The North of The North
On 8th June 2017 by HelenI’m here in New Zealand and I have to say this country is pretty impressive. I started my trip in Auckland which seems a beautiful city though I only spent a few hours there before crashing out in my hostel room due to my 6 hour flight landing at 6:30am and not being able to check in until 1pm…one very sleepy girl! I honestly though would avoid Nomads in Auckland at all costs if you’re travelling here. I paid for a private ensuite room which wasn’t the cheapest and I was disappointed. Firstly the kitchen had birds flapping in it, secondly something bit me in the kitchen, thirdly something kept biting me in my room and it wasn’t a mosquito! The room was barley big enough to fit me and my case in and then to top it off it was full of flies and I needed fly spray! However not to be too negative I told myself it was only one night and I had just been incredibly spoilt for the past month staying in amazing homes with double beds and clean bathrooms and that tomorrow was a new day filled with excitement.
Monday morning came and it was time to start my Kiwi Experience. To say I was a little apprehensive was an understatement. It certainly wasn’t cheap even though I got a good deal but I was nervous to be travelling somewhere new, meeting new people and was worried it would be a complete party bus. So far I have been pleasantly surprised.
The bus picked us up at 7:15am and I had the best people I could have possibly asked for sharing it with me. All of us immediately clicked and we had a great time driving from Auckland to Paihia (pronounced Pie-here). The journey was 4.5hours including stops, one of which was a gorgeous waterfall. Our driver was Jarrad for this part of the trip and he was so funny. If you didn’t get sarcasm or banter you’d have been screwed but we were all cracking up.
We arrived about mid day in Paihia also known as The Bay of Islands. It’s is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. I spent the afternoon exploring the small town and having coffee in a lovely restaurant which is all outside and looks straight into the harbour at a couple of small islands which are situated there. Some of the people on our tour went on a boat trip to see the islands and saw dolphins, penguins and seals. Although I’d have loved to do that I’m trying to be sensible with the money and Kiwi make everything sound so appealing that I could be bankrupt in a week.
Tuesday came and it was awesome. After another very early 7:15am start we were heading to the most northerly point of the north island, Cape Reinga which was included in my package. It was a long 11 hour day but so good. It was run by another coach company and our tour guide was Tanya and she was great to listen to. She is from a Mauri and English mix background and was a wealth of knowledge.
We started the day going to see the Kauri trees which are so unbelievably tall. The land used to be covered in them but due to humans and acts of nature some have been chopped down or buried and that’s how the farm land has come about through cleared forests. We were told that although spelt Kauri it is actually pronounced ‘Cody’ and Maori is ‘Mardy’ as the the -au/-ao- letters make a D sound.
Following this the next stop was Taipa for a morning coffee and toilet break and then the long drive to Cape Regina. It was a beautiful drive looking at all the hills, valleys and farmland, lots of cows and sheep.
The Cape was stunning with a lighthouse and views for miles around. You could see The Three Kings Island where the Maori people believe their spirit goes when they pass away to look back on the country, their friends and family before they sing a departing song and make their way to a mythical island as their final resting place. I thought that was a lovely way to believe and know the path of your spirit.
The only disappointing thing was after 4.5 hours of driving we only got 45minutes there.
However next stop…Sandboarding. This is something I have wanted to try as it looks so much fun, although we were all a little put off by the fact our driver told us people have broken collar bones and arms. We were taken to ‘the beginners’ slope (hahaha), this thing was massive! I was determined though to say ‘Yes’ and have a go. I’m glad I did. Although on a video I look like I’m going slowly it felt soooooo fast. I got absolutely covered in sand and water at the end. Definitely a once in a lifetime thing but it was fun.
From here we drove along a dry river bed and onto 90 mile beach where we stopped for a quick photo op’ then continued to drive along it. The beach is only 55 miles long, it was an error in maths by some early settlers which gave it its name.
Final stop of the day was Mangonui for a fish and chip dinner, sadly not for me as there weren’t gluten free options (something even early on I’m finding a challenge, supermarkets aren’t quite the same as Aus and restaurant choices are very limited). Myself and two of the other girls went for a walk whilst the others were eating into the township to look around and even saw some stingrays swimming in the sea!
Final destination for the day was the hostel and all I could manage was dinner and a chat with the group before being and old person and going to bed!
Wednesday was another epic day. Myself and Elise decided we would walk the full circle from Paihia to Russel estimated time 6 hours. It was such a challenging walk and in total took the full 6 hours and was 21km in length. The walk was a mix of beach, bushland and boardwalks and my goodness it was hard work but the scenery we saw was awesome. There’s so much wildlife we don’t have in the UK and the great thing is, compared to Australia none of it will kill you here! We also walked passed oyster farms which were vast but I hadn’t seen them before so it was a pretty impressive site. We reached Russel at 4pm and we ran to catch the ferry before it left. I don’t think two people have ever been more grateful to sit down.
The evening was relaxed. I met up with Charlie, Dan and Matt from Sydney who are a bus journey behind me with Kiwi. It was fantastic to see them again. We watched The Lions match in our hostel which sadly we lost and then we all went to bed.
The final morning was very relaxed, just taking another walk around the town and looking in the church. The church although not original is built where the first ever church in New Zealand stood.
In the afternoon we drove back to Auckland for the next part of our trip. I am definitely going to be back to The Bay of Islands three days just wasn’t long enough.
Wifi is very limited here so I’ll upload where and when I can for the rest of the trip!!
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