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Published: November 4th 2007
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Bay of Islands 1
Me n Heather with our mode of transport for the next few weeks Kia Ora from Paihia!
First blog in New Zealand - yee hah! I had a great couple of days in Melbourne catching up with Zoe, Oli, Jo and John, loved getting all the goss from them! I was so sad to say goodbye to Oz but as soon as I was in the air I started to get excited about what lay ahead in NZ.
After the usual dramas at the airport (I must look well dodgy, I always get my bag searched! Mind you, this was the first time it happened when I was getting off the plane!) I was met in Auckland by my mum's cousin Betty who had very kindly offered to put me up for the night. I spent a lovely afternoon with her getting shown some of Auckland's sites and hearing some family goss before devouring my first decent meal in I don't know how long (she even baked me shortbread!) and heading off to bed.
Well used to various long lost relatives using her house as a pit stop, Betty had already arranged for her daughter Liz to pick me up in the morning and take me into Auckland city where I
Bay of Islands 2
Annoying the bees on the way up to the Bay of Islands safe in the knowledge that the glass will protect me! met up with Heather and we jumped on the Kiwi Experience bus and headed north to Paihia in the Bay of Islands.
After a few random stops, including one at a cafe that had a hive of bees to make fresh honey - yum!, we arrived in Paihia early in the afternoon. When the Europeans first settled in NZ, the Bay of Islands was a common stopover for sailors in the sealing and whaling trade and soon acquired the name 'the hell hole of the Pacific' due to the activities that normally follow sailors around! None of that debauchery was on show at first sight for me though and Heather and I went for a wander round the teeny Paihia (which means 'good here' in the Maori language - they were obviously as creative as the Aussies when it came to naming things!), taking in some of the stunning views. I couldn't get over how much like home the scenery was - I haven't seen so much green in months!
Later in the afternoon we headed down to the jetty and got kitted out in not-so-flattering waterproof gear in preparation for our trip on the 'Excitor' speedboat that
Bay of Islands 3
Me n Heather ready for a snooze on the not so exciting "Excitor' boat - I was wanting it to be fast and scary! would take us round some of the islands for what was promised to be a thrilling and nailbiting two hours. Well it just goes to show that you should never believe advertising because the sea was so flat that the trip was anything but exciting - Heather nearly fell asleep at one point!! It was good to see some of the islands (rocks really) though and we sailed through the famous 'hole in the rock' which was fun, I suppose! The guide was annoying as hell though and I think he realised from our unimpressed faces that his obviously staged 'improvised commentary' wasn't winning us over so he sat down and left us in peace!
Following the boat trip we headed back to our hostel and had good craic with the other travellers at the BBQ they put on for us before heading to bed for a much needed early night (had been caning it a bit hard the last few weeks in Oz!)
The next day we were up and away early, heading up to Cape Reinga, NZ's most northernly point. The first stop was for a wander round the Puketi Kauri Forest were we saw 1000
Bay of Islands 4
Digging for 'tua tuas' on the 90 mile beach year old Kauri trees (thrilling as you can imagine) that the Maoris used to make their war kayaks and canoes. Apparently they'd spent $1 million a few years ago to build a walkway round the forest for Queen Liz when she came to visit - and were absolutely gutted when she only stepped on to it for the grand total of two minutes before leaving again, unlucky!!
We then headed up past Doubtless Bay, which has some stunning views, and onto '90 Mile Beach' which is a highway just like on Fraser Island in Oz. The name of the beach is slightly misleading though since it only stretches for 64.5 miles so obviously the first settlers weren't too up on their measuring skills!
We stopped on the beach and dug up some 'tua tua', which are similar to mussels, and muggins here nearly spewed after being convinced by the bus driver to eat one - yuck!
After that we headed off the beach up to some huge sand dunes and spent the next hour having a brilliant laugh boogy boarding down them. As exhausting as it was climbing up the dunes it was well good craic boarding
Bay of Islands 5
Getting ready to eat the 'tua tua' - won't be laughing in a minute! down them - went really fast! Heather wasn't so keen though after she came flying off hers half way down the dune - ouch!
Next we were back on the bus and headed to Cape Reinga - where the South Pacific Ocean and the Abel Tasman sea meet - and took in absolutely gorgeous views from the lighthouse right at the top of NZ. The area is significant to the Maori people whose legends tell the story of Maori spirits passing into the next world there.
We then went to the pretty Tapotupotu Bay and chilled in the sun for an hour (and thanks to the hole in the ozone layer above NZ I got burnt even though I was slathered in factor 40 - bloomin' red hair!) before making our way to the last stop of the day, Mangonui Harbour, for some "fush n chups" (still not a patch on a fish supper from Scotland!)
That evening we just chilled at the hostel and then today Heather and I went for a wander up to the north end of Paihia to see some statues representing the first treaty signed by the Maori chiefs and the British.
On our way back we stopped at the beach and watched a re-enactment of when the first missionaries landed in NZ, which we thought was a bizarre thing to put on until we realised that it was the anniversary of when it happened.
And that's about it so far I think. We leave Paihia later this afternoon and head back down to Auckland for the night before heading off to Mercury Bay the following day. I will update you as soon as I've got some craic! xx
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Brenda
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KIA ORA BEEATCH!
Hey megirlo! Those pics of the sand duning look pure class! so jealous! Say hiya to good old NZ for me, miss it very much. But remember if you're going out in the city of Wellington watch your drink like a hawk! They seem to like to spike us celt ladies there! No joke! (Bring your strips with ya) B xox