Oh my goodness. God revealed his majesty to me this weekend. He is so creative and has made the most beautiful things.
So 17 of us (15 students and 2 staff) were supposed to drive a few hours to Greymouth (beach town on the west coast) and turn around and drive home. Yea, God had other ideas. We drove to the west coast through Arthur's Pass. I thought that it was the most gorgeous scenery that I have ever seen. It, however, did not compare to what lay ahead. In Arthur's Pass I actually crossed the same bridge that Brent showed us. It was the scary one with the train that runs through, but there is only one lane. Yea, that one. Anyway, we got to Greymouth and spent a few hours wandering, having lunch, and looking in the quaint shops. When our time was up and we had to go home, we began tossing around the idea of staying out for the night. We called the base, told them what we were doing, and proceeded to drive hours up the west coast. That was where the absolutely most unbelievable views were.
We saw pancake rocks on the rough waters, blowholes, and dolphins. Continuing on we took a wrong turn and ended up on the prettiest beach I have ever seen. The sun was getting lower and the beach was empty. I think that it was a hidden spot. We climbed on the mountain rocks that protruded to the ocean and played in the water. I had to stop and keep giving myself a reality check. I was on the coast of New Zealand at sunset with no body around except my friends. Was I dreaming? It was so beautiful. We continued to drive up the coast and stopped at another spot where we saw baby seals. The mom was lying there too just bathing on the rocks. How cool. We ended up driving to a town and searched for a hostel to sleep. The whole thing was random and spur of the moment. The hostel was an old, old home that was pretty full of backpakers. I was grateful to be put in a room with Julie Anna (although there were 4 people we didn't know also in the room, mixed group). This morning we held a church service in the hostel lounge which we had some backpacker attendees. The drove home taking the inland route, but faster. It only took 6 hours this time. We stopped and saw a waterfall. Another beautiful site.
Other than all of us not having any deodorant, change of clothes, or deodorant, or toothpaste, I don't want to forget any of the time the past few days.
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