Chillin' in Matarangi

Our 5 day stay in Matarangi included sleeping in late, eating, walking on the beach, hiking-not too strenuous of course, and generally just relaxing. We had excellent weather with the exception of one day, in which we just stayed home and did whatever we felt like doing. The big outing our first day was to venture into the town of Whitianga for some groceries. Matarangi boasts a post office, real estate office, Laundromat and dairy. Anything not found in those buildings must be found elsewhere. Whitianga happened to be the closed village with a real grocery store and so that’s where we went. After doing our shopping and a lunch of fish ‘n chips at Snapper Jack’s we headed back home.
The second day consisted of a hike to Opito Bay. It was a beautiful day, and the view from the top of the ridge was amazing. We did have to climb several hundred stairs next to an electric fence, but it was worth it! Lori’s big find was Estrella, a starfish who looked like it has seen better days. We thought Lori was going to try and smuggle the starfish back to the U.S. with the rest of her shells, but after awhile, Estrella was released back to her home.
Another day we spent exploring Cathedral Cove. I think between the four of us, we probably took every conceivable picture there is to take!