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 ...