After completing a loop around the northern half of the Coromandel Peninsula, I wanted to upload some pictures, check my emails, catch up on the news, yannow, all those things we do nowadays with the the internet.
Alas, the Air BnB where we staying there in Pauanui had not internet, and I didn't think a 6-day stay warranted me buying a New Zealand SIM card. So, I needed to head up to the one restaurant in the resort town that advertised free wifi.
Well, after the long ride, I wasn't in the mood to put on my helmet again. The restaurant was just a few blocks away, and so I just put on my hat and headed out.
I got one block from the accommodation before encountering two New Zealand police officers at a checkpoint. One block! Aww man. Oh no. Of course, one of them signaled me to pull over. New Zealand, like most countries, has a helmet law.
I've got no pictures of the encounter, but I was really scared as the first cop grilled me. Where is the motorbike from? Where are you staying? How long are you in the country? You should have seen his double-take when I produced my Myanmar Driver's License. The two gave me a good berating, talking about how seriously they take their helmet law there in New Zealand. They gave me a really good scolding. Ultimately, they reasoned with one another - rental bike, tourist, leaving the country in 4 more days, ah heck with it. They let me go with a warning, and I immediately went back and got my helmet. Phew!
The next day, I had a family activity. My sister, brother-in-law and two nephews traveled a dozen miles up the coast to Hot Water Beach. This place shows that NZ is indeed on the Ring of Fire and is a volcanic place. Dig into the sand in the right places and you'll find your own personal hot water spring. We ended up at this remote beach with about 1000 other holiday makers. We didn't actually dig our own hole. Instead, akin to how hermit crabs exchange shells, when one group got tired of their hole and abandoned it, the next group grabbed the prime real estate, leading to a chain of hole-changes.
After Hot Water Beach, it was the lovely Cathedral Cove.
All in all, a great time on a warm day in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Enjoy the video.
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| Pauanui |
Well, after the long ride, I wasn't in the mood to put on my helmet again. The restaurant was just a few blocks away, and so I just put on my hat and headed out.
I've got no pictures of the encounter, but I was really scared as the first cop grilled me. Where is the motorbike from? Where are you staying? How long are you in the country? You should have seen his double-take when I produced my Myanmar Driver's License. The two gave me a good berating, talking about how seriously they take their helmet law there in New Zealand. They gave me a really good scolding. Ultimately, they reasoned with one another - rental bike, tourist, leaving the country in 4 more days, ah heck with it. They let me go with a warning, and I immediately went back and got my helmet. Phew!
The next day, I had a family activity. My sister, brother-in-law and two nephews traveled a dozen miles up the coast to Hot Water Beach. This place shows that NZ is indeed on the Ring of Fire and is a volcanic place. Dig into the sand in the right places and you'll find your own personal hot water spring. We ended up at this remote beach with about 1000 other holiday makers. We didn't actually dig our own hole. Instead, akin to how hermit crabs exchange shells, when one group got tired of their hole and abandoned it, the next group grabbed the prime real estate, leading to a chain of hole-changes. After Hot Water Beach, it was the lovely Cathedral Cove.
All in all, a great time on a warm day in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Enjoy the video.
In the video, what was the big book you were pretending to read?
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