The Boathouse North Island

... from Scotland who are travelling about, but their only 18, man it makes me feel old. We went down the street to a pool hall where all the workers were dressed as KISS, kinda strange. They play a wierd brand of pool where you get two shots in a row for any foul, like a scratch or table scratch or off the table, which is way unfair in my opinion, but hey play as the locals play right. Next day did a little kayaking for free with the hostel ...

... extended for miles. We stopped at a pizza restaurant which served oven baked pizzas with beautiful fresh and unusual toppings. Day 8 Today we continued north to the Bay of Islands. This is on the northern east coast of the region and was to be our home for the next 4 days. Undeniably pretty, the BoI ranks one of NZ's top drawcards. Imagine 150 luscious green islands with rich grass-green hills and beautiful turquoise waters and white sandy ...

... that Julie gets annoyed and sleepy with hills and tight bends and I start to feel a bit queezy while James finds it interesting driving!!! Oh the secenery is fantastic even in the rain I find it really interesting and dramatic!!!! We went to bed after that with a few games of a new game we have learnt on our travels called poo head which is quite competative and for some reason James keeps being the poo head and let me tell you he dosen't like it!!!

... side; to the slightly older more playful; to the mothers themselves primarily putting themselves between us and the young; to the matriarchs who would be the first to approach the boat and then constantly be on guard for signs of danger. It was good to hear that there is no feeding of the dolphins as that would then promote dependency and the young not being taught how to hunt and survive for themselves. Also there are limits on the number of boats and the length of ...

... al llarg de l'illa. La mar està molt tranquil.la, extremandament tranquil.la per aquesta època... però bé, després de dinar sembla que s'anima la cosa! En Mike porta més de 20 anys navegant amunt i avall, ha donat la volta al món i més de 20 vegades ha recorregut el Pacífic. També tota la costa d'Amèrica... té una llarga trajectòria, ens explica algunes de les seves aventures... Durant el dia tenim molts aparitius i un bon dinar... sembla que estiguem a ...

... our horror during the course of the evening four massive Marlins where brought in to harbour (rather than released on a tagging scheme). The fish ranged in weights from 76 to 210kg's! It is the start of the off season and we really did worry that this fishing is not sustainable. The next morning we were greeted by the sight of two massive liners ready to flood the town with their elderly guests. Luckily we managed to escape them ...

... areas of the treaty grounds, taking pictures and reading the signboards along the way. The Maori meeting house was the most interesting. It was similar to the meeting house in Rotorua on the outside. We were also able to go inside, where it was even more impressive, with colorful woven "wallpaper" and massive carved wall panels covering every inch of it. We left feeling like we had seen and learned enough about Maori culture! After a brief ...

... the marina was just the place, I managed to resist asking for Fush n Chups but was tickled when my order for Fish and Chips was relayed back to me as Fush n Chups - BRILLIANT!! We returned back to the campsite following the coast all the way this time, with full bellies and freshly warmed up after a cool cruise. The last evening at the Beachside we decided the route we would take north the following day and settled in for the night uner the stars and nice wine.

... even more quaint in the sunlight. I had fish and chips and a nice hot chocolate to warm up :) I wandered back to the wharf for 2.30 and waited for my boat (Mack Attack) to come and pick me up. It was a bit cloudy and nippy but nowhere near as cold as our winters. The lady at the wharf rang the other office to check they were still picking me up, she said it was on its way. It didn't get there til 2:50 and I had a flight to get at 5:20. The trip lasted 1 and half ...

My last few days in Paihia weren't all that great. The weather turned **** and there was still enough of a flu to make me feel un-social. I did manage to get to Waitangi and the treaty grounds. Waitangi is where they consider the birth of New Zealand to have happened. A peace treaty with the Maori was signed, which made New-Zealand a colony, and gave the Maori rights of citizens. Considering how land ...