Where Souls Depart and Oceans Meet

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The bus rolled out of Paihia at 7:15 and we were on our way! Heading north to the most northerly point in NZ - Cape Reigna, took us about 4 and a half hours including stoppage time, so was a bit of a mission to be fair but well worth it!

The trip came after a good couple of days! We were able to completely detox after the rush around of China and Oz and all that travelling while still feeling like we were on the road. Our hostel was a really nice place as well, as comfy as it looked, and we spent the first evening on the beach having a couple of beers and star gazing which was cool. On the way back we met Nick and James, two of our roomies, and stayed up till late outside the room having a few drinks and talking travelling. Nick was a great guy, 32 and still itching from the travel bug, who told us all about his travels in South America. Turns out he had just applied for a residency visa in Oz and was collecting it the next day so ended up nattering for a few hours! James was cool too, just a little more reserved, and I guess if you're a primary school teacher (or a teacher at all) you probably appreciate your free time a lot more so I can't blame him!

We were up and out early the next morning to catch a boat out to the Hole in the Rock - a massive, cavernous passage through the middle of an island at the mouth of the Ocean in the Bay of Islands. As we were going we were followed by some dolphins, and I was amazed that they were jumping and flipping and doing crazy tricks of their own accord to try and impress us all, even following the boat as we left! Crazy!

In the afternoon we had the bright idea of renting a couple of sea kayaks so paddled out to one of the nearby islands. I'd hoped to be able to get into one of the caves on the other side of said island but as the current was threatening to throw me into the jagged rocks nearby I figured it was probably a better idea not to bother! Instead the two of us parked up on the island's beach and Andrew did his best impression of Jack Sparrow...ironically enough the film was on later that evening when we got back!

My legs are well and truely BBQ'd in this weather, and sunscreen appears ineffective against the relentless heat. The strange thing is that it's usually my back and shoulders that are worst off, but oddly in this case they're fine! Sunscreen doing its job there...but my face and legs are torn to shreds. I have a feeling that my bountiful leg fuzz is preventing the sun block from doing its job but that doesn't excuse my face from looking like a raisin!

We were up at 6.30 to be ready for the bus, and we travelled north to Cape Reigna, which is where Maori legend notes that the souls of those passed will leave our world. It is also where the two waters meet - the light blue of the Tasman Sea and the dark blue of the Pacific Ocean, giving the place a really surreal feel! The weather was gorgeous and so we had an excellent day, starting with a drive down the 90-mile beach (stopping on the way to hunt for and eat shellfish) and then on to sandboarding at the nearby sanddunes (an awesome experience) a swim in the incredible blue waters of the Pacfiic, and then on to the destination of our tour!

Coming back, we were all exhausted, feeling a little worse for wear it must be said, covered in sand and smelling of salt water, but it was well worth it as the day was the highlight of our time in Paihia. It helped too, that Spike, our driver guide, was an absolute legend, warning us too late that the guy in the corner market in Paihia was only out to rip us off...

...lame!

LTYM
Peace out for now!
x

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Photos

Oceans Meet
Where the Tasman meets the Pacific

Dolphins!
Our nautical friends follow us to the Hole in the Rock

Rob + 90 miles of sand
Looking down the 90 mile beach/road that leads to the top of the North Island

Capt. AJ Sparrow
Andrew's seafaring days seem dead ahead...yo ho!

Sandboarding!
Much higher up than it looks...

White Sands and Blue Seas
Its a hard life travelling...