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Published: April 20th 2008
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'East As', as it's known on the kiwi bus, has been one of the highlights of my trip. It's a four day, three night trip around the east cape of north island, but I rather fell for it so extended my trip by four nights. There were only seven of us on the bus and luckily we all got on well so had lots of fun. Our bus driver, Rex, was in his seventies and such a laugh to be with. He'd obviously been driving the route for a long time and had many funny stories to tell, aswel as a vast knowledge of the Maori history and culture which was interesting. The first night we stayed in a hostel called the Homestead Lodge in Te Kaha. We arrived early in the afternoon so spent the afternoon on the beach, in the sea, kayaking and in the hot tub! The owner, Chay, and his family were really friendly and made us feel very welcome. We spent sunset in the hot tub with a glass of wine overlooking the sea - stunning! We were then spoilt with a home cooked meal of sweet and sour pork, fish and chips and fish pie
followed by bread and butter pudding - what luxury!
We stopped off lots as we followed the coast to our second night's hostel, Eastenders farmstay. I spent the afternoon on an awesome horse trek. There were just two of us doing it and we were taken down to the beach where the horses could run. It was really good fun, if a little out of control, but oh well! The guides were two Dutch girls who were rather crazy and randomly decided to jump on my horse, Angel, with me, very amusing! After a run along the beach we headed along a stream and up a mountain where the views were stunning despite the grey weather. I'm sure I was bruised for a few days afterwards, but it was a really fun trip. We returned to the hostel and did some bone carving with the rest of the group; I made a fish hook shaped necklace which is meant to bring you strength and good luck on your travels. I'm rather proud of it - considering I started with a piece of rough cows bone, it's rather nice and shiny now! That evening we toasted marshmallows over a bonfire
which was yummy, even though I kept burning mine. There was a big wool shed which had table tennis, snooker and darts facilities, so we chilled out there for the rest of the evening. Rangitukia is one of the most easterly points in the world, so we got up at 6am to be the first ones to see the sunrise. However, clouds provided a slight problem so we were pretty disappointed to be up so early, at the top of a hill getting chilly, ah well!
East cape is blissfully stuck in the past. Most of its' residents are native Maori's, you won't find an ATM until you reach Gisborne, it's rare to receive any phone signal and the villages look almost derelict. We stopped off in Tologa Bay which has the longest wharf in New Zealand, and visited a lady called Annie in Whangara. Annie is a bit of a local legend and taught us how to weave flowers from flax (a very Maori thing to do!). It was really good fun though and we all succeeded! A Maori film called 'The Whale Rider' was filmed in Whangara, it's worth a watch and then you'll see where I
was and how beautiful it is! From there we reached Tatapouri which I fell in love with and didn't want to leave so stayed for extra nights! I was staying at Tatapouri Dive Centre which is right on the waterfront and very secluded. It's getting towards the end of the season over here so the hostel was pretty empty and we got our own house at the back with a few guys who'd stayed longer. The first night we had a big barbeque with muscles, sausages, steak, chicken, and my favourite, kingfish. I'd never tasted kingfish before, but loved it. The hostel is run by a couple called Dean and Chris who don't actually live there but are usually about and there are always other people around so there's a very friendly atmosphere. I said goodbye to my bus the next day and was the only one to stay behind, but it was worth it and I made good friends with the guys who were already there.
It was a very chilled out place so I can't say I did anything much but it was awesome! We went for walks on the beach, had a movie night and just
generally chilled. I went hitch-hiking four times which was a fun experience. I went with one of the guys, Gavin, who's been hitch-hiking all around New Zealand. I wouldn't do it on my own, but with him it was an experience and we met some really nice people. We were never waiting for more than five minutes and the people were always chatty; we got a ride with a postie let us sit on upturned crates in the back of the van - it was a windy road so you can imagine us sliding from side to side in the back, rather amusing! I was gutted to leave Tatapouri, but did so on Thursday. I had one night in Rotorua, then returned to Auckland where I am now until Wednesday when I leave for Australia. I'll be really sad to leave here, I've fallen in love with the country and the people (cheesey, I know!), but I'll have to start saving to return in 2011 for the rugby world cup!
Hope You're all well, xxx
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