Haruru Falls Resort Bay Of Islands Paihia

... drinkies at the bar, and met even more travellers that have already done our areas, and got us excited for everything else. We keep saying "I can't wait to go there!': but we've got sooooo much to do before those things that we're just super-excited constantly.

Yesterday we had to again get up at stupid a'clock for the bus to take us north to Cape Reinga, where the Pacific and Tasman meet - you can actually see it!!craaaazy ...

... They have a really awesome root system and they are a canopy tree that survives next to the shore of salt water supplies.  It was really awesome.  That's my favourite part of these things.  Learning about the natural elements that you would not otherwise see or experience first hand.   Once we headed back to our hostel to drop Iain off he let us use the showering facilities before heading to check our emails and then head ...

... helped. I continued my drive upwards to the town of Paihia, which is in the glorious bay of islands.  After a day of driving i needed a stroll so i wandered along the beach taking in the vision of the islands and the sea. It was pretty cold by now so  headed home for the night. Next morning i went uptown about a killometre to a town called Waitangi where there are the grounds in which the treaty between the english and the maori people was signed.  It was ...

... Kauri trees - a protected tree because they take 1,000 years to grow minimum. When NZ was colonised the British like the Kauri trees because they have no branches until the very top thus making them very strong to build with. We then went to some world famous toilets at Kawakawa! An Austrian artist, Hundertwasser used to spend all of his spare time in Kawakawa and 5 years before his death in 2000, the council asked him to design the public toilets. They are the most ...

... historically changed hands, they got a damn good deal. I was finally well enough last night to hit the town. Russell isn't exactly a happening place, I had to concede to the bar-tender at the Pub. That's what it is called; "The Pub". He told me that food is better elsewhere. I moved on down the orad and ordered some fish at a restaurant. And a large pint of beer. I invited myself to sit with a random ...

... After dinner was served the activities weren't over for the day. We both went on the night kayaking to see the bioluminescence of the sea at night. This is a form of algae that can be seen best at night. Every time something moves in the water you can see the glow of the algae following the object; it's amazing. After breakfast the next morning the crew found a good location for snorkelling. The water was really cold so wet suits were a definite ...