Pacific Coast Backpackers Lodge Tauranga

... was fun but I did have to get on, start it and drive it away in front of 3 strangers who though I new what I was doing. Despite a small problem getting it out of reverse I was fine, maybe not smooth but no one has ever looked at a tractor and gone 'wow, that's smooth'. <br><br>In other exciting news I went out to the pub this evening and was exhausted and got drunk on 3 pints but it was Bridget (a fellow pickers) birthday and the idle pub chat was good. <br><br><br>

... they didn't really give me any more trouble luckily! <br> The big news came on my 3rd day in the mount...the hostel I had been staying at did a deal for the dolphin swimming trip that I had been wanting to go on since I had picked up the leaflet in Rotorua en route to Vicky's in 2008! They offered 2 nights accommodation and the dolphin swim for $130 but for the first two nights that I stayed, the trip didn't go ahead because of bad weather! So ...

... but he says theres a real drug problem in new zealand based around cannabis ( home produced not imported, which grows like wildfire) and also strong or pure amphetamine called P this takes account of a load of his work dealing with prisoners who have drug psychosis etc. He also told me that despite the propaganda kiwis don't work as hard as they make out and are much less efficient than i'm constantly led to believe by ...

... having spent $80 I was determined to earn some money today. I passed to more motorized wheel chairs, they must have had a really good special offer on them or something. I earned about $12, I arrive in time for lunch (one of my top 3 meals) and then we did an hours work before it was rained off. So I cycled home it took about 50mins. When I got home, I noticed a shard of metal in my back tire (the new one!), more rude words but when I pulled it out ...

... and a song before we were invited to join in and follow a dance with them. Next they showed us a Haka (war dance, like the one the All Blacks do before a rugby match) and a Poi (women's dance with little squeeze balls on strings). And with that, the group was split with us 5 blokes going back in the kitchen to learn the Haka, and the 15 women going off to learn the Poi (I have been saying that there was an excellent balance of the sexes in this group :) ) 20 ...

... as well as not being particularly steep so we could get the hang of it. Flis did her second ride on the intermediate track and Henry unsuprisingly went for the advanced. We then had a while before we had to get back on the bus to continue to Mount Maunganui so after having our sarnies for lunch waited patiently outside for the bus to reappear. After a lot more driving we finally arrived in Mount Maunganui, late afternoon. Mount M is New Zealands main holiday ...

... like my room for some reason, and I've beaten a number into the carpet after they've jumped off the wall at me (I didn't think roaches could jump. They may be going for my eyes, trying to get revenge for their dead brethren, but they more or less flop onto the floor, where I quickly beat them to death with a sneaker. You'd be surprised how many wallops the 2-inchers can take before finally becoming immobilized). Work has been allright. I've been working long hours ...

... for a nice salady dinner, and a couple fo glasses of wine to recover from the run!! All I really knew about Mt. Maunganui was that it was a cool little town, with really great surf beaches, and it definatly lived up to that! When we woke up the next morning and headed into town, the gorgeous mount stood high about the town, which had plenty of surfy and hippyish shops and of ...

... was a real treat as Uncle Boy puts on a nice home cooked meal for us and then has his family and friends perform a traditional Moari show. The males ranged in age from 3 to about 50 and were dressed in traditional garb (basically a grass skirt). Once they men and women performed their dances, we were then split in to two groups. The girls were taught and performed a dance for the guys ...

... cultural stop at Uncle Buoys stopping off for a beautiful walk around Mt. Monganui. After here we went to a scruffy little hut which turned out to be the backpacker accommodation at Uncle Buoys! It was not exactly good quality especially with the wall of my room missing! As it turned out, it was well worth the $35 we paid for it. We had a good meal followed by some interesting cultural history and information. After this, the lads ...