Finally Dry!

We got back yesterday afternoon from our first Loyola-sponsored trip. We went to the Bay of Islands, which is north of Auckland. It was a really fun trip, but it rained almost the entire time. I honestly don't think that I have ever been so wet so continously as I was this weekend. But now I've showered and am finally warm and dry!

On the way up, we drove through beautiful scenery. It is very green and hilly here. In the town where we stayed, Paihia, we went on a boat ride called "Mack Attack." We had to get all suited up in raincoats and rainpants because it was a pretty rough ride. We all got completely soaked, but it was so much fun. Here are Kelly and I in our lovely suits!

Luckily, the sun came out for a bit while we were out on the water. The boat went all the way out to a place called Hole in the Rock and then we headed back to shore.

The next day, was supposed to be our beach day, but it was pouring rain. We were on a bus called "Dune Rider" that can drive on the beach. We drove about 300 miles that day, all the way up to the northernmost tip of New Zealand to a point called Cape Reinga. It was overcast, but you can still see how beautiful it is! Since it was raining, the paths were muddy and on top of that the wind was unbelievable. It actually really fun that we were there in such extreme weather conditions.

We were supposed to stop to go to the beach, but our driver said that the conditions were too dangerous for him to drive there, so we went swimming in a river instead. We were already soaked, so it didn't matter that it was raining while we were swimming. We finally did get to drive along the beach for a little while, and we saw a seal out on the sand!

Our bus broke down on our drive back, so we had to wait for another bus to come and get us. Overall, this whole trip was quite an adventure!