Motel Kerigold Exclusive Chalets Kerikeri

... lebt haette. Ab** die Redcliffs, die auf einem Schild standen, reizten uns mehr - es dau**te wohl 15 Minuten (die Sonne war dann schon unt**gegangen) bis wir m**kten, dass nur die Strasse "Redcliffs Rd" hiess (dass Rd war in ganz miniklein dahint** geschrieben...). Tja, so kann man sich irren :-)<br><br>Am Montag schauten wir uns noch Rewa's Village an - ein nachgebautes Maoridorf. Auss**dem liessen wir uns** Auto von einem Mechanik** unt**suchen, da ein komisches ...

... looker after of far too many animals mainly of the equine variety. There were at last count 15 horses scattered all over the country side in various paddocks, 1 dog, 3 cats, 1 dragon (not Lord of the Rings style but yes an actual dragon), 1 lizard, a turtle, many fish, 4 chickens, a rabbit, 2 peacocks (on occassion) and 3 extremely naughty goats. All in all it was a mad house. To our delight there were another couple there already WWOOFing and have since become firm ...

... in NZ, so it feels even hotter than it is. Score! Elliott was really cool, and he was from South Perth originally (a really nice area) we had quite a bit in common as he was studying architecture and his sister was a famous Radio DJ in Sydney who had studied drama and been in musicals etc. By 2pm we'd both hit a brick wall and both needed sleep so I headed back to my hostel and he headed back to the airport when he was ...

... some very uncharitable things about this situation but I won't repeat them because I want you to believe I'm a nicer person than that. So on Friday I'm cutting my losses and moving on. I've bought a little mirror for my bike so I'm ready for the highway. I can't decide if I can make it the whole 97km to Whangarei or if I should go back to Paihia first (25km away and then go from there ...

... the marina was just the place, I managed to resist asking for Fush n Chups but was tickled when my order for Fish and Chips was relayed back to me as Fush n Chups - BRILLIANT!! We returned back to the campsite following the coast all the way this time, with full bellies and freshly warmed up after a cool cruise. The last evening at the Beachside we decided the route we would take north the following day and settled in for the night uner the stars and nice wine.

I had to get up really early, 5:30 :-S Caught the bus back to the airport and got chatting to a nice Dutch girl on the bus. She was doing a bit of a mad trip too for a few weeks! See, I'm not the only one ;-) She too felt that for just a bit more than a flight to NZ, you could get a RTW ticket instead. I got off at the Domestic airport for my flight up to Kaitaia. I went through and boarded the tiniest plane I have ever seen! It had the propellers on the outside, the ones I ...

... After, walking round the car park in the dark for a few minutes we finally located our car and headed off northwards to Paihia, in the Bay of Islands. 3hrs or so later we arrived at our hotel, Paihia Pacific Resort Hotel. As we arrived just outside reception hours, they had left an envelope sellotaped to the door. This seems to be commonplace in NZ as we had the same thing when we went to do the Tongariro Crossing. On Saturday ...

... off to far deeper than I can dive. There were fish everywhere, Blue Moamoa, tiny snapper, baitfish in huuuge schools and even a few Leatherjackets. I quickly spotted some mussels growing on top of the structure and was blown away by their size, easily 6 or 7 inches long and half that wide. I started yanking them off the rocks but kept running out of air by the time I'd grabbed one or two. They really hold on by the time they get that big. Silvan told me the big ...

... of old buildings with shops, cafes and hotels. We enjoyed a nice lunch outdoors at a cafe along of the waterfront of corn fritters and clam chowder. After that, we persuaded ourselves to walk up the 300 foot Flagstaff Hill where we got a nice view of the Bay of Islands and found a geocache.

... hence it was the scene of much fighting where it kept being chopped down by the Maori leaders. Now its a pretty place with café's, gift shops, motels etc.... On one of the photo's, it looks across the bay to Waitangi where the Treaty was signed between the Maori chiefs and representatives of Queen Victoria's government for the beginning of NZ and appropriate rights for Maori people. Its ...