Newy newness in New Zealand

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A short twelve and a half hour flight later and it was touch down New Zealand. We landed ahead of schedule at 5am!! We headed though customs, quick inspection of our walking boots and we were free to go! We managed to have a quick freshen up, change some money and grab some breakfast before a reunion with Auntie Karen and Uncle Lee- who were ending their trip. The newest arrival to the Jones clan- little Oliver was there to greet us with Fern also. A quick catch up over our first cider in nearly three months flew by before they were off. The lovely Fern had agreed to put us up for a few nights whilst we brought the car, visited Auckland and generally got sorted. Most importantly we were able to do some washing and grab a decent shower- the payment- lots of cuddles with Oliver!!! (Tough I know)
The next day we brought our car off a German couple via Facebook! We have never done anything like this before so the exchange was rather comical- like a dodgy drug deal! They had named the car a German name- which we didn't quite catch so decided we would re name it schnitzel!
After the deal we headed into Auckland to get up the sky tower and have some lunch on the viaduct! Sipping a cider in the sunshine, it was safe to say New Zealand life agreed with us.
Now we had adjusted to silly things like being able to flush toilet roll down the loo again, drinking from the tap and speaking English again, we were ready to go exploring. My wonderful cousins back home had put me in touch with an army buddy, north of bay of islands. So we headed north in our new set of wheels. Stopped off at sheep world- well there is more of them than us! Finally we linked up with Darrell and Lisa at Kaeo rugby club. Well I was in my element- pitch side enjoying a game of rugby. For never having met them before, we received the warmest of welcomes, which continued over the next few days. They took us back to the motel- Pacific Harbour motel, to show us where we would be staying. WOW! The view was amazing and we were genuinely spoilt with comfy beds to sleep in!
The next day it was an early start to watch England lose to the irish over coffee and bacon sarnies. The best way to get over a loss it would seem is to climb a mount! On top of st marks mount you really got an idea of how beautiful this place is! The bay is huge and the best bit- it's so quiet! They really have got a stunning piece of the world here. To make the most of the day we also headed into bay of islands. I showed Jo where we stayed last year, had a walk along the beach, grabbed some fish and chips and did the tourist bit at Waitangi. All in all a really fab day- despite the rugby!
Next up was a long day driving up to the top of the north island- Cape Reigna. We had some beautiful scenery along the way and stopped off at few secluded beaches for a quick paddle. Cape Reigna itself is stunning, you can see where the Tasman sea meets the pacific, we got some lovely photos here. We checked in at 90mile beach to see the sand dunes before settling on spirits bay beach for a late lunch and a swim. When we got home we had a delicious meal of muscles waiting for us and an invite to go fishing the next day!
Up and at them on the boat the next day for Darrell and Lisa to give us the full guided tour of the bay- this bay is huge!! Having never fished before, it was a quick crash course for me and Jo before lines were in. Quicker than a flash we had caught our first fish! We were pro's!! Jo got so into reeling one in she broke the reel off the rod!! But it was ok- they had a spare.
Getting into the swing of it again the peace was broken once more by a screaming Jo. She'd caught another one, a big one, but this one was strong and nearly pulled her in. As she was reeling it in the whole rod snapped in two, earning her the name 'rod slayer'. To be fair it was a big fish, which for its efforts of nearly catching Jo was allowed to swim another day. Having caught enough for dinner there was time for a quick swim and scuba. We really were spoilt today. Back on dry land we gutted and filleted the fish ready for dinner. Thank god these fish were free from the sea, otherwise it would have been an expensive exercise teaching us how to fillet them. In the end we got the hang of it and I think the fish tasted even better knowing we had caught it! With all that sea air it was early to bed. Not to overstay our welcome we're heading off in the morning to see what else the north island has to offer.
Thanks to Darrell and Lisa and Pacific Harbour motel we have had a fantastic time and will be sad to be moving on. We'll be back soon, that you can count on.

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