Tui Motel Paihia

... schmutzigem Motoröl-deshalb dauerte es etwa 5 Minuten, bis der Motor aufhäulte. Gut. Erstmal los!<br><br><br><br><br>Brav schnurrend windet sich das Wäggeli kurvige Straßen entlang, gesäumt von hügeligen, grünen Wiesen beiderseits. Auf den Feldern weiden meist schwarz-weiße Kühe oder Schafe. Selten zieht ein kleines Häuschen oder ein einfacher Hof vorbei. Eigentlich erinnert mich die Szenerie stark an den Bregenzerwald-die beengenden Berge ...

... because its just so layed back!<br><br>Spend one night in an even smaller town, Coromandel Town, before heading north. Cute little place, where alot of gold was found in the 1800's.<br><br>On the morning of our 8 hr bus trip, Will lost his front tooth!!!! Poor guy was biting into a peice of toast when the thing just fell out. It was a tooth that he knocked out as a kid and had been a fake one since then. We were able to get it put back in ...

... off fishing at 8.30am for 4 hours, whilst the girls got a bit of a lie in until 9am before going on a Te Waka Tour at 10am. The girls walked down to the beach where Nick was just setting up for the trip, just off the shore dolphins were playing and heading for a feed. We watched the dolphins until it was time to set off on the trip - our group was made up of a family who were visiting their daughter who had just got married, mum and dad who were divorced, brother ...

... when describing the scenery but again it was 'awesome' although I have the horrible feeling we're getting used to it. Anyway, after a very long drive we couldn't have been more disappointed to see the B&amp;B we were booked into for 4 nights. A 'too far to walk' distance out of town, down a suicidal driveway (not joking and hard to negotiate sober!) and really naff. A downstairs apartment with two bedrooms suites; one ...

... and the Maori tribes from around the island signed a treaty to found the nation and create a government. We didn't plan on visiting because we knew there would be a steep fee ($20NZD), but a nice couple from our hostel had purchased a two-day pass and passed it on to us for a free entry! The Treaty Grounds were in a beautiful area high on a hill overlooking the Bay. There were Pohutukawa trees blooming red and beautiful blue waters. The ...

... we were there, there was a massive bike race on and the weather was scorching. The atmosphere was amazing and we were really lucky just to have got the right weekend, i'm not sure it would have been as good during the week. After two days there, we went down to Palmerston North and stayed in a little park caravan site for two nights, it was a quiet place but great for catching up on our washing and such like! Next we headed down to ...

... from the Otago region and we ended up chatting about traveling to South America for about a half an hour. it was kinda cool, sitting in that tour guide chair, with nothing in front of you but the huge windshield and the open road. we reached Paihia at around 1pm and I checked into my room and picked a bed (and it was a bottom bunk for once! woo hoo!). it was an 8 girl dorm room which didn't phase me, but we were all sharing one bathroom. 8 girls ...

... return my grandfathers bank card. He has to wait untill monday, when all the "things" that were in the machine get taken to the bank, in hopes of retreaving it. We were able to book the tour though, we paid in cash and they were able to give us a ticket manually. I wanted to buy an internet card from an info site, 5$ for 1h 15 mins but they couldn't sell anythign with the power out. They rely on electricity to power their computers, their cash registers and their phones. The ...

... At McDonalds we buy an internet card for $3.00 for an hour. In their internet café they let you download pictures and burn CDs. Loaded down with groceries we head back to our motel to settle in. Feeling a little "knoted up" after our drive we decide to relieve our driving stress by soaking in the outdoor hot tub. Big mistake - we have forgotten about the summer hazard of mosquitoes - they soon have Al running for cover! While ...

... so far and by far! I had to drag myself away from Spirits Bay to get headed to the furthers point North in New Zealand which is Cape Reinga. This is basically just a little bit of land high up on the cliffs with a light house, but below the cliff is the most stunning views of golden postcard beaches and the crashing swirlling waves where the Pacific Ocean colides with the Tasman Sea. It was well cool looking! On the way back I picked up ...