Emzie and I finally made it to Muriwai Beach after talking about it for months!! We were waiting for a day of little wind and we finally got it. It is located on the opposite side of Piha Beach and has very little shelter from the wind. It is another black sand beach that a lot of people know about but it’s a bit of a drive from Auckland. I  heard on the radio that it was currently 24.5 degrees and it would be a high of 25! All weekend is supposed to be sunny and hot. I had the full intention of quickly grabbing some gas and then going to pick up Em. I totally forgot it was Saturday –inflated prices and higher volume of customers :(.

   
After finally meeting Em we got to the beach in just under 40minutes. It was around 12:15 with a gorgeous blue sky. We slathered on sunscreen (yes Bizzle you would have been proud of me). “This is SPF 70+! You might as well be inside, you’ll get more tan through the window” -Emzie After lots of reading and water we locked our stuff in the car and got ready for our walk. We went to the top of the hill to see all the gannets on “their rock”. The smell wasn’t amazing but it was a pretty view. 

  

The black sand beach actually had a lot of different things to see. After we finished walking along the top of the hill we went to take a closer look at the tide pools. The water was sooo clear! We loved looking at the cave and walking in it. It was so pretty looking at the colours and all the personal engravings. It started to get fairly crowded so we took a few quick pictures before exiting.

  
The sun was hot and we decided to treat ourselves to some ice cream before the drive back. Lucky we cooled off before getting back on the highway. We were only around 11 km away from Em’s house when I noticed white smoke from my rear view mirror. Instead of blowing away its thickness picked up.

Amanda: Is it REALLY windy or am I smoking?!
Emma: …it’s you

I parked Myrtle on the side of the highway and we endured countless honks and hollers while we waited for my Kiwi-Mom to rescue us.

I felt so badly that she had to bring the kids and drive all that way to pick us up. She did a quick check of the car and tried to see if more oil or water would help the car. Cars are not allowed to be left on the side of the highway so we were going to try and drive it to the nearest street. Unfortunately we probably only got a few metres before my Myrtle wouldn’t let me accelerate and we had to ditch any last hope of getting her home. I parked as close to the edge of the road as possible then we pushed her off to the side. We stripped her of any personal belongings and we all shuffled in our rescue vehicle feeling defeated and glum. After dinner a tow truck brought Myrtle home….for a fee. Our family is now in the market of looking for a new vehicle ASAP as I  have school runs and soccer on Monday!!!

I am still in the process of getting caught up on my blogs. I wanted to post this today so it was still fresh in my mind. It’s nice having the boys back in school so I have my days back for myself but I’ve been feeling like the days have been slipping by. I am in the midst of researching Thailand Thailand Thailand: jobs, visas, accommodations, climate, flights just so time consuming. I have also been trying out a new healthier lifestyle; more exercise and eating healthier…less laziness! I promise I will post the missing blogs eventually. I have lots more memories and photos still to share. SO THANKFUL Myrtle chose today to stop running instead of while the girls and I were on our roadtrip. We would have been STRANDED!!!! So thankful!

Big shout out to my older brother who celebrated another birthday! Love you xo

Buddha Blessings to everyone – I will be in a land full of Buddhas this year 🙂
xox Amanda