Thought another update was in order since I've had a wkd few days! Went up to the Bay of Islands on Wednesday and although it wasn't the best weather and they cancelled all the cruises out into the bay, it actually turned out to be really fun! The weather wasn't too bad- bit cloudy bt it was windy up there. In the day i took a stroll along the coast and spent a nice afternoon chilling out on the beach. I met a really kl group of people who were all wrking in the hostel i was staying at n we went out 4 a non-existent pub quiz in the evenin where we ere the only people that turned up so i guess we won! Had a really gd nite altho we were walkin past a hostel that had lost on the tv- i so nearly went in n pulled up a chair bt hav no ideahow long it had bin on 4!

Left the Bay on Thursday and went west through Rowene to Opononi (which got its namefrom some kl dolphin called opo that swam up to the shore). I stayed in a really nice hostel called globe trekkers- if u ever get the chance stay here! Its owned by this woman from yorkshire n she gave us (me n 2 others frm my bus who decided 2 stay- who were really nice people) a tour of the little town n the best views of the harbour! she also took us 4 fish n chips 4 lunch! The hostel itselfwas like a little house and had a big lounge n 2 dogs n a cat called tequila! In the afternoon i went 4 a walk along the beach since it was such a lush day n there was no1 on the beach- was soooo nice! n they hav these moutains of sandunes on the other side of the harbour that looked so kl in the sun. Also learned how to play darts n had my first experience in a hammock here- was very relaxin n im pretty gd at darts if i do say so myself (nt amazin bt was fun all the same).

In the evenin i went on the Footprints tour which is where we have a maori guide show us the forest n teach us about it frm his point of view. Was probably the klest thing ive done so far- we started off by him playing us bird calls frm some of new zealands native birds on the minibus so we could recognise them when we gt there. Then he told us the story of the Kauri trees that r some of the oldest trees in the world and they r v special to the maori culture n r used in places all round the world (including buckingham palace!). We went on a small trek into the forest n he taught us about plants we can eat, some that would stop stomach ache, some that could be used for toilet paper cus they were really soft and showed us a tea tree so we could get the oil. We then went to c the 4 sisters which r 4 kauri trees joined together and they r pretty huge. We then went 2 see the Lord of the forest which is like 4000 yrs old and really huge- i cudnt get a photo of all of it bt its really fat- like 30m around! After visitin this it was gettin dark but we took a trip to the Father of the Forest tree at night (along wiv a horrible tour of the local spiders that only come out at night) n we heard sum kiwi birds calling to each other. The Father of the forest is even taller than the Lord bt isnt as fat and is only 2000 yrs old bt it looked really kl at night time wiv it being white it kind of glowed in the dark. Here we lit a little fire with the gum frm the tree which gives off a sweet aroma and looks really bright- he let me keep sum of the gum at the end as well! Overall it was a really gd experience and i learned alot about the maori culture as well as the trees.

On my way back to auckland, we stopped off to visit the Father of the forest in the daylight and went to a Kauri museum to learn even more about these huge trees! The scenery along the rds is something that is amazin as well as its all forests and rolling hills. Since NZ onlyhas like 4 million people living in it and 1 million live in Auckland alone, there is alot of empty space which is really nice to c. Since i have bin back in auckland ive bin planning my trip away as i want to get out of the city as so as possible!

2day i took a trip across the harbour on a ferry to Devonport. was another lush day and devonport is like a little village (reminded me of pill in the summer abit). Climbed up 2 2 of the highest places to see the views across to Auckland city and then went to the beach on the other side which was really lush- turned out 2 b a really nice relaxin day! I hope to leave Auckland Tuesday and will be goin to the Coromndel Peninsula where there r lots more beaches along with mountains n forests which shud b really gd! I will try n post photos l8r- if nt 2moro! Hope u r all well! ;-)