I love New Zealand and dolphins and beaches

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Hello.

Did indeed go and meet dave (was Tuesday night) and his fellow travelling people, after waiting by myself in starbucks because Dave was late. This may have been because of his now ridiculously long hair slowing him down. Went for a few beers down by the harbour and then in his hostel, where they were doing 2 for 1. Good. Not a very eventful evening, but was really nice to see a familiar face. Even if it was Dave's.

Next morning we (myself, Dave and Dave's friend John) went back to that brilliant coffee place for our Valentines day breakfast and very good coffee, then went to an island called Waheiki or something like that. Famous for wine tasting, so we went to a place called the Mudridge wine reserve for a tasting session, and tried 8 different wines. I detected traces of white in four of them, and the others had a reddy aftertaste and a complex red mid-palette. the view from the place out over the water and Auckland in the background was amazing, so stayed for bread and (amazing) olives there before heading to the beach where I got bored in about 3 seconds so bought a tennis ball which led to a game of throw and catch. Fun. Stayed on the beach till was cold (beach was really nice cove thing) then went to the best Fish and chip (and scallop) shop in the world, and got a few beers to go with it (and the breaded camembert we shared) whilst the sun set over the bay and our little picnic table with noone else there. Was quite good really. Caught the ferry home in the dark and went to bed very early which was ideal for my...

6am start to get on Kiwi exp bus at 7 Was sitting next to aussie girl called Emily on the bus who was also going on the Dolphin swimming trip, so met someone straight away really (good). Got to Pahia in the Bay of islands around midday and went straight out on the water to try and see some dolphins. We ended up getting pretty lucky and saw a huge pod going past in the water, jumping up and flipping and all sorts. We couldnt swim with these because they had juveniles with them, but got some decent photos and was really good seeing them so close (they swam right up to the boat). Got off on some island for a hot drink, but we all got called back quickly as some dolphins (3 of them) had been spotted. There was only enough snorkelling equipment for 18 of the 40 on the boat at a time to be in the water, so I pushed old people out the way so that I went first. In most situations I have been very polite whilst out here, but I just took one of the sets and jumped off the back before anyone could stop me. hahahaha. to be fair, after about 20 seconds the dolphins had started to move off and it was only me with them anyway as they were going quite fast. They tell you in the boat that the best way to keep their attention is by playing with them too, so I was diving down and making funny noises and twisting round. It was worth every penny we paid- I was by myself with the three of them under the water, they were wrestling each other and nosing at me, and swimming over and under me as I was diving down. I was out for quite a while with them before I was exhausted and they were moving away, so went back to the boat, which then moved over to where they were so I got another go! Still amazing, they were so close you could touch them. Brilliant.

Got back to the mainland and Emily and I had started to check in to the hostel everyone from the bus was in, and were just about to book in for the BBQ, when some bloke turned up in reception and asked if anyone wanted to go for a sail. My initial question was "how much", and he said it was free, it was just his boat. Next question was when will we get back (thinking BBQ) and he didn't know, or seemingly care. This seemed better than the BBQ, so we both decided to go. Bit random, but these things happen.

Went to get some sandwiches and beers for the trip, and went to the beach to meet pete and his mates. We brought Lisa our roommate as well who was a sailing instructor. I can't sail. There were 4 guys and a girl who were friends with him there as well, and four of us that he'd bumped into that afternoon, which he apparently does to stop them getting bored as they go out pretty much every day. took the boat out round the bay and back, was very calm so also very relaxing. Ended up coming back in as the sun was setting (boat by the way was the second oldest in NZ and the first boat to do tours in the bay) so lots of nice photos. By the time we'd got back it was dark and the stars were magic- could see all of them and the milky way and shooting stars and that.

When we got to shore we ended up going for a beer in a bar next to the hostel which had some live music and huge burgers, which were both very good. Ended up getting on with another brummy, Tammy, who had a car, so we all decided to hit a different beach the next morning, which we duly did.

Went to a little cove up the coast that had absolutely noone on it but the five of us (tammy emily me and two other girls) and the water was really clear, was surrounded by hills that came straight down to the sea, and was very relaxed.

that afternoon I had booked for a night on "the Rock", a floating hotel boat thing, which I didn't really know that much about but seemed a reasonably economical way of seeing the islands and being on a boatel (funny).

set off that evening at 5 and started with a shooting competition with an air rifle out the back of the boat at a plastic bottle we were trailing. We had 3 shots each, and the winner got a free beer. A few people actually hit it, which was remarkable because it was moving around a lot and really hard. Those people must've been amazing. I hit it twice and won. Result. I was the best.

From there we went fishing off the back of the boat for dolphins and whales. I caught two things, a rope and someone else. Unfortunately we couldn't eat either.

Dinner was a BBQ cooked on the back of the boat, with some mussels roughly 3 times the size of normal ones accompanied by a few beers. Once it was dark, they started sending out night kayaking trips, which was incredible, mostly because in the water around that part of the bay, there are tiny bacteria who store up energy from the sun as light, and let out phosphorecence (a glow in the dark blue light) when they get agitated by something like a fish swimming past or my kayak. This meant that you could see the boat in front of you (was pitch black) by a trail of luminescence in the water from the paddles. The fish swimming underneath you looked really cool as well, they just looked like little flashes of light, althought they jumped out the water occasionally and skimmed across the top- one landed on my arm and flipped off again which scared the shit out of me to be honest.

Sat around the open fire on the back of the boat for a while to dry off after swimming (also brilliant- if you dived down with a mask on all you could see against the black was your hand or foot's shadow against a trailing backdrop of this luminescence). Next morning, breakfast, then a quick snorkel in the (very cold) water to feed the fish, who were very comfident and so if you held out a mussel shell that had been opened, big crowds of blue brown and stripy fish would come and nibble out of your hand, or every now and then just nibble your fingers). Went diving for mussels from the rock we were next to, which we then cut open and tried raw when we got back on the boat. We went to an amazing white sandy beach next (photos on facebook) for a picnic lunch, then up the hill for views back over the islands.

Picked up some sea urchins there which we cracked open and ate the eggs (tastes a bit like caviar or oysters, not very exciting) which is a delicacy in Japan, then sailed back to the shore. Really good trip, but was knackered when got back, so went for a little sleep on the beach, before met tammy again for a ridiculous three course dinner at the place next to the hostel for 8 pounds. Soup (carrot and mushroom) fish (white, and also pretty good) then lemon cheesecake. I really like lemon cheesecake. Went for a cheeky beer and met the three guys I bumped into at the airport, who were as it turns out on my bus the next day. Not a very late night, as Tammy and I had planned a day of culture starting the next morning.

Near the place we were staying was Waitango or something, where the treaty between the Maori and the English was debated and signed, where there is lots of cultural stuff to see, like a big canoe and the meeting house where the English debated with the chiefs. Interesting, and the canoe was very big. Saw a haka (war dance) and some poi (songs), and then (having had perhaps a little too much culture, we hit another nice beach until she had to leave, so i headed back to the hostel to write some of this, and then got the bus back to Auckland, and met up with the 3 guys again.

Not sure if this will work but can see photos maybe at MyNZphotos

Finished Jane Eyre on way down, and when we got there we (I) decided that we should go for a beer at a famous belgian beer place in Auckland called the Occidental, which as it turns out did a massive pot of mussels and chips for a fiver. Bed was soon after.

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Comments

[Cousin Cath]

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Sounds like you still having an amzing time - glad to see you making lots of friends along the way, so many infact that you seem to have stopped counting - got to be a good sign :-) Your photos look amazing! Have just added NZ to my list of places I'd like to go. Looks v green, and the sea is so blue and clear! Do you think the other people on the boat realised that you needed to win the shooting game or you get stroppy, or was that just when you were 5? Keep having fun Lots love C x