Bay of Islands and Roturua

On the 12th March we arrived at the 'Bay Adventure' Hostel in Paihia; Paihia being the main town in what is collectively known as the Bay of Islands; a peninsula to the north of Auckland full of bays and islands.

It couldn't have been any more different to Base in Auckland, The rooms had windows for a start! Big windows full height, the hostel was lovely. It even had a pool which was utilised to ease all the tension out of my shoulders that had built up in Auckland.

Our second but first full day we did the 'Cape Reinga' trip. Cape Reinga is the most northerly point in New Zealand, to get there we had to drive along '90 mile Beach' and sand surf down some massive sand dunes! 90 mile beach is a 73 mile beach (sic) designated as a state highway and it was a trip driving at 70mph along a beach...

but not as much fun as the sand surfing! It also remains the one thing I've been better at than Joe since we've been away- cos of my extra weight apparently.



Cape Reinga

 OK so we didn't 'have' to sand surf to get to the cape, we did however have to keep moving to get to the dunes as we were driving over quicksand and had we stopped would have been up to our nuts within 20 minutes! we survived and moved on to Tapotupotu Bay were we had our first swim in the Pacific Ocean and what a place to mark the occasion, truly stunning! Likewise the cape, when we got there, was awesome. Our driver said it was the clearest day he'd ever seen and looking out where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea you could almost see the curve of the Earth!


The following day we took some bikes from the Hostel and headed out to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Maori and the Occupying British. The Visitor centre was a rip off so we rode a bit further up the road to a trail that led to Haruru Falls. Que Mat n Joe's bogus adventure #2 and 10km hike in flip flops through the jungle! The falls were far less spectacular than the views along the way!


Sulphur Point at Lake Roturua

 On the Tuesday we returned to Auckland for one night before heading south to Roturua 'The Smelliest Town on Earth'! On the way we stopped at Hobbington which I was totally looking forward to, however by the time we got there I didn't even want to do it. Hobbington has been reconstructed out of papermache since the filming, so it wasn't even the original set and the tour was padded out with a Sheep Shearing display! All for the bargain price of $100! yeah right! what do they think I am a Nerf Herder?

OK, so 'Smelliest Town on Earth' isn't on Roturua's postcards but it does stink; something to do with all the sulphur apparently, I don't know I wasn't really listening. It did mean we got a thermally heated pool at the Hostel tho' which was sweet!

That night we went to Tamaki Village to see a Maori culture show which was actually really good. we got the whole Huka display (gesticulating Maori warriors giving you the funny eye) and a traditional Hangi feast (tastes carcinogenic). 

When buying the tickets for the show I noticed there was a Maori chap next door to the visitor centre who did tattoos. I've been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo since forever and I'd seen a cool Jade pendant in a shop in the shape of a Maori symbol called a 'Koru' meaning 'new life and growth' and some other stuff that seemed really appropriate for someone who had recently quit his job and left his life back home to go travelling around the world! It also represents the 'new me' in that I hope to be a more decisive person in future and getting a tattoo even if it looked contrived and rubbish was also very symbolic of this 'do it now worry about the consequences later attitude'. However when I returned the next day I was disturbed to see the guy had completely changed the design. He also said he didn't want to put it on my foot (only girls have tattoo's on their feet) but on my leg! Also when i said i wanted it in Black and Green he said 'i've only got blue and red'. So my procrastination would last a bit longer and my tattoo would have to wait.

There wasn't really much to do in Roturua that's unique to Roturua, everywhere you go in NZ you get sky dives and bungy jumps rammed down your throat any they cost a fortune so we opted for a gondola ride up a big hill and went luging which turned out to be great fun and, oh, the second thing I beat Joe at! He will argue that it was a draw but the first race didnt count.

As you can probably tell things are getting quite competitve between myself and Joe which recently culminated in a video of me on facebook being pushed off a canyon backwards strapped to a garden chair!

Let me tell you, the luge was equally hair raising when you have a crazed 18yr old with a demented look in his eye trying to run you off the road- haha (nervous laugh) we're just like brothers :o/

Next time: Papamoa and a reunion with foul mouthed Kim...

New Zealand- Auckland

Bit behind sorry fans; the Internet is still in its infancy in NZ and due to popular demand the hostels are cashing in by charging $4 per hour! However, being the resourceful scouser I am I've found a way to bypass the system and now gets my web time for free ninety nine! Sweet As Bro!
I'm writing this from Franz Joseph on the South Island, it is the 3rd April and we've been here since the 10th March so I'm going to have to back track a bit. I've been writing in my journal everyday though so hopefully it will all come flooding back. It feels like we've been here for ages, I guess that's what moving around every couple of days does to you, We've been to so many places and seen so many things that Auckland seems an eternity away but this is where I'll start.

For no other reason than sheer convenience I booked us into Base Hostel in downtown Auckland and picked the cheapest room available. We soon found out why it was called 'Base'. I gather it works a bit like Ryan Air whereby if you want a window in your room that's extra and I obviously forgot to un-tick the 'No Slags' box as well as, upon entering the pitch black broom cupboard we woke Clara up who was sleeping off the previous nights exertions- it was 3.30pm. We introduced ourselves and chatted briefly. Clara was Australian and was over here with her friend Grace from Ireland who was renewing her visa before going back to OZ. Like Abbie Hoffman Clara liked to say the 'F' word, a lot! and we where to find out that she liked to do the 'F' word just as much!
We left Clara to convalesce while we went out to explore Auckland which on first impression seemed very nice. Everyone seemed very athletic looking and tanned which made both myself and Joe feel a bit self conscious but apart from that it was a glorious day and this was the start of our travelling 'proper' so we were in good spirits. We also went to the Magic Bus office and booked a couple of 'add-ons' to our trip including the Bay of Islands and Milford Sound which were both on offer.
Side note: Everyone who knows me knows i like a bit of a moan and I've grumbled a bit about the Magic Bus over the weeks but it has to be said we got a fantastic deal $350 to do the whole of the North and South Islands, that's less than 175 pound!

To give you an idea of the kind of hostel we were staying in there was and Hi-de-hi style intercom throughout the building from the bar next door informing everyone of their various offers. One of the offers was a 'Free $1000 bar tab' which meant from 8.00pm drinks where free until $1000 had been reached. we got there at 10 past and it had ended!! Clara and Grace where already there slightly inebriated and we got chatting with a few lads from Nottingham as well. We also met a girl from Essex Lucy who filled us in on Clara and Grace. 'They like shaggin, those two..' she said. This coming from an Essex girl was cause for alarm! Imagine the music from 'Psycho' as we turned around to see Clara leaving the bar with a bloke! This was only the beginning and we watched in horror as Clara returned to the bar alone and within the hour leave again with another random stranger who thought his luck was in. I remember thinking to myself 'he wont be smiling when the test results come back.' Both myself and Joe where scared to go back to the room that night and we had to be up at 7.00am cos we where going Canyoning!

Canyoning was ace, walking uphill for an hour in a wet suit with a headache and carrying a bag of wet rope wasn't! For those of you who don't know Canyoning involves making your way down a series of waterfalls and rock pools by jumping, sliding and ab sailing! There where also some pretty awesome views and we got up close and personal with some massive fresh water eels. Check out the pics here!
Back at the Hostel we had signed up for a charity pub crawl in aid of Christchurch; by the second pub I heard one of the barmen comment that it was the biggest pub crawl he'd ever seen. It was seriously like freshers week! A bunch of horny kids running around trying to mount each other. I wasn't having a great time. I also had one eye cautiously on Clara to see how often she was leaving with someone trying to work out when it would be safe to go back.

Day 3 we went on a bus tour around the city. By this point we were starting to realise that Auckland didn't really have that much to offer. When the highlight of your day is watching a short fat German trying to get a rugby ball out of a tree you know its time to move on. We did go to the Museum though which was good; although its Volcano/earthquake room was a little unnerving, especially the 'apocalyptic scenario simulation'   -less than two weeks after what had happened in Christchurch! I was nearly on my way back to the airport!
I had also had enough of Auckland's 'nightlife' but went out for a few beers that evening anyway cos the room was so depressing. By 10pm I was shattered and we had an early start in the morning to go to the Bay of Islands so I went to bed, but not before pleading with Grace not to let Clara come back with anyone while I was in the room.
Grace it turns out wasn't nearly as bad as Clara and I'd begun to feel a bit sorry for her. She found out that day that her visa extension had been rejected and for some reason desperately didn't want to return to Ireland. Clara was evidently leading her astray and I couldn't help thinking she was in a pitiful situation- not all travellers are living out their dreams.
Clara on the other hand was a law unto herself and not bringing anyone back to the room was sadly too much to ask! Thankfully I slept through it but Joe was awake throughout the whole ordeal and was traumatised come morning. I awoke at 6.00am to the sound of Clara and Grace arguing. Grace was telling Clara how I was going to 'kick off' when I woke up and she wasn't wrong! Clara bolted for the bathroom and I politely requested that the young gentleman vacated the premises and advised he took himself off to the nearest GUM clinic at his earliest convenience. I also suggested that Clara found Priest and Grace some new friends, and with that we were out of there; we havent stayed at a Base Hostel since!

Next Week: Bay of Islands!