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Published: November 10th 2008
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Took drive up to Paihia, Bay of Islands where we should have been the day Bill decided to visit Auckland A&E. Sunny warm day to arrive in very relaxing town of Paihia. Decided to visit Treaty Grounds not far from town where Maori Chiefs signed Treaty with British to share land 170 years ago. We saw a Maori Cultural show there, (no bare bums this time), and just as we thought show was finished two visiting Maoris issued a welcome challenge in audience right behind us, lots of shouting in Maori and thigh slapping going on! Took walk around grounds and saw huge war canoe.
Went back to town to find our hostel and went to eat in 35 Degrees, a good fish restaurant, Bill couldnt resist more Green Lipped mussels, greener and bigger than the mussels in Auckland!
Next day took Dolphin boat trip to find and possibly swim with Dolphins. Very miserable wet day, but after about an hour dolphins were spotted so boat stops. Unfortunately we could not get in water as there were young dolphins in pod and it is against law to swim with the young as it disrupts their feeding pattern and the
Dune Rider on 90 mile Beach
No speeding or sinking allowed mothers get very protective of them. After taking photos we move on to find other dolphins which did not have any young with them, so on goes the wet suits and snorkels and in Sue gets, with Bill left very frustrated on the boat. Water was absolutely freezing Sue nearly turned around to get back on boat but decided to stay in when dolphin started swimming underneath her, what a fantastic sight. There were several dolphins around but they were moving fast and there were many people in water. Back on boat again to move on short distance to find another pod and in Sue gets again to have more dolphins swimming around. Never seen anything like it. What a fantastic day out. 😊
We stopped off in Russell, another small Island to have lunch in Duke of Marlborough, the first licensed hotel in New Zealand, it was like something from the 50/60s.
Next day, 4th November, took tour bus called Dune Rider to farthest northern point of NZ. Drive the bus on the sand and surf of 90 Mile Beach, which isnt actually, it is 90km. Its a proper recognised highway with a 100k speed limit, and
has police patrols. It used to be the main highway to north of island. Cars often get caught by tides coming in and sink into sand.
We then drove up to Cape Reinga, the most northern point and saw where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Oceans meet. Some great views, but also a sacred Maori area, so no eating or drinking on the walk to the lighthouse. On the way back stopped for dune boogie boarding - to get to the dunes the bus drove along a quicksand stream so no stopping until it reached a grassy area. The younger guys were all up for boogie boarding, but Sue did not fancy it and Bill was again left frustrated as you had to break with your feet and getting sand in an open wound would not have been a great idea. Still Sue did walk (actually it was more of a scrabble/crawl) to the top of the dune - very high up and hard work to get there !
Last stop on the way back to Paihia was to the "world famous Mangonui fish shop" for a fish and chip supper - yum - but I guess everyone
has eaten there as it is so famous !!!!!
Next day travelled back to Auckland for flight to Nelson at the top end of the South Island. Nelson is a nice little city (it has a cathedral) named after Lord Nelson, Collingwood Street, Trafalger Square ect. Next day we crammed a lot in starting with a walk to the centre of New Zealand. This is just on the edge of the city and we started the walk up the hill having been told it was a bit steep - but did we listen - no. By half way Bill's leg was hurting and it was hard going (1 in 3 incline for about 1km), but determination kicked in and it would have been no fun to say we got near the centre of New Zealand. Anyway the views from the top were stunning and you could see Nelson spread out below in one direction and rolling hills covered with snow in the other. In the afternoon we decided to take a 'Groovey Wine Tour' by mini bus. A great afternoon; we visited 3 vineyards, 1 brewery, learnt quite a lot about wine tasting and how to judge quality and
had lots of wine (there were no short measures on this trip) so were a bit worse for drink by the time we got back to the hostel. Unfortunately Bill had already booked a table at the Boat Shed Cafe for that night so a quick nap and off we went again. The restaurant was situated on the waters edge in the Nelson estuary and we had a table on the decking over the water. Luckily it was nicely heated. The food was very up market, with liquid nitrogen infusing the oysters and a first for Sue - seared (raw) tuna 😊. Main courses were fresh caught fish and crayfish out of the tank - we like this backpacking 😉.
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