Bay of Islands

Waiting for us on the Paihia wharf at 4:00pm were the crew of The Rock, an overnight boat cruise. We were ferried out to the boat with the 30-or-so other people joining us for the next 24 hours. The vessel itself is a big red ferry-type boat with a lower deck devoted to food and entertainment, and an upper deck full of cabins.

Sunset on the boat

I felt somewhat like I was at Spring Camp at RKY, knowing that the crew does the exact same routine day after day after day to the same bunch of smiling tourists; I hope we do as good a job back at camp as these guys, because they genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves. The fun began with everyone on board taking aim at a plastic duck floating behind the boat with a paintball gun; shoot the duck and you'd win a free drink at the bar. No one managed to hit her. Trailing next to the duck was a fishing line which bobbed up when a fish bit - whoever noticed would yell "Fish on!" and a crew member would pull it in; we managed to catch a couple of fish that way. When the boat was anchored, about 15 fishing rods were pulled out and everyone took their chances at catching some snapper. I got nothing but a couple of nibbles, but wasn't too fazed. The fish contributed to the massive buffet dinner we ate at around 8, which also included steak, potato salad, greens, beets, bread, and more.


Later in the evening we went night kayaking in small groups to check out the bioluminescent plankton in the water (haven't taken oceanography? Youtube "bioluminescence" and there are plenty of cool creatures to see - this video is similar to what we were experiencing). It was pretty cool, but not as cool as when we decided to go for a night swim and suddenly the water lit up bright green with every stroke. It was chilly though so we didn't last long; we warmed up by the fire at the back of the boat before heading to bed. 

Sunrise

Kina

It was a squishy sleep - I feel bad for anyone tall considering my head and feet were both touching the walls! I got up before sunrise, and was lucky enough to see that another gorgeous day was unfolding. After a big breakfast, we went snorkeling. I didn't see too many exciting creatures apart from a school of electric blue fish, but our mission was to collect kina, a spiky type of sea urchin whose innards are popular among kiwis. When they'd been cracked open and scooped out, everyone got a taste - I can't say I'm a big fan of salty brown goo.

Next, the boat took us to a large beach we had all to ourselves on one of the many islands. We walked up to the top of the island and the view was incredible - blue water and green islands for 360 degrees. Back on the beach I played a little volleyball with some Norwegians, an Irishman and some Americans while Kelsey and Drea read. After a picnic lunch we returned to the boat and basked in the afternoon sun while we putted back to Paihia. The boat trip had gone by so quickly but was a TON of fun, I'd recommend it to anyone who is heading to the Bay of Islands!

We took the bus back to Auckland that afternoon, crashed in a hostel that night (our sweet slumber interrupted by two shuffly, angry, swearing older guys at about midnight ... not so fun) and flew back to Christchurch the next morning. It hadn't been a long trip but it was so worth it! Seeing the sub-tropical part of New Zealand really made me realize how insanely gorgeous this country is considering its size. The beauty of New Zealand was confirmed even more by our flight back to Christchurch; the skies were crystal clear so we had an amazing view of the Southern Alps and hills of Canterbury.

View from the plane

Paihia

After an early rise and 4 hours on a bus, we arrived in Paihia. Once again, I've created a high-tech digital image for anyone who finds typing Auckland and Paihia into Google too difficult. They are both located in the Northern tip of New Zealand, which is what the map shows:

Auckland in the lower right, Paihia marked by the A.

Excellent - now we're all geographically set. When we arrived in Paihia the weather was miserable. We explored a bit but were deterred by the rain, so we ended up snuggling in front of the TV in our hostel, the amazing Saltwater Lodge, and watching a movie. Nothing else of any excitement happened that day.

The next morning, I woke up and was incredibly happy to see the sun was shining. Drea had been predicting another day of rain, but my optimism won out (or NZ's lack of correct meteorological data, either one) and it was a beautiful day. I took a few shots in the early morning fearing it would cloud over again, but the day just got even better.

 











Our hostel had bikes that were free to take out for a ride, so we all hopped on enthusiastically. Sadly, they were poor fits and the biking was pretty uncomfortable, but we toughed it out anyway. We rode to Waitangi, the area where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. It suddenly looked like we were in Ireland - the scenery of New Zealand never ceases to amaze me.

 
While Drea went for a run, Kelsey and I hiked through mangrove forests and along boardwalks to Haruru Falls. It was a beautiful walk and the falls were a lot bigger than we'd been expecting!

After biking back to Paihia, we regrouped and spent the afternoon lying on the beach enjoying the sun. Our next adventure awaited us out on the water ...

Auckland

Auckland Sky Tower

After what felt like too long being static in Christchurch, Easter break finally arrived and it was time for another adventure. Drea, Kelsey and I flew up to Auckland on April 24th and spent the day exploring the city. Unfortunately for us, Easter Sunday is not a very exciting day in a city. Needless to say we got pretty bored and ended up seeing an IMAX movie, but not before I tried on a leather jacket in one of the few stores that was open, which turned out to cost an incredible $1500!!! It was made from BABY LAMB wool and skin, and apparently not that many baby lambs die each year, resulting in the outrageous cost.

We went out for dinner after the movie (lucky for us most restaurants were open so we had a lot of choice). We chose a restaurant called Buffalo which had great food but very poor ambiance - conveniently there was good music at the restaurant next door so we tuned out our place's pop beats and listened to the Spanish guitarist instead. I decided to put being a vegetarian on a bit of a hold (sorry Mar) and celebrate Easter with lamb shanks and mashed potatoes - thought about my dad while eating them, hope you're proud! It was absolutely delicious.

In Albert Park

We spent the night at a hostel and got up early the next morning for our bus ride which would be taking us up north (remember, Northern Hemisphere inhabitants, that heading north in NZ means getting warmer!).