Hello. I'm writing this one on an actual computer, so it shouldn't mess up, although I don't have any photos to add to it because this stupid computer won't read my SD card. So you'll have to just imagine until I can find a computer that will read my photos (they're surprisingly difficult to find).

The day after tomorrow, we are leaving NZ and flying to Melbourne. It doesn't seem like I've had long enough here to be leaving. I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about the creepy crawlies and things that bite and sting that are found in Australia.

The last few days, I've been in the Bay of Islands. It's somewhere I've always wanted to visit. We arrived on Saturday night. Because we're stupid and always leave things to the last minute, we weren't able to get a hostel anywhere around because it was the Easter weekend. So some creative Googling found a cheap twin room in a hotel. It was weird, being in a hotel. We had our own en suite bathroom and a TV (which only had 3 channels) and a fridge (which didn't work). The hotel had a pool but it wasn't heated so was rather cold. I found the level of service the main difference after so long in hostels. We got clean towels each day and beds made.

On Easter Sunday, we went on an 11 hour coach trip to Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach (see the photo). Because the tide was coming in, the bus headed straight up to the beach. It was weird, being driven along a beach in a coach. It's an actual state highway with a 100km/h speed limit, and the recommendation that you drive as fast as you can so you don't sink! The water was splashing really high and the coach was covered in sand afterwards. Then to get off the beach, we were driven up a stream, which is also part of the road. We stopped at some huge sand dunes. They looked like something out of the Libyan desert. This isn't my photo but http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelspielplatz/3232848899/in/photostream/ shows the sand dune where we sandboarded. It was really exhausting climbing to the top, most people had to stop for a break a few times. I was scared but I just lay down and went for it. Sandboarding looks something like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackdiamondimages/2543378804/ I managed to stay on the board to the bottom. It's really steep and looks like a long way down when you are at the top and you just lie on the board and hold on and off you go. I had 2 goes but I don't think it's going to become my new favourite activity! I dug my feet in some of the way down so I slowed down because I don't exactly like plunging head first downwards. My knees got quite sandy but surprisingly it didn't really hurt, stopping myself on sand with my bare skin. I thought the friction and wet sand might hurt more. The driver said we'd go faster because it had been raining so much.

So after sandboarding and attempting to de-sand, we got back on the bus and continued to Cape Reinga. It's not actually the furthest north point, but it's the furthest north accessible point. On the way, we stopped off for lunch at a beach, which was nice. Some people went swimming but it was a bit cold for that and I had brought swimwear but not a towel. At Cape Reinga, we walked along a windy cliff top and the views were good. There's a lighthouse right at the end. The Maori people believe it's where the spirits of dead Maori leave the land. Because of that, it's 'tapu' (sacred) so you're not allowed to take food or drink there. But the driver pointed out that you can smoke and take photos as much as you like, because they hadn't invented those when they made the rule! Then we headed down to this place where they made very expensive souvenirs out of Kauri wood, which seemed a little pointless, but it also had a coach wash, so I think it got all the coaches stopping there to rinse the sand off. Then we went to a fish and chip shop which is apparently 'world famous' (lots of places here claim to be). It had the longest queue I've ever seen for fish and chips because all the coaches went there. Then we went to the Kauri forest and saw the huge Kauri trees, and then the rain properly set in.

Yesterday we went on a boat trip which was supposed to go to the Hole In The Rock, but the weather was awful, very windy and pouring with rain, so the boat stayed closer to the coastline. We saw some islands but it didn't look great to be honest. We did see some bottlenose dolphins, which were really cool. I got a photo of one with a fish in its mouth, but I can't show you yet! Stupid computers... Then we walked round Russell for a while in the rain. It was once the capital of New Zealand, back when it was first settled, but these days it's a little quaint village. Then Simon headed off to Whangarei to go diving, and I moved to the YHA hostel. It's in the backpacker street, but it's nice. There's a lovely chocolate labrador called Milo who I have spent some time talking to and patting.

The weather forecast said it was going to pour with rain today but actually it was lovely sunshine when I woke up. I decided to make the most of it and wandered down to the beach, where I decided to hire a kayak. I paddled around the bay completely alone for 2 hours, it was lovely. I got out a couple of times, once on an island, then further down the shore on the mainland. It was amazing. Then I walked to Waitangi and went to the Treaty House. The grounds are lovely with lots of birds. I walked quite a long way along the coast and somehow found myself on a golf course. The views were amazing. Then I walked back and watched the sun setting.

I have to go now because my internet time is about to run out. I'm trying to eat all my remaining food before we fly to Melbourne because they're really strict about taking food in. So it's porridge for every meal...