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Published: October 3rd 2005
Maori wood carving
One of the beautiful carvings on display at Waitangi Treaty Reserve (notice the shell used for eyes)Although Paihia is a great place for a holiday I felt a bit lost there on my own. It seems like the type of place to go with a big group of mates and chill out on the beach etc. Also it's quite touristy with lots of trips around the bay to watch and swim with dolphins so I hope to go back there when its a bit warmer!! I made a trip over to Russell which was quaint and visited the oldest church in NZ. The embroidered cushions were beautiful, see photos!!!
One of the best things about Paihia is that I met an interesting Israeli couple called Tali and Gabby. They had also been visiting the Northland for a few days and after talking to them over dinner one night they invited me to join them on their journey back down the West Coast to Auckland. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so with the clocks going forward one hour - in this part of the world they call it "daylight savings" - we headed off to Haruru Falls, had an amazing blackberry and white chocolate muffin straight from the oven in Rawene, gazed
NZ countyside
It seemed like it was going to be good weather... across at the massive sand dunes from Opononi and met the biggest Kauri tree in the area called Tane Mahuta!!! Tali reckoned he must have been incredibly bored standing there for possibly over 2000 years and getting the same response from visitors the world over!!
Unfortunately it was raining by the time we arrived at an ideal picnic spot so we ate the sandwiches in the car and then continued on to the Kauri museum and through Dargaville to Baylys Beach with its back sand. The rest of the journey to Auckland was filled with stories of Tali and Gabby's wedding in Jerusalem and lots of laughs. The weather was following us into the city, and with nowhere booked to stay it seemed the most obvious choice to stay somewhere that was familiar and booked into Turner St. YHA again. A mouthwatering waft of pizza convinced us to order a couple between us and Tali and I then played Connect 4, made up a game with the pictures on the front of The Yellow Pages and she taught me how to say "I am a female glass-blower" in Hebrew!! After posing for a photo pretending to be a tree
Christchurch, Russell
The oldest church in NZ it was time for bed and reflect on a very busy day!!!
I'm determined not to spend too long here and I've just booked another coach down to Hamilton - I'll fill you in when I see what it's like!!!
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