Raglan Backpackers and Water Front Lodge

... yesterday after some dithering, I phoned them and book myself on a session at 10am with some mountain bike riders.
They didn’t take any details and this morning a nearly chickened out, but new I would regret it if I did, so after getting slightly lost, putting on a ridiculous outfit. It was especially ridiculous because my ‘body armour’ kept slipping of my shoulder (making me feel oh so safe), I did get on a bike.
The first go at clutch control ...

... place to crash for the night. We must have been traveling in non-touristy area, since there were no hotels. We ended up finally finding a Bed and Breakfast before dark. This was our first try at a B&B in NZ. We have been sticking to modern hotels since we have needed internet connectivity most days. The owners of the B&B were wonderful, they had ...

On the move again this morning, heading for Raglan. On the way we stopped off at Paeroa, which is apparently famous for it's lemon flavoured mineral water.....apparently......dunno where it's famous.......probably just in Paeroa!! Anyway, our bus driver, Natalie, nipped over to the shop to buy a couple of bottles for us to try. It does just taste like lemonade, although Lorna thought it tasted like lockets for some reason!! We were even sad enough to pose next to a giant replica bottle ...

... We went out on kayaks in the afternoon up and down the river estuary. Unfortunately the evening was a bit of a disaster: I burnt my thumbs getting a pan out of the oven and stuck them in the freezer to cool down. This is exactly what NOT to do, I now know. I actually fainted and woke up slumped on the kitchen floor up against a cupboard, with a girl slapping me around the face and putting my legs up in the air. However, I thought I was having a ...

On sunday morning, my friends and I drove out to the west coast of the north island to a little beach town called Raglan! These beaches are well know for the surfers that flock there! Before the beach we made an hour drive out to Bridal Falls (the falls ...

... see Bridal Falls then after a scenic drive we ended up in a town called Kawhia where we found a nice campsite and decided to treat ourselves to a fish and chip supper and a pint of bitter. We were looking to go to another Hot Water Beach here but the low tide was at 3am so we missed out.