We left Auckland crazy early for Paihia (Bay of Islands) on Friday morning. The bus seemed very quiet, only 7 people at the time, but I was told that this wasn't uncommon for this part of the trip as a lot of people do not include Pahia in their pass. The drive out of town was a very scenic drive and made me really start to appreciate just how gorgeous New Zealand is. We first headed over the Auckland Harbour Bridge just as the sun was rising over Waitemata Harbour with a lovely view of Auckland skyline behind us. We stopped in Warkworth for a spot of breakfast before getting back on the bus to head up to Paihia. I knew that Kiwi experience guaranteed your accommodation but I wasn't too sure how it all worked, so it was nice to be able to get my head around that. I just wish I had been more awake that journey as I think I missed out on some very pretty views on the way up - my own fault for the night out before! Had a wonder in to the town a bit later in the afternoon and sat with some chips looking over the bay. It was pretty clear why people consider this a holiday destination - it is gorgeous! Had a night in in the evening and a film night but I'd slept so much in the day that it was a bit of a struggle to sleep.

Yesterday (saturday) I planned on doing one of the walking tracks around Paihia but bumped in to girls from the Kiwi bus that had come in and decided to stay with them for a little while instead. I decided to postpone the walk to the following morning and have a look around the shops in town and with a bit of deja vu sat by the bay again with chips from the same place - oops! I spent the evening in the hostel bar with two guys from Watford that I'd met in Auckland as well as the new girls from the bus. I'm a little tempted to delay my trip a bit to stick on their bus but not too sure at the moment. The singer in the bar that evening was amazing, really enjoyed having a chilled night and listening to him play.

This morning I headed up to 'Waitangi', which is where the treaty was first signed between Maori and the British Crown. The grounds were very beautiful but unfortunately I had to rush a little bit to get back for my bus. I still managed to watch the cultural performance though which I would highly recommend - especially if somebody you know is volunteered to be the tribe 'chief'! There is also a powerboat race on in the area so from the grounds you could watch the whole race over the harbour which is amazing to see and there were lots of people about to watch it. A 'quick' fish and chips stop on my run back to the hostel before jumping on the bus at 3 ish and just about made it. Next stop is auckland again for one night :) looking forward to being back there! Amy x