Bay of Islands

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In typical ¨"Alison & Grace fashion" we thought we were leaving New Zealand on a Monday but it turned out to be a Tuesday much to our delight. The extra day gave us enough time to go to the Bay of Islands. It´s up at the very northern part of the North Island....nice beaches & beautiful blue/ turquoise bays. We didn´t make it as far as the west coast to see the kauri trees though....these are massive native trees with trunks that are meters thick. But you can´t do everything...even when you are travelling for a year.

So we hung around Russell for 2 nights in Wainai- it´s a very quiet town where I´d say all the older folk come for a bit of a holiday......it was nice to relax anyway after moving nearly daily for the last 2 weeks...oh & finally do some laundry again. On the beach on the Sunday we were sitting reading while some older folk were chatting about their time on holidays & really, Grace & I are like young retirees....except without the wrinkles.....actually there are a lot more wrinkles now.....so we´ve more in common each day!

We drove back to Auckland on the Monday & stayed in Bambers just outside the city. Great hostel. Very clean & homely. Anyway we didn´t have anytime to explore the city but no major loss by all accounts & if the drivers are anything to go by, I´m not disappointed. Mow you over in a blink of the eye! It was nice to catch up with a couple we met in Australia too....shacked up in a motel. Not at all sleazy I assure you. I´m afraid I spent the last few days of New Zealand eating around the clock trying to get rid of all the food I´d accumulated over my stay in NZ. The last 6 months have been great though....having to self-cater has taught me how to cook which I suppose isn´t a bad thing....mind you, my speciality is stir-fries & not much else....the Asian influence lingers on! It was exciting to be moving on again though. I really liked NZ- the scenery is amazing but it´s nice to be going somewhere that will be a bit more challenging.....having to speak different language & embrace a different culture. South America.......vamos!

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Photos

Bay of Plenty!
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Wainai, Russell
Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty
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Bay of Plenty!
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