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Published: January 3rd 2007
Me Petting a Kiwi
Very cool...only place in the world you can do this!-------------
Kia Ora Mates (Hello My Friends)… it has come time to leave this Garden of Eden and start my travels home. Tomorrow afternoon I will leave Auckland and head to Tahiti for a few relaxing days before a quick stop in LA and then home. But before I go, I figured I'd tell ya all about Paihia and the beautiful Bay of Islands.
Friday 12/29/06 Head to Paihia and the Bay of Islands There is a narrow section of stunning coastal scenery north of Auckland that is commonly referred to as the Northland region. In the heart of this region sits what is called the "Bay of Islands". There are 144 islands off the coast, and the crystal waters, coves and shining sun make this one of the
prettiest places in all of New Zealand! (the Northland takes the cake over anything else I have seen in the North Island, although I am sad I never made it to the East Cape)
We stayed in a nice backpackers called Bay Adventurers located in the small town of Paihia in the center of the Bay of Islands. Over a bridge from Paihia is a place called Waitangi, where the famous Treaty of Waitangi was signed (treaty between the first English settlers and the indigenous Māori people). NZ's first capital was also in this region (way back when) before it moved to Auckland, and then again to Wellington!
We had a fabulous day on the 4 hour trek north from Auckland to Paihia...first stop was at a Kauri Tree Walk (Kauris are HUGE and beautiful trees only found in NZ!) but the highlight of the day was in “Whangarei” at the "Native Bird Recovery Center". Here is the only place in the world you can pet the famous native and national symbol…the Kiwi! (We’re not talking about Chinese gooseberries here 😊 The place is run by a guy named Robert who is either insane or completely dedicated because
Baby Kiwi
I swear it was our lucky day! he does not get paid. He shows his facilities free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated and well worth it! This place is a MUST see…as the Irish say, he’s a “focking legend”.
First up...the local birds were hysterical! The recovery center sees over 1,300 birds a year and those that cannot survive in the wilderness they end up keeping. It's really quite canny how all the birds at this place seem to have a personality. Some don't leave when he sets them free, they just stick around because it's a good life here at the center.
So let’s introduce the locals…first up, "Woof Woof" the talking Tui! Tuis by nature do not talk, but after a few years with Robert this one discovered he could talk just like Robert (smoker voice and all)! He even named himself "Woof Woof" (even Robert doesn't know where he picked this word up) but he says things like "Wanna go for a swim?" or "Sweet as" (a common Kiwi saying). There is also a Myna bird named "Morris" who says "wheres da beers?" as people pull into the driveway (and yes of course I thought of my beloved Morris family
when I heard that!)
So after getting to know the locals, we got to pet a kiwi named Sparky with only one leg (which is why his home is now the recovery center)…their feathers are waterproof on the top layer and super soft underneath. Most Kiwis (as in New Zealanders) have never gotten the chance to pet this cute flightless bird, and I was in complete awe! Another stroke of luck was to see a baby kiwi they had, but there was no petting this one.
Robert even has a kiwi as a house pet named Snoopy. He brings them around to schools to show kids...however Robert is unique in this respect, no other person is allowed to do this by law!
Our day got even better when Robert announced that he had received a few baby blue penguins whom were found without their families...if you can imagine, the amount of oohhhh and ahhhing at this place was ridiculous! SOO cute, and really cool to see so close up and hold them! Apparently our day here was not common and even our driver who had been there a million times was almost in tears she was so
Car Bombs
Two carbombs made Louise a little loopy...this girl was heaps of fun! excited!
We met up with Louise when we arrived in Paihia…we dove into some tennis and after dinner came across a bar with Guiness on tap to have an “Irish Car Bomb” to start the evening...the usual bars in Paihia included the "Salty" and the "Lighthouse"…with a few others mixed in from time to time.
We didn't do much over the next few days other than hang out by the pool, walk along the beach, and hang around town. There were outdoor picnic tables at the hostel, and it was nice to be able to drink your own alcohol here, it made things social, fun and most importantly less expensive!
Monica and Emma met up with us on Saturday and we started gearing up for the New Year! I was disappointed to find out that NZ has imposed a new liquor ban on all their beaches...so our expectations of a fun beach party was impossible…but still Paihia was a nice place to be the first people in the world to see the New Year!
Emma, Monica, and I headed off for some New Year supplies at the cheaper store out of town when we realized there
The Girls!
Right to Left: Monica, Me, Carolyn, Louise, Emma...let the good times roll! was no possible way we could carry it over a kilometer back to the hostel. To solve our problem, we had to steal a trolley (shopping cart), which we returned after a little off roading!
There were good fireworks over the water at midnight on New Years, but once you left the bars to see them it became a pain to get in anywhere. Everyone was misplaced, and overall it was like any other typical New Years where you feel like you spend more time inbetween the bars than inside them. Other nights may have been better, but overall our stay in Paihia was great fun!
I made up for the mediocre eve with an early morning drive and hours of fun over in Waitangi. After brunch on the beach, it wasn’t long before “the girls" were at it again and ready to celebrate Ireland, Britain, and America's New Year! We had a wild game of Ring of Fire with our Kiwi mates…fully equipped with ice and "the box" before I had to jump in the pool when the clock turned 6pm in honor of my East coast homies! I did drink early, and go to bed early to
The Shopping Trolley
We had no choice...and it was returned, just to the wrong grocery store! prepare for my big Cape Reinga Tour with Carolyn on Tuesday.
Tuesday - 01/02/07 - Cape Reinga and the Ninety Mile Beach Fantastic day on the “Dune Rider”...the top half of the Northland reminded me of driving on the south island where people are far and few between…it was just you and your bumpy bus cruising along amazing scenery. We had great weather, although it wasn’t warm enough for swimming!
We started at 7:20 in the morning, and after a drive through the town of "Kerikeri" we heading west to the "Puketi Forest" to check out more tropical bush and learn about Kauri trees, and to take a stroll down the million dollar track built for a Queen aka the "Manginangina Kauri Walk". We learned how the branches fall off (there are no knobs in this timber) and how earlier settlers used to bleed the trees for its famous gum resin. However this outdated practice resulted in the trees rotting from the inside out and is now causing some of them to fall over a hundred years later...these trees are MASSIVE! Today, NZ has laws prohibiting the logging and gumming of these trees.
We continued North
by "Coopers Beach", "Cable Bay" and then the town of "Awanui" for morning tea. We then got a quick photo stop for the "Kōkotu Sandspit" (silica sand here but we didn't get to walk in it) before finally arriving at the Northern most tip of Route 1...beautiful "Cape Reinga" and the "Cape of Maria Van Diemen" (there was another international distance sign similar to that in Bluff at the bottom of Route 1 here too!)
You can't eat or drink at the top because it is seen as sacred land to the Māori people, and they believe there are thousands of spirits here (the lakes are formed by their tears) and eating and drinking allows evil spirits to enter the body. So we had a nice walk around before heading to "Taputaputa Bay" for our lunch break on the beach. Gorgeous beach here with crystal waves…good surf spot.
After lunch it was time for Sand boarding....aweeesome fun!! The "Giant Te Paki Sand Dunes” were enormous and breathtaking...although climbing steep soft sand hills was a workout! Every step forward was like two steps back! We only made it down twice due to limited time and exhausted legs! Carolyn’s famous
Our New Year Eve Haka Performance
We befriended a large group of Kiwis on Holiday, and they performed a little haka dance for everyone... line was "that was awesome but they need a chair lift" HA! Also I would advise wearing sunglasses, sand is everywhere!!!
We continued along the “Giant Stream of Te Paki” (yet there wasn’t much water) to the northern most access point to "Ninety Mile Beach" (which happens to be only 64 miles long)...our first stop was to dig out and eat some shellfish that hang out just under the sand here (in millions)! After driving the coast, we heading inland and South to the famous tourist shop "Ancient Kauri Kingdom" where you can buy expensive kauri artifacts and climb up the Kauri staircase. Lastly, we had some bluenose at the famous "Mangonui" Fish shop. We were exhausted, but we still managed a trip to the Salty and the Lighthouse on our last night in Paihia.
We arrived back in Auckland around 8pm on Wednesday (1/3) and I can't believe my time here is over, I had a blast, many fond memories and good times. It's a beautiful and spiritual country and I hope I get the chance to return someday.
And to my fun and fearless females, I’ll see you at the festival in England next summer…as
Louise always said “absolutely brilliant”! (said in a northern British accent!)
And to my friends and family…get excited 'cause Herbie's a comin' home!!!
Much love, see ya soon!
(blog for Tahiti will come once I’m home!)
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Nolawi
non-member comment
hmmm
I think you got to expeirence a different type of vacation than most tourists are used to... new zealand is trully an amazing place... i thought a kiwi would have been more cuter than that... sounds like you were mostly in the outerskirts of the south island.. did you go deep inland... tahiti can't wait till i see the picts....