Leaving 'Tutukaka' on a bright, frosty morning, we headed north on the 'Matapouri road' and then east towards 'Whananaki South'. Passing through woods and fields of cattle, we spotted a bunch of wild peacocks, which scattered as soon as we got near to them. We had already seen several groups of wild turkeys in the previous few days. Near 'Motuta...

Today we left from Whangarei to go the Paihia, where will will stay for the next 5 days. The drive is about an hour and a half if you don't stop, but we did several times along the way. We found several geo-caches along the way. At one point, we were on a bit of a hike to find one and Aron told me that there was a horse hidden in a thicket by th...

Awesome diving in the Poor Knights Islands. Started with a very rough crossing. Most people had to resort to the use of bags. I'm sure they were highly amused by the crew writing things such as 'breakfast' and 'fill line' on the bags. It's amazing how much some people have to eat for their breakfast. Only Anne (Dive buddy), Julie (GER) and mysel...

It was time to leave Auckland after a brilliant few days. For the next 3 weeks we are going to travel around New Zealand in a camper van. This time we have decided to get a smaller campervan as the last one was a bit posh, we didn't even use the shower and toilet as we always stayed at campsites so we thought we should save our money. We booked ...

Kia Oro Bro!!! At the moment we're in Paihia and on Day 3 of the adventure. We arrived in Auckland on friday night. Had a look around the city (looks a lot like any Aussie city - felt like we were walking down Hindley Street in the main street). Had a lovely Japanese meal then headed for a few beers. Woke up early the next morning and headed for...

Hi all, I thought I'd give you a quick update on what's been going on the last couple of weeks. First thing to report was an incident whilst I was teaching a couple of weeks ago. It was the end of a two day course and we were sailing back in towards the dock with gusty winds on the bow when all of a sudden, the whole mast fell over the side, tak...

Headed back to Auckland for a few days to have a staoat about and see the City Sights!! Went up the Auckland Sky Tower and had a look at the view round the City, bays and the surrounding Islands - could see for miles as the weather was great! They boast the biggest Marina in the Southern Hemisphere (think it might be the world but cant remember)...

Hi Everyone, We left Auckland on Monday morning in search of better weather up north, which experiences a micro-climate in New Zealand therefore not getting a Winter. We headed towards Paihia which is a small village situated on the Bay of Islands. The following day we went to the Waitangi Treaty site, it was here in 1840, that the Treaty of Wai...

I set out on my own, heading into the north tip of NZ. I had a few stops along the way before I was to get to Paihia. Unfortunately, I got a late start out of Auckland and didn't have much time to see anything along the way. And then, while trying to drive, navigate and plan what I was doing and where I was going, I ended up cruising down some g...

19.38 - For my last full day in Paihia, it has been pretty **** really. Same as every other day, get up, have a shower, eat breakfast, then go into town to check my e-mails. Again, I had nothing in my inbox so it didn't take very long for me to check them. If the writing here is illegible it's because I am writing in the dark at the Pipi Patch b...