The Bay of Islands. We left KariKari, after having spent 3 fulls days there, kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, and relaxing. We headed south to the Bay of Islands. It really is pretty here. Looks just like the San Juan Islands... but only a few more pastures. The Bay of Islands consists of 3 major towns KeriKer (not to be confused with KariKari that we just left), Paihi and Russell. We stopped at Kerikeri and went for a little walk through the historic section.. sa...

Hello home! There truly is no place like home.. home for us at the moment was being able to set our tent up and actually spread out for a few days. And on that note I guess I better start at the beginning. We left Dave and Sue's place in Ruakaka Friday afternoon and headed north.We were a bit anxious, not knowing what lied ahead.. but onward we went. We traveled up the West coast stopping at those 3 lakes you mentioned Mom. They were indeed pretty.. however, t...

Day 4... what an epic day on the water! It was sunny, 80 degrees and blowing 15- 18 knots... perfect steady wind...10 meter for me and 12 meter for Nick. We went to this spot called one tree point. The bay is super shallow and goes on for a while. With super white sand the water looked liked Hawaii... but it certainly isn't that warm. Ha Ha We rode for about 4-5 hours. It was great to get back on the water. My back rolls are comming along landed a few more. The ...

Ruakaka day two and 3. We had another full few days here. Spent yesterday tricking out the van. We took the back 4 seats out and went to the hardware store. However, this wasn't your typical lumber/hardwood store. This store was called the demoltion wharehouse and contained everything from kitchen cabinets, to bathroom accessories, tubs, showers, cabinets, doors, windows and then of course plain lumber. They have full sheets of lumber such as 2x4s, 2x2s, plywood...

Our first day of fun! Who Hoooo! We went to the beach just down from Dave and Sue's place. It's amazing. It reminded us of Maui... just 10 miles longer. The sand is super white and soft. Although I've nick named it squeaky sand. When you walk it sounds like the you are walking on the carpet with your slippers. zip zip zip ha ha There are so many shells it's crazy. Many of them still in tack. The sun came out and warmed us up which was a nice change from the rain!...