Paihia and Whangarei

Day 66
So the beginning of this trip started very eventful. On the walk down to the bus I had a dramatic, clumsy fall and sprained my ankle. OUCH! Even though it hurt it wasn't the most thing we were worried about. I couldn't really walk so we needed to find a cab and get downtown asap. Race against the clock! After making the bus wait for us for 15 min we barely made it. Now, we were on a 4 hour bus ride north of Auckland. Maybe we could avoid bad weather by going to the winterless north (weird south is cold and north is warm by the way). The rest of the day was pretty boring since I could only hop around on one foot and I refused to pay to go see a doctor unless it got worse. All we did was nap and go to the hostel bar to drink beer and ice my foot.

My swollen and bruised foot

Day 67
I could put some weight on my foot but it was still pretty swollen and bruising. I was determined not to let this injury get in the way of things we would have done if I wasnt so uncoordinated. All I could manage was to hobble to the beach. It felt like the hottest day we have had in New Zealand so it was a good beach day! We treated ourselves to a lunch at Cafe above the Bay and then headed back to the beach to soak up the sun some more!

Paihia beach

Day 68
Today we had booked a day bus trip to take us to around the surrounding  points of interest.

90 Mile Beach



First, we drove along the sand and surf of 90 mile beach. It is [the only] registered highway along the beach. Also, it is not actually 90 miles but rather 76 km? it was estimated to be this long because when a man walked a bull, that walks approx. 30 miles per day,down the beach it took him 3 days. He forgot to take into consideration that this heavy bull would be sinking into the sand and therefore not walking as far.

Te Paki sand dunes

Next stop was New Zealand's largest sand dunes to do some sandboarding. We all grabbed a board and climbed up a giant dune in what felt like a sandstorm. Can't beat an exfoliation like that! Once getting to the top, one by one we went head first down the hill. Some people were a little more extreme and did a running start but I kept it safe and slow. I wish it wasn't so windy and I didn't have a gimp ankle so I could have done more than one run!

Tapotupoto Bay

Tapotupoto Bay was our lunch stop and also the most northern beach in New Zealand. Only the brave ones went for a swim!

Cape Reinga

Pohutukaura tree

Cape Reinga is the top of New Zealand. The famous lighthouse is at the tip overlooking where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. There is Maori legends surrounding this place because it is believed that after a Maori person dies their spirit passes through to the other world here through a sacred Pohutukaura tree growing impossiblily from the cliff side.

Kauri Forest

The last stop of the day was at the Puketi Kauri forest that has trees up to 2000 years old. We did some tree hugging while we were there.

Day 69
We booked another day cruise to take us around the Bay of Islands highlights. The Bay of Islands is a pretty area consisting of 144 islands. It was a another windy day in the region so the open water was choppy. Unfortunately we got on the boat with a field trip of at least 30 kids so it wasn't going to be a quiet day. Hardly 15 minutes into the trip we found a small pod of 6 bottlenose dolphins. They were very playful jumping in the wake of the boat and doing tricks like they were at Sea World. It was the best part of the trip for sure. The rest of the day was spent visiting the various islands and their caretakers, and venturing out to the iconic Hole in the Rock. We were on whale watch too because the trip the day before saw a humpback whale. No luck though! Before the day was over charlotte and i got dropped off in Russel, the hell hole of the Pacific. It was named this because ships used to stop here for all the brothels and rowdy bars. It's been a few years since then and Russel is now a quiet town. Not as good of a time anymore and not what I was expecting!

Trying to capture the dolphins jumping



Hole in the Rock

Day 70
For a place that was supposed to be in a drought it sure rained a lot. The rain must have followed us! It did get sunny and we managed to go for a walk before catching the bus down to Whangarei. The bus driver had us worried because as he dropped us off he told us we would need to know how to fight if we went out. Not to get too worried though because we had a local to keep us safe. We stayed with yet another Whistler friend, Ayla.

Charlotte, Steve, Ayla and I in the rain

Day 71-73

On these few days we hung out around Whangarei with Ayla, her boyfriend, coworkers and family. We went to Whangarei Falls, one of the few attractions to see in the area.  We also crashed her Christmas party predrink where I met a contestant from NZ's Master Chef. Cool guy who wants to become a travel food writer! I want that job! We also went to Sandy Bay to go to Ayla's moms 60th birthday party. Haha nothing is awkward when free food is involved! But it really was another good day with someone else's family! On Monday afternoon we caught the bus back to Auckland and said our goodbyes to Ayla, another great hostess! 

Whangarei Falls

"Take only memories. Leave only footprints." - Chief Seattle

City Life

Day 56
Back to the Big Smoke! Auckland! We took the train to Meadowbank where Jen, another Whistler friend lives. She runs a daycare during the week so visiting during the weekend was perfect. While trying to figure out our night Jen remembered the deal of the day was 50% off going to the Ice Bar. So we bought some tickets! Before going downtown we went to Newmarket to a Mac's bar for a cider with her boyfriend. Then Freddy's Ice Bar was cool! I had never been to one even though they looked so interesting. Everything was made out of ice -- the walls, the bar, the glasses and fun sculptures! We took loads of pictures! We went to a couple more bars and Danny Doulaw's being the most fun with loud live music! An old man at the bar came and asked me if I purposefully tried to look like Princess Laia because my hair was twisted back! HA! Must have been awhile since he watched the movie because there was no gold bikini or buns on the side of my head.

Day 57
Jen had found Charlotte a babysitting job so she was gone most of the day doing that. Jen was also busy with an anniversary party and BBQ. I just relaxed for the day in a hammock with a book and watched movies later on.

Day 58
Jen drove us back to Posonby to Amanda's house. We all had a short catch up before walking down to the triathlon with everyone (Amanda, Darren, Jo, Becca, Michael and Charlotte). We watched the men swim and jump on their bikes. Some of these men we would be seeing at London 2012 because they were qualifying for Olympic spots. We stopped at the supermarket and created a feast of snacks that we had on the front lawn. Spontaneous picnic of deliciousness haha!

Triatholon

Day 59
It's been 2 months since I've really talked to anyone so it was awesome to skype Jenny and Tyler. I felt like I was sitting on the couch right beside them having the regular Sunday talks! I miss living with them!
Anyways, since it was Monday that meant Monday night dinner party. Charlotte an I offered to take a turn while we were there again since we had a couple dinners made for us. The theme was BBQ so we spent the afternoon preparing kebobs, sweet potato wedges, salad and for dessert, chocolate covered strawberries with chocolate molten lava cake! Everyone loved it!

Day 60
It was a sunny and hot day in the city so we packed a lunch and headed to a beach. Sentinel Beach is a small city beach just a half hour walk from Ponsonby overlooking the harbor bridge. Such a hard life relaxing all day in the sun! The day got even better when Darren got back from fishing with tons of red snapper to fry up. Becca whipped up a meal and we stuffed our faces with lots of super fresh fish. Yum! I could get used to this NZ menu.

Day 61-63
We caught the bus for only $10 to take us to Hamilton to visit Jojo. We had visited her at her parents place in Waikou but we wanted to spend a couple days having quality time with her and her baby, Mason. Unfortunately we weren't going to be able to meet Jo's man, Bryce because he was out of town for work. We spent the next couple days shopping around town looking for a birthday dress and hanging around the house. Jo is such a happy and grateful Mom <3 She makes me believe that things happen for a reason and they happen when it's the right time! And 10 minutes before having to leave to catch the bus back to Auckland Bruce arrived home early. Now our Hamilton trip was complete!

Mason likes beer just like his mom ;)

Day 64
It's my birthday!!!!! At least on this side of the world! It doesn't feel like my birthday at all because it's warm outside. Cool! I always wished I could have a summer birthday. This way I can have at least one. Becca and Mike made me breakfast of pancakes, fruit, bacon and fresh juice. Very thoughtful of them! Then I got to skype Dave, Ange and the kids! I missed seeing their faces! After getting ready Becca, Jo, Mike, Charlotte and I piled into the car to go on an adventure. We went north of Auckland to a town called Leigh to go to a bar called the Sawmill Brewery for some pizza and beer. Next, we stopped in Mantakana to the Rusty Tavern for drink #2. Before getting back home we stopped at the grocery store to stock up on munchies. We discovered we didn't need the food because after we were done getting ready it didn't leave us much time to pre drink before our dinner reso. The girls went to Kens Japanese restaurant and I had sashimi (raw fish) and warm saki (alcohol) for the first time. After dinner we stayed in the Britomart area and went to a bar called the Country Club. It's a really cool outside bar that looks like what you would think a country club would look like with grass, gardens and a place to play croquet. That bar closed at midnight so we went to the club next door, 1885 where we danced the night away! Good birthday!!!!

Birthday breakfast!

Charlotte, Becca, Jo and I at 1885

Day 65

No time for hangovers today! Becca woke us up to ask us if we wanted to go to some markets. She is always so good at planning and enthusiastic about them! Good person to have around! So off Becca, Jo, Charlotte and I were off for another day of adventures! Charlotte was feeling more rough than the rest of us so the car ride was not kind to her. The Clevdon Market had lots of yummy samples! Then we went to Maratei beach to enjoy a lunch on the sand. NZ is definitely not short of pretty beaches! Once we got back to town there was no time for sitting and we went for a walk under the Harbor Bridge and around to look at the big boats. 1 in 4 Aucklanders own a boat of some sort so therefore there is lots of boats to look at. When I got back I skyped into Saturday night festivities in Canada to talk to Evie, Jen and Robyn! Only 4 weeks until I get to see them in Sydney! woooo!

"What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do, especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you.
No yesterdays on the road." - William Least Heat-Moon