Absolute Bliss Apartments Paihia

... My favourite was along the roadside by a small shop in the middle of nowhere - "Last Cheese for Miles". We didn't stop.... Carol liked one outside a butchers shop - "Home Kills Processed". We tried to imagine this in the UK..."I've got this spider, weapon of choice a rolled up newspaper. What can you do for me?" Cold here, even though the skies are blue. We move on to Tahiti tomorrow, it's a hard life, this one.....

... was a 4 hour drive back to Auckland, stopping in Whangarei for a toilet stop. We watched a film on the bus on the drive back which helped pass the time, arriving at the hostel just before 7pm. It was FREE pizza night in the hostel bar - Globe Bar, at 8pm. We made sure we were there in time for the free pizza which was Domino's and it was really good, we ended up with about 5 slices each. We stayed in the bar with some people from the bus and had a few drinks before calling it a night.

... the beer was good. It was literally a piece of dirt with an old bungalow at the back and big umbrellas/tarpaulins over rough tables and chairs. I think it was run by hippies who made just enough to keep themselves in beer as every time a customer came in the chef (who's teatowel/handwiper in his belt I prefer not describe) ran across to the little supermarket opposite and bought whatever he needed - just pausing ...

... up and lurching around trying to take photos of them, but I toughed it out, and later went to the back of the boat to try and get a better footing. The dolphins apparantly know the boat and like to play around it jumping and rubbing their backs on the rudder of the boat. We also saw some babies swimming alongside their mothers which was really sweet to see. We stayed their for awhile while the captain steered the boat around ...

... intriguing for photos and a look around. Unfortunately, it was another tourist trap that charged $10 NZD to get in. We thought we'd have a look in the souvenir shop on the first level anyway, but were turned away. Apparently you even have to pay to shop! We did find an nice local butcher along the road, where we picked up a few nice aged steaks to grill on the barbeque that evening. Thankfully it ended up being a nice night, so we were ...

... to tell them all about my diving adventure the previous day. the Bay of Islands was quickly moving up "my favorite places in NZ" list, and I was in no hurry to get back to the hostel. I eventually got back just before dark and had a small dinner before heading to bed for the night. tomorrow I have planned to take the day trip (or "safari" as they call it) up to the very tip of NZ, to where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. Cape Reigna.

... We walked along the beach and found a beached shark, it was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. I must have been really reasent because the body had not been eaten by the nirds yet. I took some more money out of the bank, I've already spent 300$ this week that's like 250 Canadian.. Most of it goes towards food, but here's the 90 some I spend on tours and presents for the people back home. The weather's really ...

... but it was interesting to find out more about the history of New Zealand, although I'm sure it's all far more complicated. Later we went down to Pahia where we went on a boat trip around the Bay of Islands and drove through the "Hole in the Rock" with a spot of Dolphin watching also thrown in for the price! The dolphins came really close to the ...

... and sightseeing in the rain is not so nice. The first night in the car was not the best of experiences either - we ended up parking the car on a layby on a smaller road and it was raining, making it a bit noisy... hmmm... is the car bedroom such a good idea in the end? The windows were all steamed up in the morning! <br><br>The next day we drove up in the Kauri forests on the Western Coast. Kauri are native trees of NZ, massive tree trunks with girths (radius) of more than 10 ...

... and star gazing and then the real brave could go for a moonlight swim! And I was one of the brave ones! At least I pretended to be brave but I was sh*tting myself! Kept expecting Jaws or some crazed eels to come along and eat me or something!! But I survived and got back on board for a well earned cup of tea by the log fire before heading off to my bunk to the sound of the waves and kiwis and dolphins! Pure heaven! What a great way to end my second week!!