Ah the first full day in New Zealand was a pretty full one. Thanks to the different time zone I woke up at 4.40 am, but managed to get an hour more sleep before my german roommate was shaking my arm. It was 6.15 in the morning, and I had a bus to catch at 7.50. I wrote my blog in the kitchen before heading to the busstop. Today's destination was Paihia, located in the bay of islands.

We were lucky, the bus wasn't fully booked so plenty of room for everyone. Believe it or not, but from the 13 participants, were 5 dutch girls. And we don't know eachother... Those buses never go straight to the destination, so we had an early stop at a very big tree, a Kauri tree. They say it brings good luck if you hug one, so guess what we did. :-) Our tree was 800 years old.

We also went to visit the bird rescue center, to see some birds they take care of, to hear stories about birds they took care of and to stretch the legs a bit more. Then finally we headed to the bay of Islands. I was curious as I have heard good things about this place. I found out that my booked pass didn't have activities on it, it was only the journey to and from Bay of Islands. The tourguides recommended to do a kayak trip, and that's how I spent my afternoon.

The bus arrived at 2 pm at the hostel, and I like this room. We have an on suite kitchen and bathroom, so just for the 6 of us. I didn't enjoy it for long, there was a kayak trip to be made. I shared my kayak with a girl from Israël and we were the fastest duo of the group. Haha, it's nice to get rid of the energy sometimes. But most of all it was about enjoying the trip. New Zealand is so beautiful, and I am only here since yesterday. It's green and hilly and there are some spectacular views when travelling north. In our kayaks we got to enjoy the water from up close, very close. We headed to a waterfall and they let us experience it from under it. We got in the water, spent some time taking pictures and getting soaking wet before returning with our kayaks. I loved it! It was the perfect test for my waterproof camera, and it passed the test. :)

Of course I forgot to bring dry clothes so it had to dry by the wind. Not strange that it was cold sometimes. I do have a CD too with pictures that were taken by the two tourguides,but my laptop doesn't have a CD player, so they remain a mystery untill I am back in the Netherlands next month.

Back at the hostel, I had a stroll along the beach to enjoy some moments by myself. My canadian roommate gave me some recommendations for tomorrow so I know what to do now. I'll take a walk to a nice lookout and then take the ferry to Russell to see that town and see their beach. My bus back to Auckland goes at 4 pm. And there's the unexpected part of the day: this bus doesn't get me back in time to take the bus to Rotorua. My day of the 10th probably won't be at the Waitomo caves, as planned, and I haven't worked out yet what to do. There's two options, or maybe 3. I stay a day in Auckland (tennis? :P) or I take a bus to Rotorua or I take one to Taupo. I have to be in Taupo the 11th anyway, as that will be my vulcano climb day.

But that's for later to worry about. Let me upload some pics now, hope you guys will enjoy!