After a day in Aukland, I was ready to get out of town and see some scenery. I headed north to Whangarei to do some pre-arranged scuba diving at the poor knights islands. Whangarei is a small town with it's own bay full of sailboats. My hostel turned out to be a 30 minute hike from the bus station, with the last part of it being uphill. This was the first test of my backpack, and it passed with flying colors. It just so happened that the hostel I was staying in was also where my dive master was living. Originally from Australia, DJ has been diving in New Zealand for the past two years. I also got to meet Libby, another American backpacker, who was also staying in my hostel. She had also recently quit
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