Anchor House Paihia

... and I'm glad I didn't do a six hour hike on my own!<br><br>So I decided to move north and come to the beach... I bought a STRAY bus pass as I'd sold Lola on when I first got to Taupo... I quite like travelling this way as they stop off for photographs and interesting sights along the way and you get to meet other people... its also valid for a year and you can hop on or off wherever you like. I had to spend another night in Auckland whilst ...

... again and after a while stopped at a small island and ate sandwiches on the beach. When we got back Will, Shay and Karen went to the viewpoint. I went for a walk to the golf course, on the way I saw some great views, watched some local fisherman and saw the sunset. Whilst strolling back I indulged in some fish and chips, and after met up with everyone and went to Salty's bar. After we went back to the ...

... artist Hundertwasser. When in Vienna a year ago we visited his gallery and his mini-village, but being in the total outbacks of NZ and seeing this toilet seemed too obscure for words. Seriously, of all the places in the world he chooses Wakawaka to place public toilet. Words fail me! Anyway, it was, as always with his art, great fun and wacky and we enjoyed this brief detour before moving on to Paihia. Woke up late today (ever since we have reached NZ we seem to be sleeping our ...

... As we got out to rinse off and grab a bite to eat, we discovered there was no water left in the taps, leaving us to spend the rest of day salty. Bloody tourists! We headed North to Cape Regiana. Here you can see clearly the line where the Tasman sea meets the Pacific Ocean. The view from the lighthouse is certainly impressive, but was somewhat spoilt by the hoards of tourists surrounding it. There wasn't much left to do, but drive back along 90 mile beach (which is actually 63 miles ...

... C*liforni*n redwood) which is reputedly 150,000 ye*rs old. After * longish drive we fin*lly *rrive *t C*pe Reing* which is *s f*r north in New Ze*l*nd th*t you c*n go *nd where the T*sm*n se* *nd P*cific oce*n meet. Its *bsolutely stunning but full of tourists(including me of course). We then he*d off for * spot of s*nd bo*rding, which involves * ridiculously h*rd w*lk up * gig*ntic s*nd dune *nd then sliding b*ck down on * bo*rd ...

... hat on returning to Paihia. We had paid an extra NZ$30 each to swim with the dolphins but, although we saw two pods of dolphins, we weren't allowed to swim with them and so had our money refunded at the end of the trip. Conservation rules mean that swimming with the dolphins is not permitted when they have young in the pod or at all for two hours over lunchtime to ...

... She's Austrian. Close.) Abi and Carmel have gone out for a drink because it's Abi's 25th birthday today, but she is still hungover from this weekend, when she celebrated properly in Auckland, so they're not having a big night, and I decided to give it a miss because I am KO'd from the drive and the walk - although oddly, felt very sleepy on the drive, but the walk woke me up a lot - then we stopped for some chips on the way down the beach ...

... know a fellow from London England. He's been travelling for a while and has stayed in New Zealand for five years, two of which have been on the North Island. He has stayed here in Paihia for two months and is planning to get a sky diving degree. I call him the adventure seeker, but he came from being a math teacher so I guess the numbers got to him. After breakfast and the usually morning rituals we decided to go check on the grants to see if Grandpa was able ...

... across the rocks to get to the very edge of land for a fantastic view across the Bay of Islands - at this point we'll let the pictures do the talking. Sam ordered me off the rocks and back to the beach as the tide was starting to come in and we then headed up the very VERY steep hill to the flagstaff view point and were dismayed to find when we got there that the place was roped off with workman sitting around not ...

... see numerous bottlenose dolphins swimming beside our boat where for 30 Dollars more you can get the chance to swim with theses dolphins. Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky as every pod had a baby dolphin in making swimming with them prohibited as it is dangerous for the curious youngsters, disrupting their frequent meals where they need to be fed every 20 minutes from the mother so they can build up their fat supply and avoid falling into hypothermia and resultantly death. On this trip you ...