Advertisement
Published: July 29th 2005
Edit Blog Post
As Gill headed off for the start of her Australian adventures, I caught the bus north. I was going to catch up with some of the guys we had met earlier in our New Zealand travels, Laura and Danny, Rob, Pat and some friends of theirs. The bus journey to Kaitaia took about 6 hours out of Auckland, we were booked into Endless Summer, a fantastic big house which overlooks the beach. The boys had already been in the water in wetsuits, as they are all soft Essex boys.
The van that we had hired for the week was akin to the A-Team van, in fact the guys had already assumed the character names, leaving me with BA Baracus.... We had to push start the van (a ritual which was repeated more than once...) and headed to take a sand safari of Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga. We stopped first at the Ancient KAuri tree stump that has been carved into a staircase - at 50,000 years old it was dug out of the ground and carved. We then drove out onto the sand of Ninety Mile Beach (which is in fact closer to 90 kms than miles -
go figure) there were several other bus loads of people doing the same thing, but the area is so vast that it didn't matter - huge expanses of sand and the power of the Tasman Sea - amazing. Once we stopped we were all given sledges and instructed to climb a massive sand dune and come down. It was fantastic fun, but the sand gets everywhere.... We drove further north to Cape Reigna lighthouse, the most northerly point in NZ, where the Tasman and the Atlantic meet.
That night we were booked onto a farmstay - Kahoe Farm, a working beef farm although the only animals we came in contact with were kunekunes (mini pigs), donkeys and cats. Stefano was really helpful and made pizzas for tea. We played a few after dinner games, to be plunged into darkness during a powercut - so we opted for hide and seek in the dark, as we had the backpacker lodge to ourselves. Danny forund the best hiding place in the cupboard above the water heater - it took Rhys ages to find him - although when there was no hot water in the morning we were not very forthcoming with
Sand sledging
Go on, you go first.... the previous nights exploits in case we got a massive plumbing bill.....the hot water came back on which was lucky for Pat, as he had fallen in the river whilst kayaking.
Up the next day and onto Paihia. I booked straight onto a trip in order to have the chance to swim with dolphins. Looking very attractive in my short wetsuit (white legs are all the fashion you know) I was ready to jump into the Bay of Islands and have a close encounter, when the boat captain spotted a baby dolphin in the pod and as regulations are strict there was no way they would let us swim with a juvenile. Ah well, maybe next time.
We played killer, and even with a couple of drinks, I managed to pot one ball in three games. Not my sport.
The next morning, Pat, Phys, Jenny and I got up early to go sky diving. It was a beautiful day and as my previous attempts had been put off by bad weather, I was very nervous, as it looked like I might actually throw myself out of a plane. When we got out to the airstrip and filled
in all the forms, the pilot decided that the weather was closing in and he was not prepared to take us up. Ah well, maybe next time.
After crossing to Russell, our next stop was another farmstay, simply known as The Farm. When we arrived it was overrun with children and animals, once things calmed down slightly, Laura decided to update her web pages, whilst the rest of us headed to the paddock to do some carting. After about an hour of tearing around a field and covered in mud from head to toe, we moved onto dirt bikes and I was wanting to use the quad bike. Mike (the farmer) had some work to do with the quad first of all, but I could help out. I was bundled into the back of a 'cage' and we headed off to collect two calves. The calves joined me in the cage and one of the promptly pooped on me!! However it was so cute that it could have done it again. We went of to find the mothers which involved chasing cows around a field until one of them recognised the sound of its baby. It had gotten too
late to do anything else so we all headed back to the house to find out that there was no water (not even no hot water - no water) we were all caked in mud, so the boys headed off to have a wash in the creek - I decided to wait for hot water. Patience is a virtue, 10 minutes later I was clean and warm.
The next day we began the trip back to Auckland - Rhys and Jenny had a bit more time than the rest of us, so they headed off for a hike. Laura, Danny, Rob and Pat were going onto Sydney that afternoon, so they dropped me off en route to the airport, I said my farewells to my english amigos and settled back into LInda and Graeme's house.
I had a great time living back in house for a wee while, it amazing how much you appreciate begin able to unpack, not share a bedroom with strangers, and have the company of family. Linda and I had fab time exploring the city of Auckland, she knows all the best places for browsing and lunch!!! I also had the opportunity to catch
up with an old flatmate who I haven't seen in years and it was if I had seen her yestarday....
I had such a wonderful time in New Zealand, the country is so beautiful, the people friendly and interested in where you have come from, and there is so much to do - it felt really strange to be leaving.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.53s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 12; qc: 55; dbt: 0.4103s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Laura
non-member comment
That terrible picture....
...what must people think!!? Can't believe you put that one the site - you know how I'll get you back! Remember that picture that I have.....!?