenever I was outside. It was unlike any other place I’ve been before – a small city that was both bustling and laid-back, with an unfair number of unbelievably beautiful places. Best of both worlds.

I love nature; you guys know that. If I spend time outside it’s not uncommon for me to get a nature high. I don’t know, maybe that’s not unique to me and it comes from being a living thing on this earth. I think we all have our favorite elements in the world that for whatever reason speak to us the clearest and fill us up with the most peaceful energy and inspiration. And this place. THIS PLACE. It has all of the elements for me, all together. How is that even possible?? The more I walked around, whether it was my first week or months later, I made more discoveries that blew me away. It was as if someone had spun out the landscapes exactly how I’d do it if I could choose, but too perfectly for me to even imagine in my head. All the details spoke right to my soul, from the colors and textures of the rocks lining the shore and to the seaside cliffs to the turquoise blue water to the wild tropical trees that grow tangled in all directions.

Now that I’ve waffled on too much, I’ll skip to the good part: the photos!

I love being so close to the ocean.

I love that you can walk two minutes outside of the busy center of town and you’re here. You can wander out there whenever you want – it’s completely free! (Free beaches are standard in New Zealand, but coming from New Jersey, USA, it took a little time to wrap my head around that.)

I love the crazy shapes and patterns the water carves into the rocks.

I love the rock islands that sit off the main beach like giant sleeping animals who might wake up any day and drift away.

I especially love this rock island, called Moturiki. There’s a sand bridge so you can walk out onto it from the beach! It used to be a Maori hunting ground, then a quarry, then a dolphin aquarium, then a water resort, and now it’s a rad protected natural reserve with trails that you can follow all the way to the far side of the island for panoramic views of the Pacific. Theoretically it only takes five to ten minutes to walk there, but it always took easily-distracted-by-pretty-things me much longer than that. No regrets.

I love this tree guarding the entrance to the island.

Love the dozens of spots where I could wander off the trail and immerse myself in my own private outdoor studio.

Love how anywhere you look gives you stunning things to see.

Love the shapes and textures of the rocks. And the color of that water. And the seagulls.

I love the harbor full of boats, a hundred visual markers of how adventure and the sea are always within reach.

I love the street art! There’s a lot of it here but this might be my favorite.

Love how even the police station looks cool.

I love that you can see a perfect sunset from almost any old place in town.

I love my favorite hill with its view over the bay.

The sunsets you can see from up there.

The sunsets! This was my escape while I was staying in the hostel downtown. Every evening I’d climb the the hill to watch the sun set, until it became so dark I had to use a flashlight to get back down.

THE SUNSETS.

I love the stunning trees. All those twisty tangled branches and roots! Ah, so beautiful. I spent a couple afternoons reading in those trees and it was absolutely lovely :)

THE TREES. I mean, have you ever seen a place more enchanting than this? Because out of all the beautiful things I’ve been fortunate enough to see in my life, I really don’t think anything can top this for me.

I love how the city integrates with nature. You’re never very far from either, but while it’s a happening place with busy shops and restaurants (more so during tourist season), you are never more than 10 minutes from a beach or park, no matter where you go.

There are tall condos and buildings, but they sit well below the shadow of the mountain.

I love the mountain.

The view when you’re up there on top of the world.

The sunrise over the city.

The gorgeous water from above.

The sheep who live there.

The tree-lined paths. The way the roots twist around each other on the bank.

I love the ties to the Maori legends, how you’re walking on ground that is part of a centuries-long narrative between humans and nature.

Magic magic magic.

I love that this was my beach, that on a whim any day riding home after work I could pull my bike over and this gloriousness is what I saw.

I love that even on gloomy days, it shines.

I love that you can see both the sunrise and sunset from the beach. Twice a day you can stand in between two mirror images of a rioting sky.

The boats always on the horizon.

I love that it doesn’t rain too often, but when it does, there are almost always rainbows.

The dramatic clouds, especially after a storm.

I even love the ride to the grocery store because instead of riding along a road, I could take this gravel trail that followed a pretty waterway nearly all the way to the shopping center. There were always people with their RC sailboats drifting about, dog walkers, and tons of cool NZ birds to see. And no cars!

I love the bridge along the train tracks that takes you into the neighboring city.

I’m a little heartsick looking back at these pictures.

I changed while I was here. I learned so much about myself, both strengths and weaknesses, more rapidly than I ever have in my life before. Maybe I’ll write a post in the future about it, but living independently and establishing my own routines in a new place where at first I didn’t know a single other person gave me a rare opportunity to line my lifestyle up with my values rather than old habits. Or, I don’t know, maybe it’s something in the water here. I met many other people here who were interested in sustainability, and pushing themselves in their passions, and pursuing balanced, fulfilling lives. It was refreshing and inspiring. I’m happy I got to plug into the energy here for the short time I did.

Plus, on a personal gratification level, it was so cool getting to know a place where I was once a stranger and learning how to get around without a map, to learn street names, which restaurants were my favorite, which route I could take my bike to avoid traffic at different times of the day. Even getting accustomed to a new routine until living here became mundane normal was pretty amazing. Getting used to life on the other side of the world! Mind-boggling thought.

I have no photos to show for my final point, but I love the friends I’ve made here. I lucked out with some pretty stellar housemates and coworkers. Strong, driven, down-to-earth, curious, honest, chill, kind, responsible people who proved to me that 1) kiwis and expats to NZ are some of the most open, welcoming, and caring people you’ll find, 2) people following their individual life paths and passions are incredibly inspiring and 3) making friends back at home recently wasn’t just a glitch in my programming – I am still able to make connections with people even when I’m far away from my comfort zone (I could have put in more effort, as usual, but the point stands).

I will forever be grateful for the time I spent in Mount Maunganui. Like a chapter from a dream, getting to live on one of the most beautiful places on earth. It’s always going to have a special place in my heart.