Mission Bay

Mission Bay is a beach right in Auckland, and wanting to take advantage of the beautiful weather, I planned a day for everyone to go. It is a bit of a walk (about an hour and a half) so instead of trekking over there, I tackled the bus system. We had bought our bus passes the day before so it was only a matter of time before we ripped the bandaid off. Unfortunately, there was no direct bus to Mission Bay, which meant we had to change over. I decoded the schedule and we were all there by noon!

This beach is much different than any other I've seen before. Shells make up the majority of the sand and the water is pretty calm. Volcanic islands are scattered across the horizon. Opposite the beach, there are little cafes where we went to dodge the sun for a bit.

It was nice to be with the majority of our group again. Many activities are hard to include everyone. Many of us were in the water most of the day! It was so warm and stayed shallow for such a long time. It seemed like I was out so far but I could still touch. One weird observation was that the water tasted different. The water was less salty in the little alcove of the Pacific that we were in. And the sand was darker too. A local told me that the sand on the west coast of New Zealand is actually black because of all the volcanic ash. I am very eager to check that out. Eventually I got cold in the water and so I layed out with my new friends. They went shell-hunting and decided to cover me in them, making it impossible for me to move. It was a nice relaxing day that was much needed.

Cheers!