A week in the north;hugging a tree, swimming to an island and being on a 90mile beach

In this last week i travelled north from rotorua to auckland on friday night, a night in auckland before a 4 hour bus journey north to the town of pihia;the bay of islands. Arriving under blue sky's beach and islands all over it living up to its name of the bay of islands. Staying at pihia from saturday until wednesday. There's nothing quite like starting your day by getting up at 6 to go and sit by the beach as the sun comes up. The sounds and smells of the sea, just sitting on the rocks writing away as the day becomes brighter and the sun rises higher. Day one in pihia, a 5 hour walk through the new zealand bush getting views of the bays, a loop walk talking us down to the coast to finish the walk with a few hours walking along the bays back to the town, along areas of mangroves and passing numerous boats anchored in the bays. Pihia a tourists town along where a lot of new zealanders themselves like to holiday. Not at the peek of the tourist season the town had a nice feel not being extremely busy. The rest of the afternoon spent swimming in the see swimming to one of the little islands and back.

From pihia a full day trip as far north as you can get to cape reinga.The bus picking us up at 7 am, visiting the puketi kauri forest witch covers 15,000hectares of which contains 7,000 hectares of new zealand's largest kauri trees, starting your day by hugging a giant kauri tree :)!! Another incredible forest to see these giant trees soaring above everything in the forest, the board walk originally designed for the queen costing 1 million dollars allows you to walk through part of this incredible place. The drives were beautiful through farm land, dense new zealand bush, along the coasts just an incredible day. From the forest continuing north up the east coast, endless history in all the towns you pass through,captain cook mentioned continuously,the area originally a volcanic range, then whilst there was another eruption ash and debris formed this very narrow tip of the north island, the meeting of the tasman sea with the pacific allowed for sand deposits' to build up witch then created this very narrow area of land.

Cape reinga the very northern point where by there now is a light house and you can see where these two oceans meet along with this being traditionally the departing place of maori spirits, the light house was moved hear in 1941 flashing every 26 seconds and can be seen some 50km away. The scenery this far north was beautiful, the vegetation on the ridge line as you drive north, the rugged coastline when in view and the most incredible sand dunes. Highway 1 runs from cape renga all the way south to bluff in the south island originally the famous 90mile beach was the road and still is an official highway. As we drove up the east coast,we now were driving south on the west coast on 90mile beach :)!! Access to the beach through a stream on the bus and then before driving along the beach time for some sand boarding, i think this is the largest sand dunes i've seen, climbing to the top getting your board lying head first elbows blanked legs dangling of and away you go shooting down the dunes!!! Sadly after 5 ascents and decent it was time to get back on the bus and drive along the beach but only a brief moment of disapiontment to be finishing the sand boarding as driving along the beach was 1 experience i have never had and loved, being on bus on a large beach driving along over taking other buses with the sea to your right and dunes to your left :)! An amazing afternoon. The time just disappears on these trips and we were heading back to pihia before we new it, stopping at the ancient kauri kingdom where there is a 50tonne centre peace this being a staircase carved out of a kauri tree, the steps all carved out the tree as you walk up your actually in the centre of this incredible tree, feeling whinnie the pooh or christopher robin.

Returning to pihia around 6pm another incredible day passes with new experiences. Our last full day in pihia meant for another sunrise sat at the beach and a trip across to one of the larger islands on the ferry. The afternoon spent on the island of rustle, an island with houses shops roads petrol station, strange to see it so developed everything transported by boat. Walking to the lookout point to see the whole area before walking to the opposite side to go to the beach. Nothing like walking along a sandy beach with thousands of shells with a setting sun. Spending a few hours writing journals before heading back to the ferry very lucky to arrive in time for the 6pm ferry back to pihia. Just sitting on an old tree stump with the glow of a setting sun the gently breaking waves as you look up, people picking muscles along the bay as you smile constantly how lucky to be ending a day like this.

How quickly a few days go, the bay of islands and further north proving to be another part of new zealand i have fallen in love with.

So as i no look onto my last week whatever else i see and do is a bonus, never expecting all of what i've seen and done to come on this trip, it makes you realise that a trip really is what you make of it!