Scenic Circle Beachcomber Paihia

... left our coats in the hotel. Ooops! It's still sunny in Russell for an hour or so, so we explore the old town. Russell incidentally is one of the earliest settlements in NZ and many of the houses are a couple hundred years old. They are wooden in the 'colonial' style and very picturesque. <br><br>Eventually the black clouds catch us and then the rain hammers down. Luckily we take refuge in Sally's cafe overlooking the bay and partake of tea and cake for the hour or so it takes to stop ...

... were lucky in that we got to see the dolphins (which was good as yesterday Ed didn't see any), we managed to get near them and were given permission to swim with them. Karen and me were the only people on our boat doing it, we had to wait till we got really close, with out wet suit and snorkelling gear on we went in. The sea was quite cold, although after a while you didn't notice. We were told by the staff to swim hard and fast as the dolphins kept moving ...

... island of Mururoa and had come to New Zealand en route to Mururoa, it docked in Auckland harbour and was bombed. The ship sank and one person died, and this of course caused chaos between the French and NZ. The culprits were later tried in a NZ court and sentenced to 10 years but the French arranged for them to do their time on the small French Polyneasian island of Hao. What a way to serve time, and most NZ thought this proposperous ...

... useful, as I now had soaking wet tangled hair and no way of sorting it out until I got back to the hostel. Not really a good look. On the way back, at the last minute, we managed to find some dolphins and watched as they swam around and under the boat, taking a good look at us. It was certainly a nice way to pass the afternoon. The next day most of us had the Cape Regiana trip booked, an excursion to the most Northerly point of New Zealand. None of really knew what to expect. Our ...

... light, those beasts all came in... Sandra looked at me and we both started to laugh, closed the window and killed the last ones. We went to bed exhausted, jejejejejejejeej Wie jeden morgen standen wir auf und hatten Fruehstueck bevor wir dann nach Paihia fuhren, ein Ort der schoen ist fuer Ferien aber sehr touristisch. Dort angekommen gingen wir zur Info und buchten einen Trip zum "Loch im Felsen" in Cape Brett fuer den naechsten Tag. Nach einem Kaffee begaben wir uns zu den Haruru ...

... s really beautiful up here, I can't even tell you - the drive up was fantastic, but it's been really overcast and a bit wet today, so I didn't stop as much as I might have done if it were nicer weather. It was about a three hour drive to the Bay of Islands, I left Auckland a little before 12, I reckon, after doing the car stuff and getting some petrol, and then I stopped for a late lunch, but I was here a bit before 4. Not too bad. Got my key ...

Maandag 14 Juli Als ik wakker wordt bel ik met intercity, de bus maatschappij, en boek een kaartje op de volgende bus. Ik stap samen met mijn duikmaatje in de taxi naar het bus station. Zij vertrekt richting Auckland, ik richting Paihia. Mijn bus komt niet lang na haar bus dus blijf ik maar bij de bushalte wachten tot mijn bus komt. Voor mij is de rit iets meer dan een uur ...

Having decided against enjoying a warm soak in the natural thermals of hot water beach in the approaching storm we headed back through the Coromandal region undecided on our next port. Jake had some mountainous challenges whilst driving through this forest region and his efforts weren't always appreciated by the ever growing line of cars that frequently found themselves travelling at our unintentional siteseeing pace ...

We get an early start and the weather looks promising as we get back in the car and try a little more of this driving on the wrong side of the road. Fortunately it is only a short drive to Paihia. We get a parking space on the first stretch of beach and set off to walk to the Ferry Terminal about 15 minutes away. There is a closer car park but with expensive day rates and this is lovely walk along the beach ...