Kingsgate Hotel Whangerai Whangarei

... next to the house are over 40 avocado trees. That was about as much enjoyment as we got out of it, because the second we met Bonny, the woman who lived there, we realized we were in for a rough couple of days. Immediately upon arrival she let us know that she's "honest" and that it can be "off-putting" sometimes, which translated into her being rude most of the time. We won't get into all the stories, but a few highlights are her refusal to give Peter the WiFi password until we ...

... money (it costs extra on buses) and stress but I'm already regretting it. I had to WALK to the hostel from the bus stop, it took ages, there are some waterfalls I would have gone to see but there to far. I miss my bike already and its only been 12hrs!

On the plus side we've all (me, Bridget and Lorraine) arrived at the hostel. We've been joined by Gary, Blythe and Kate who are also working at the show.

We wanted to go see the Whangarei Falls (What's in a name...), but if we had relied on Chrissy to get us there we would have ended up an hour further north at the Haruru Falls. Despite having being in Whangarei multiple times herself, Chrissy didn't even know there were any falls in Whangarei. In the end however she agreed that it was a very pretty waterfall :) Thankfully we had Yoda to consult on how to get there (our GPS uses Yoda's voice to give its instructions for ...

... We saw lots of kelp, big kingfish, snapper, bluefish and loads of massive stingrays which could easily take out Steve Irwin let alone us. It was great being on our own, the visibility was good but I still would have felt better with a compass. The second dive was even better, Blue Maomao Arch but there was a massive current running both past and through the tunnel-like arch. There was a lot of divers too so we got separated for a bit then when we popped up at the ...

... like leaving bruising on your skin rain) or both or sunny (it has trouble making up its mind some times). I made it about 5km down the road and fearing I'd either get blown off or onto the road or maybe just freeze to death I turned round and went back to the bad advice giving Kaihu Farm. Everyone seemed OK with my return, they were all driving so couldn't say much (I was a bit ashamed of my quiting attitude but I'm holiday and would like to live ...

... op een normaal tempo zwemt kan je dus nooit op tijd op en neer gaan. Ik heb regelmatig de bodem aangeraakt en ben tegen de rotsen opgebotst!! Ik was na de eerste keer niet helemaal zeker of ik duiken wel leuk vindt. Hoewel het zeker iets is wat je ooit gedaan moet hebben weet ik niet zeker of ik mijn Padi wil gaan halen. Onder water moest je ook verschillende tests uitvoeren zoals je luchtpijp uithalen en de reserve pijp van de ...

... our way up to the 200m high summit through a dark, moist forest. When we got to the top we were rewarded with a stunning view over the surrounding area along with five rock pinnacles (figures of Maori mythology who were struck by lightning and petrified where they stood) reaching upwards. After we rested and caught our breath we began the descent, only to discover that the return track of the circular route was closed due to heavy rock slippages, so we had to ...

... omapäi minna. See tasus end ära, sest saime esimeste seas alla ja seetõttu, ei pidanud kannatama üles keeratud põhjakatet. Nähtavus oli siin veelgi parem ca 25m. Väga lopsakas taimestik ja õnnestus näha ka raid ujumas. See graatsia on meeldejääv. Tiheda taimestiku sünkroniseeritud edasi-tagasi liikumine tekitas tunde, et hoopis üksikud väljapaistvad kivid ja korallid õõtsuvad J. Mitmekülgne põhjareljeef tekitas aia efekti, kus mõlemal pool võis olla roheline hekk ja sina ujud piki k ...

... in Alien or maybe I just drunk too much wine. It was getting a bit cool outside so we decided to get in and watch a DVD. We laid back in our bed and were amazed to find that the picture was better than our TV at home and we have Dolby surround sound in the van, there are speakers right by our pillows, it is amazing - although the film was **** (there wasn't much to choose from). Afterwards, we snuggled under our duvet and the bed is so lovely and comfortable. There ...