Chalet Romantica Paihia

... made our way back down and and over to Long Beach for a wonder and a swim:), quite a relaxing day really, nothing to adventurous! So some pics of that coming...

Day 4....
Not quite so interesting! We had plans to go kayaking for a day, ina really unusual outrigger kayak, but for one reason or another the guy didnt turn up so a bit of a messed up day! however, I booked myself on a days kayaking for tomrow which is a guided tour of 6hours, including a trip to the Haruru ...

... that replaced Amanda and Zaine - Paul and Taylor (not Paul Taylor! are from Canada and we shared for a couple of weeks. The mountain biking round Taupo is pretty good with some good manmade trails... when I go back I want to do the 42 Traverse which is 45km... After Paul and Taylor moved on I then shared with a couple of Norwegian's called Haarvard and Lloyd who were okay but not the same as sharing with the American's or Canadians... plus they ...

... making the water glisten. The stack rock on the edge of the beacj was huge and really interesting being so far away from the cliff edge. We then went for a walk along the beach, clambering over rocks for 15 mins before all sitting down and admiring this gorgeous place. On the way to Mercury Bay we stopped off for a photo of hot water beach ...

Yesterday we split up; Morten had a date with a sunken ship and I had a date with Bay of Islands. Up early again and Morten went off to the dive shop for his adventurous day diving the Rainbow Warrior. Now, you may not all remember the story about the Rainbow Warrier, but this is the Greenpeace ship that was sunk in Auckland harbour in July 1985 by the French Intelligence. Greenpeace were trying to stop the French from nuclear testing by the ...

... enjoying it a little bit too much. Our bus was pretty new and obviously had a good engine, and steering, our driver was demonstrating this to us now. Thankfully he never pushed it too far though! Having already walked up sand-dunes in the past, I wasn't overly excited at the prospect of the trek up, but thankfully the dunes weren't as big as some. They were certainly as steep however. Its funny, people always think that because I've done bungy jumps and skydives that I don't get ...

Travelled north to Bay of Islands on Thursday and stopped off at a couple of places en route. Map reading first class, didn't get lost once!! Accommodation is great, very convenient and close to the beach. Had a lazy morning yesterday, preparing ourselves for our swim with dolphins. We got onto the boat, but after the skippers briefing we were told that swimming would be out of the question owing to the swell in ...

... with the Bay of Islands and the reality (or perhaps lack of reality) of dolphin encounters there. We wished we had opted for one of the wild dolphin encounters that were available on the south island. There was far less hype, and likely a far better chance of swimming with the dolphins. We ended our visit to the Bay of Islands with a low-key evening at the Pickled Parrot. Paul outside smoking a cigar, and me having more time with Rocky the Parrot.

... do this but the scouser recommended against it as the conditions were a little rough, and they hadn't been all that successful with recent groups, which is why we decided to just do the cruise, apparent Kaikoura in the south is a little better. We had still hoped to see one of the pods because they do play in the wash of the cruise ships but we weren't that lucky. Our final port of call was the Hole in the Rock off Cape Brett. There are hundreds of places like ...

... and climate crisis to cripple us even more! Don't worry Mum, I'm not going to move out here ;-) Anyway, I digress! As I got near to the airport, I suddenly realised I had to return the car with a full tank! Damn it! I couldn't find a petrol station and was running out of time, sod it! I'd have to take it back as it was and just deal with the consequences. I put the key in a box and well, I just guess I wait and see if they add anything to my credit card! :( I ...

... of. I've never understood why people ask where you are from if they don't have a clue about the geography. I guess I used to be guilty of that as well. A number of English have gotten strange looks when I didn't recognize their city. Or the city near their city. Now it's "North or South?" Then there is the inevitable "I'm glad I didn't ask which State!" Honestly, I don't care. I do feel obligated ...