Going North - Part 1!!

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8th February 2009 - BAY OF ISLANDS & MAORI SHOW!!!
I woke up at around 6am this morning, jumped in the shower, packed up and went straight down for some breakfast. We had to be outside for 7.25am as that was when our bus was due. I was ready with loads of time to spare and so I sat downstairs reading Silence of the Lambs for a while. Good book...enjoying though I don't think I should read it at night!! A foreign woman kept getting in my face saying how I should go outside for the bus. It was 7am and I told her I would be out on time. She kept badgering for 5 minutes until she eventually got the hint!! I wish I could have fed her to Hannibal Lecter!!

The bus was almost 1 hour late - not a good start from Magic!! When it did arrive the foreign woman got under the drivers skin too and they ended up having a heated discussion!! Once everyone was on the bus and calm the driver introduced himself as Murray and we set off on our way - onwards to the Bay of islands!! The driver was a bit disorganised but other than that the journey went ok. We stopped in Walkworth along the way where there was a nice cafe and a river/canal. Nat and I were bad and had a cake....it was only 9am!! Come on ladies.....a moment on the lips...a life time on the hips!! We had a short walk by the canal to eat our cake and then got back on the bus. We stopped twice more along the way, the 2nd stop being at Whangarei. Considering it wasn't a long journey, 3 stops were a bit much in my opinion but otherwise it was nice to take in the views along the way. New Zealand really is very beautiful!!

I feel very comfortable here. It feels like Britain before it became too built up and over populated. Lots of scenery, small, lots of culture......something about it I just love!!

We arrived in Paihia at around lunchtime. Murray did a tour of the town and we stopped on a hill at the top so that we could take some photos of the Bay of islands. Beautiful! Seen so many nice places so far on my travels...feel very lucky!! We drove around Paihai for a while dropping people off for different tours and were then dropped off at our hostel - Bay Adventurers. Nice hostel again......so far NZ is winning Oz hands down in the hostel stakes!! We were in a 6 bed female dorm right next to the pool. Good stuff!!

Once settled we had a walk into town. Only a small town and everything was close together. We got some food from the supermarket for tea and then headed back. It was pretty flat here too....made a change from the hills of Auckland!! It was very hot and so we made the most of the sun and lazed around the pool for a while. Nice to be near water and not have sand everywhere!! At 6ish we cooked our tea (lacked meat) and then got ready for our Culture North Night Show.

We waited outside the hostel from 7.20pm as instructed but were picked up at around 7.50 as the lady had forgotten us!! Nice!! She apologized though and drove us to Waitangi Treaty Grounds…we weren’t late!! There were quite a few people waiting outside….the majority OAPs…..I hoped I didn’t fit in as I have been moisturizing daily!!

Prior to the show Hank (not sure of his name…Hank will do) greeted us and explained what would happen as well as explaining protocol and picking out 3 male chiefs. As we walked around the corner onto sacred land you could see the flag flying as it did when it was raised in 1840 when the treaty was first signed. Maori tribesmen were waiting by the Treaty House. They came forward one at a time speaking Maori whilst doing some sort of tribal walk/dance with a spear in hand. Each one singled out a chief and challenged them by laying a leaf on the floor. The chief had to maintain eye contact whilst walking forward and picking the leaf up. It was a bit intimidating but they could not walk backwards as it was a sign of weakness if they did. Once each chief had been challenged we were all invited to take our shoes off and go inside where the show would continue. I was excited!!

We took a tall pew with no back on - give the oldies a chance for the proper seats!! We did ensure ourselves a spot in the middle of the stage though…each for their own in this game!! Once the show started I was mesmerised!! The story was told by a grandfather who was relaying the story to his granddaughter. After telling part of the story the Maori tribesmen and women would come on and tell the story through song/dance and talking. At one point when explaining the challenges between the Maori people and the Europeans they did the Haka too……love it!!!

The basic story (just to prove that I was listening) was about NZ being discovered by a Maori man that came over in a canoe and living on the land forming tribes. Soon, Captain Cook - a Northern Monkey from England discovered NZ too and entered onto the land. Maori land was being taken and there was conflict between the Maoris and the Europeans. The English Queen (Victoria) had a treaty drawn up which claimed that if the British could live her in peace and rule, they would give the Maori protection from other Europeans trying to enter the land and the Maori folk would get to keep their land as they wished or at least get a good price for it. The treaty was in English and Maori and the translations did not match up exactly which was where some of the problems stemmed from. The treaty was signed in 1840 by most tribe leaders but later the Maori people were not happy as they were not getting the protection they required and the British were trying to rule. The first guy to sign went and chopped the flag down in protest and war broke out which lasted for 30 years or so. The Maori and Europeans now live in peace!!

The dancing was brill and the story was really interesting and I really enjoyed learning about it!! I also learnt some Maori phrases suck as ‘Kio Ora’ (like the orange juice) which means ‘Hello/Wellbeing to You’. The show lasted until 10pm nad was well worth seeing!!

We hitched a lift back on the OAP bus (my moisturising cream must not be working too well) and got back to the hostel just after 10pm. I read for a while and then went to bed as we had to be up early the next morning. It had been a good day and an awesome evening!! I hoped tomorrow would be as good!!

9th February 2009 - CAPE REINGA, WHERE 2 OCEANS MEET & SANDBOARDING!!!
I looked at my watch - 6.15am!! Shizer!! My alarm had not gone off...stupid phone...and we had about 15 minutes to be outside waiting for the bus. I woke Nat up and we both got quickly washed, dressed and packed our stuff for the day. I felt sorry for those in the room still in bed…a herd of Elephants would have been quieter!! Once sorted we had 5 minutes to spare and I managed to grab a bowl of cereal and put some fruit in my bag for lunch. We were afraid we had missed the bus but 5 minutes later it turned up…sweet as!!

The driver was a Kiwi and was a bit of a nutter. He was funny though and gave us a commentary as he drove us from place to place. He knew a lot about the culture and history and wasn’t boring as you could tell he was genuinely interested and knew his stuff. If I had a pound for everytime he said ‘bloody’ I would have bought a holiday home out here!! It was a good craic though! He was spot on with times too….everything was precision “8 minutes until we reach destination” and “we will stop for 26 minutes before the bus leaves…be on it”. He should get a job running the public transport in England!!

Our first stop was Manginangina Rain Forest where we did a 15 minute walk around a track fit for a queen…well it was wooden track but it had been built for when Queen Victoria visited apparently!! It was chilly as the sun wasn’t up yet but it was crisp and woke me up nicely!!

Back on the bus we drove through land rich with Maori culture and I tried to take it all in. Some English links too Doubtless Bay being one of them. It was named by captain cook. When he sailed into it he said…”doubtless…this is a bay” hence the name!! We stopped at a café further along to get food for the day (I snuck in a brew) and then continued past cable Bay and other places I can’t remember the names of. We took a couple more breaks….one at a postcard/ice cream shop. It was one stop I could have done without!!

I finished in the shop and headed around the other side of the bus to take a pew on a picnic bench. I was on my own and enjoying my surroundings when I heard some panting…..it wasn’t me!! I looked to my feet and saw a black bounding puppy. Relax Debs…..you can cope…..it’s a puppy!! I stayed calm for all of 4 seconds until puppy’s sister and giant mother came over too!! 3 dogs and 1 human…not good odds!! I am sure they were playful but to me they may as well have been man eating bears!! I stayed calm (ish) and went against every natural instinct in me not to run. I stood up slowly and shouted “Natalie”. She didn’t come…must have been in the shop. The dogs were now jumping up at me and bounding around my feet. I shouted “help” and thankfully 2 girls came from the other side of the bus, saw my distress and distracted the dogs whilst I made my escape onto the safety of the bus. It was shaking uncontrollably and it took me a good while and some chilled jack Johnson music to cam down. The others from the bus seemed to have a good time playing with them as I watched from the bus…so wish I wasn’t scared but proud for not running!! That’s Progress!!

Our next stop was 20/30 minutes up the road - Cape Reinga. The most northerly point of NZ and the place where the Tasman Sea collides with the Pacific Ocean. It was a 20 minute walk down to the lighthouse and the views were stunning. Once at the lighthouse we sat for 5 minutes taking in the surroundings and watching the waves where the oceans meet…so cool!!! There was also a fab sign that showed the direction to places such as London, Sydney, the North Pole and the Tropic of Capricorn to name some that I can remember. It didn’t have Yorkshire on though…must be an oversight!!

Once back on the bus we headed to a nice little beach for lunch. The beach was pretty secluded and was nice to have a paddle in the sea and walk along the sand. Loving NZ!! Once time was up we headed on the bus along the Te Paki Stream to some giant sand dunes. The driver gave us some instruction of how to do it and we then made the tough climb to the top. Walking in soft sand in the midday heat up a steep slope was not easy and I had a deep burn in my leg muscles!! It seemed to take forever to get up and I hoped the slide down would be worth it!!

I was unusually apprehensive when I got up there and watched Nat go down first. I followed…elbows on board, toes controlling speed and direction…….it was Awesome!! As soon as I got to the bottom I did the tough climb to the top again for another go. I went faster and further that time but was determined to make the stream so I went up for a third attempt. I ran and jumped onto my board…..bit risky but got some speed up and flew down!! Good ride and I made the stream. I dug my toes in a little hard to stop myself and commando rolled off at the bottom…very dramatic!! I decided to leave that as my last run before I did some bodily damage to myself. I already had a bad shoulder from my fall down the stairs in Oz and didn’t need more injuries. Good job too…turned out the worst ever sand dune injury was a broken neck!! Not an title I wanted to take!!

Once we had all done with photos and had eaten enough sand - no choice when flying down a dune - we got back on the bus. My skin was a different colour as I was covered in sand. It was in my mouth my ears and other places I won’t mention. Blooming Sand!!

We drove down 90 mile beach next….only 64 miles but that didn’t quite have the same ring to it!! Pretty bumpy but a good ride!! Can’t believe driving along a beach is becoming second nature to me! We stopped for a while, saw the hole in the rock in the distance and dug for some shellfish as well as washing some of the sand from us. The driver got a bucked full of shellfish for his tea as well as opening some there and then for us all to try. I didn’t join the queue!!

Back on the bus we headed back down towards Paihai stopping in the fishing Village of Mangonui for fish and chips along the way. I lashed mine with salt and vinegar and then tucked in. They were supposed to be the best in NZ and they were pretty good and went down a treat!! Good effort NZ!!

We arrived back at the hostel at around 6pm. We were tired and sandy. The first stop was the shower and then once clean I went to use the net for an hour. I finished my day off with yoghurt, a bit of TV and bed!! Such a great Day!!

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Photos

Meeting in front of where the oceans meet!!
We wanted one next to this but the guy who took the photo placed us in the middle!!! Raargghhh!!