Fountain Lodge Motel Whangarei

... if I had not shoe horned myself into a size eight wetsuit. Thick suits make you more buoyant and I was particularly floaty so had almost my own body weight on my belt hampering my grace in the water considerably (and causing me to fall over on the boat before getting anywhere near the water). Still, we saw scorpion fish, moray eels and sting rays and dived a cave, a first for me. It’s the ...

... and very interesting places to pee. I never thought a bathroom would amaze me but I guess that's the wonder of New Zealand, you never know what's going to impress you next!

After eating a delicious lunch while the train passed through town, we made the final push to Whangarei. Upon arrival at our farm we were impressed with the facilities where all the growing takes place. They have several hot houses (greenhouses, to us normal folk) where they grow their vegetables, and ...

... 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 ...

... família completa. Fa molta gràcia. Al costat esquerra d'on ens sentem hi ha una cursa de llanches... van superràpid! Uau!!! Com que fa molta calor, decidim anar a dinar i fer la migdiada a algun lloc on hi hagi sombra... Després alguns jocs de taula i, pels volts de les 4.30pm tornarem a la platja a caminar i mandrejar... remullar-nos els peus amb l'aigua de l'Oceà Pacífic. Una bona amanida per sopar amb "palta" -avocado- que no falti, tomàquet, etc. I, descansar....

... best bit though was that we were allowed to go off on our own, everyone else on the boat opted to go with guides but Lucy and I decided (well I decided actually, she was scared) that we would go it alone. So we were given a dive computer and a quick briefing (but no compass) and jumped into the cold waters. After initial buoyancy problems with the thick suits we then started to argue about which was the right way to go. I knew my way around though, I'm great like ...

Vital Statistics: Journey Bus: Auckland to Wellsford - nice people, great views, no problems Bike: Wellsford to Paparoa - distance 64.4km (16 not fully loaded going to a boring museum), Average speed 16.90km/hr. Bike: Paparoa to Dargaville - distance 52.02km (give or take bit when the little computer didn't work) Average Speed 17.01km/hr Accommodation: Due to there being no backpacker hostels ...

After making the decision to lengthen our stay in NZ so we could see a little more of North Island as well as to avoid bankruptcy by a 9 night stay in Fiji, we moved our flights and booked a cheeky little 4 night Fiji package that hopefully will provide a flair conclusion to our epic trip! Following an enjoyable ...

... take around two hours. The signs by the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers stated the same, so we confidently strode towards the beginning of the walk. Around an hour of scrambling over vast tree roots, climbing steeper sections on all fours and slipping down mini descents on the edge of a rather precarious drop had us revise the DoC's definition of "moderate fitness". Em's frown had returned and little could rally her spirits. If anyone's reading who has seen ...

... his amazement when he commented on the breakfast he had eaten at his hotel in Auckland in the morning. "I saw so many things that I could not see back in Zimbabwe", he said. "Like what?" I asked, "Eggs, cheese, bacon, bread...." he went on. On my way out from Whangarei to Auckland I saw the couple again - this time in distance. Wandering around, windowshopping. We are both beginning to make NZ our new homes.