Thursday, February 17, 2011

Roadtrip to Narnia: the East Coast Beaches

This beachbum artistical girl loves any opportunity to be at a beach near the ocean. I grew up on the coasts of the US and also in Hawaii...so deep down I'm a water lover at heart. Living in Idaho I miss the ocean a great deal. This trip to New Zealand has been a way to fill up my "water-love-tank"! So after a few days hanging in the surf town of Raglan on the west coast...my friend and I made a roadtrip to the eastcoast of North Island to enjoy the white and pink sand beaches was quite a treat!
We drove to the Coramandel Peninsula for a few days. It was a bit rainy and overcast on the first day, but that didn't stop me from exploring around the colorful rocks.
This part of New Zealand's coasts reminded me a bit of the Oregon coast back in the States. Lots of little island outcrops and rocky formations. The next couple of days we had great weather!
One of the days my friend surprised me with a trip to Cathedral Cove where they filmed part of the Narnia movie Prince Caspian. This was amazing for me (as I love the Narnia movies and had just painted 3 wall mural scenes of Narnia in a bookstore before I left for this trip).
If you've seen Prince Capian you'll recognize that triangle rock outcrop in the center. The beach nearby is the beach that the children run on when they first enter Narnia in that movie. We normally could've walked that beach...but due to a recent storm that eroded the pathway down to it, we were unable to go to the beach. But at least I could slightly see it from above.
We were staying in a house just about a 5 minute walk to the beach. Yes!!!! OH I LOVED IT!!!!
The beaches there were practically empty! Though it's the heat of the summer, the school holidays are over and so there aren't many people around. I took advantage of this solitude and did something I wouldn't normally do...I enjoyed a good run (seriously, a full on sprint) down the beach...
and then had a blast playing in the water as I turned my body into the surf, letting the water rush around my legs...what a feeling!!!...
as the water would suck on back out to sea...I would burst out laughing and do it all again...sigh. I'm very happy here....

in the land of Middle Earth and Narnia! =)

2 comments:

  1. I am so happy for you Lisa! It sounds as though you are having an amazing time! Miss you. Enjoy every moment!

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  2. Thank you for taking us along with you! (at least in spirit!)

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