Paihia - Bay of Islands

So we left Auckland 7.30am, went across Harbour Bridge and followed the Hibiscus Coast before arriving in Warkworth for a quick coffee stop. Then back on the coach and through Whangarei and up to Bay of Islands arriving in Paihia 12.30pm.

Once we arrived in Paihia, I was dropped off at Awesome Adventures for my Dolphin Tour!! Luckily the sun was shining and although it took us over an hour and a half to find the pod, we finally caught up with them (along with every other boat in the bay)! Once we had a good 10-20 minutes above water, it was time to put on the flippers, mask and snorkel and voyage into the water (which although 22C seemed a little cold to me).

So there you have it, I have finally got to complete one of my dreams - in fact the most important thing i've ever wanted to do, and was it all that i thought it would be and worth it? Hell yes!! Even now, it brings a tear to my eye that i actually got to do it and socialise with wild bottlenose dolphins. They were beautiful, amazing and also incredibly frisky - so didnt want to get too close. Also, I didn't realise how fast they were, even when playing with each other in the water. As they dont just hang around you, waiting for you to swim down and interest them with somersaults and spins - they carry on with what ever they are doing. But all in all, it was amazing and even though it was bloody exhausting constantly swimming to keep up with them it was worth it, as we were in the water for about an hour with them. Although, probably only had about 10 minutes contact with them in all, but who cares. I will definately get my paddy cert sometime in the future, as I would love to scuba with them (can stay under much longer and probably keep up with them a bit more easily).

Unfortunately as you can probably guess, that was the most exciting part of the trip - however, the boat ride and views were also stunning and the Piahia is lovely, would recommend a couple of days tops.