Kia ora! So after 6 days and nights in Auckland Kristina, Day and I boarded the kiwi experience bus for the first time heading up north to the bay of islands! It started to rain after we got on the bus, but it didn't last long and within 15 or so minutes we were surrounded by gorgeous fields and a massive rainbow that you could see end to end! The bus journey got pretty bumpy towards the end so we were pleased to arrive and get off the bus after 5 hours.

Once off the bus we checked into our hostel Pipi patch, which is about a 2 minute walk to the beach and 5 second walk to the bar - ideal! We got changed and headed out for a walk up to the look out point but half way up the road Kristina received a call from her friend saying we could go out on his boat parasailing for free in an hour - amaze!!! So we grabbed some fish and chips then headed to the harbour to catch the boat! We were really lucky with winds which meant we could go up as a three! I screamed a lot as we were launched up in the air but it was absolutely amazing and we got up to 800ft in the air so got incredible views over Paihia! We got dunked into the sea on our way down, which was pretty inevitable after Kristina told her friend who drove the boat that she didn't want to get wet. In the evening we went for a bbq outside the bar then started on the drinks and after a few jagers ended up on the bar dancing, hah! Such an amazing day, we really feel like our travelling has begun now!

The dolphin trip

On our last day in the Bay of Islands to top off our VIP treatment weekend, as a thanks for helping out with the photo shoot (see the Cape Reinga blog) Mike arranged for Day, Kristina, Teddy and I to go on a boat trip to see dolphins!! Within 20 minutes, we spotted dolphins! They were amazing, and even better than that, Teddy told us that when the boat leaves they swim at the back of the boat, so we got a prime position watching them swim and jump right next to us!! Check out our photos on facebook, they are so lush!

Day and I would like to say a massive thank you to Kristina and Teddy for showing us the most amazing time in the Bay of Islands and sorting out all the freebies. We had the best time ever xxxx