North Island part 1

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Hi all and hope the christmas and new years hangovers are all settled and that the return to work hasn't been too awful!

We've has a fabulous 2 weeks in NZ so far and are currently on the South Island. The North was great but haven't much to compare it to yet as far as the south island goes.

Having finally (after 31 long years of waiting in my case) landed in NZ we negociated the hire car offices and got ourselves our chariot for the duration of our NZ experience. A trusty little ford focus whisked us northwards, battling our way through the auckland rushhour up towards the bay of islands on the east coast. We only managed to get as far as Whangerai as I was already starting to study the backs of my eyelids half way there and Kate has conveniently forgotten to bring her driving licence with her so looks like i'll be doing all the driving.

We pulled in to the little harbour town and found our first hostel overlooking the bay. Here we managed to book our first divetrip for the following day and a chance to experience the Poor Knights Islands. (why they are named that I don't know)

Once again Kate had to brave the seasickness (which once again wasn't a problem) and a poor weathered day turned into a lovely blueskyd one by midday. Unfortunately the choppy water and the cold temperature proved too much for kate and she called it a day 10 minutes into the first dive. I braved it a little longer and had a nice dive overall. By the time we'd had the compulsory rest period, the weather had improved and Kate went out into "the nursery" dive area to build her confidence back up. I followed half an hour later and had a lovely dive albight a little chilly.

From there we ventured further north and arrived in Russell staying in a lovely wooden cabin near the waters edge. The bay of islands is absolutely beautiful with loads to do. We hung out on the beach, and generally chilled out before heading further north to Kahoe, a small farm hostel. Here we stayed in the best hostel we've experienced so far. We had a whole country house between us and 4 others. With wooden deck verandas and fantastic scenery around us the two days we stayed there were great. I ventured off alone to do some more diving out of doubtless bay and managed to return home with three fresh crayfish for that evenings meal. Our host, Stefano, (amazing italien chef with homemade pasta and pizzas) cooked up a small feast and we went to bed happy campers that night. (BBH Kahoe Farm hostel - would thoroughly recommend it if you are heading north)

Unfortunately the weather over the next few days proved pretty rubbish so we had no choice but to travel around not being able to do much. We transited through Opononi/omepare and down through the Kauri national park on our way back to Auckland where we changed our flight tickets having decided not to travel to Fiji as planned. This allowed us enough time to stay at friends, Mark and Julie, for Christmas which was great.

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Photos

Kate
so much wetsuit one can hardly bend ones arms!

Kate diving
Kate braving the waters around Poor Knights islands.

Taking the plunge.
Kate conducting giant-stride entry in to the water. The second dive proved more successful!

The natural born diver!
There's nothing like a good dive to brighten your day!

Leaving the Poor Knights
The weather had improved by the time we returned to port.

Heads together
Kate's favourite photographic method. Note beetroot boy sitting next to her!

Sunset over Russell
Russell was NZ's first capital.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is what happens if you don't wear any suncream! Auch

Picnic by the sea.
Nearly every stretch of coastline hosts beautiful beachs and views. All you need is good weather! Not always available.

The Tasman sea
Kate enjoying the coastal view. Unfortunately the weather proved miserable for a few days.

The enormous Kauri tree
Kate is dwarfed by one of the ancient Kauri trees.

The intrepid explorers!
Taken whilst exploring the Kauri forests.