Blogs from Paihia, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 33

Hello. Did indeed go and meet dave (was Tuesday night) and his fellow travelling people, after waiting by myself in starbucks because Dave was late. This may have been because of his now ridiculously long hair slowing him down. Went for a few beers down by the harbour and then in his hostel, where they were doing 2 for 1. Good. Not a very eventful evening, but was really nice to see a familiar face. Even if it was Dave's. Next morning we (myself, Dave and Dave's friend John) went back to that brilliant coffee place for our Valentines day breakfast and very good coffee, then went to an island called Waheiki or something like that. Famous for wine tasting, so we went to a place called the Mudridge wine reserve for a tasting session, and ... read more

Afer staying out all night in aukland after a festival i was feeling a little worse for ware having to check out of our hostal and get on a bus for 6 hours to the bay of islands, i felt so bad we missed out bus stop and got off at kerikeri got some food and went straight to bed. Next day got back on bus in opposite direction and went to Paihia to go catermaran sailing which entailed lying on a trampoline at the front of the boat and getting a great tan. We stopped off on a desolate beach for some sea kayaking and snorkling and on the way back saw a pod of about 20 or more dolphins swiming besides the boat. ... read more

"There is only 2 things I hate in this world. People that are intolerant of other peoples cultures. And the Dutch!!!"- Austin Powers After not sleeping for the past 2 nights because of a Dutch asshole, we had him kicked out and returned the favour by stealing our i-pod, i-pod charger and voltage converters. Why people are such assholes I don't know. The worst thing about it is that we know who the guy is, we know he stole it, the cops know he stole it, but he has already hidden the goods or got rid of them and there is nothing I can do now. I mean really, who listens to Staind besides Jen anyways. Given my current record in fights outside of hockey, I dont think that that would be the best option to ... read more

Since hiking and enjoying the beautiful walking tracks is a way of life around these parts, Mel and I walked a bit in the morning, and actually met up with our Russian friend Viya again. After a nice hike to a beautiful lookout of the Bay of Islands, we collected the boys to head for the daily coffeine fix at a fun little cafe. Flat Whites are the specialty here in New Zealand, and i am becoming a big fan of them. Great Espresso with a shot of hot milk, but not quite as much as a late, hmm, maybe they are on to something. But enough about the coffee addictions... after the fix, i headed off to hike to Haruru Falls. A nice hike through a beautiful mangrove forest, just about 5 km one way. ... read more

Ok, so if Monday was the best day... i guess Tuesday was another best day! We got off to an early start, packed our backpacks and Marc got the boat ready, and we all headed off to do a bit of fishing on our way to Hole in the Rock, where Mel and I jumped off the boat, onto the cliffs to climb up to the lighthouse of Cape Brett, from where we enjoyed the fantastic views along the cliff on the Cape Brett hiking track. WOW, amazing. We did not see anyone all day (no wonder, since there is really no access to the trail, other than daring to jump of a boat and when you get done hiking, to jump back onto a boat ) anyhow, it was amazing, quite a bit of up ... read more