After arriving in Paihia we ran into the rhapsody of the sea cruise ship, very impressive looking vessel.

It was a 4 hours wait until our cruise left so we had a nice lunch at a cafe over looking the harbour. Then we made our way to the shops to buy some swimming shorts and flip flops. I went for a swim in the sea to test out the new shorts, the water is so clear here and the shorts worked!

We then made our way to the dock to board, the main boat was docked out in the harbour, so we had to take a little boat out to it.

When we arrived on the boat we were asked if we would like to upgrade to a private cabin instead of sharing with 4 other people. It worked out at an extra £10 each, having done the maths, or should I say once Emma had done the maths we decided that would be better!

We dropped our bags and made our way to the back of the boat where we had a shooting competition. We all had three shots to hit the target (a model duck being towed by the boat), lots of people out of the 27 on board missed the target. But on my third shot I hit it! This put me in the final, it was a knock out now 2 shots each. The first person to have a go hit it twice!! Which left me next to no chance! I then missed both of my shots which didn't matter as I had enjoyed the banter with other guys and it was a good laugh!

We anchored up in the bay of one of the islands. And tried to catch our dinner! We were trying to catch snapper a very popular local fish. Emma was the first of the two of us to catch and land a fish, but because it was just under the size that is required to be able to eat it, she was told she would have to kiss it! Which she did, we have a photo to prove it, we will upload it when we can. I manage to also land a fish, but when the crew were unhooking it got loose and some how managed to jump off the boat back in the water. Emma caught 2 in total!

We then had a BBQ dinner, with steak, sausages, fresh mussels, loads of different salads, homemade coleslaw, new potatoes, pasta, bread. It was so nice I had thirds, but you know me when I'm hungry!

We then sit back with a drink a relaxed chatting to other people travelling to get their feedback and reviews on where were heading next. At about 10pm (roughly). We went out night kayaking, it was amazing! We could see the phosfluresences (algae) glowing in the water, it was a bright green colour that only showed up when you disturbed the water with you paddle or hand.

When we returned to the boat we had a night swim in the ocean, off the back of the boat! The water is very warm here and We've already got sun burn! Sun block from now on (factor 50)! Skins looking good though, even if it is a bit pink at the moment!

I woke the next morning at about 5:30am, my body clock is still slightly out of time. I left Emma asleep and did a some early morning fishing! It was amazing! So peaceful, loads of bites but I didn't get any. Not that I cared much as the light mist and stunning views made up for it! I then went to see if Emma wanted to come for an early morning swim in the ocean, to which she replied "no". So I left her to continue sleeping while I went for a somewhat colder dip then I had had the previous evening! Although once you got used to it, it was ok.

The breakfast bell went at 8am. I had a lovely 3 bowls of warm porridge with sugar. Amazing! Emma decided to join me when I was just starting my third bowl. She had the same with a black coffee.

After breakfast we were on the move again passing the bay where captain James Cook had first landed in New Zealand. We then got into wetsuits and went snorkelling on the reef surrounding one of the islands. It was incredible. Lots of marine life, we had a task to collect sea urchins. These are round spiked creatures that live on the coral and rocks. They apparently sell for $500 NZ per kg in japan.

We then made our way back to the boat and continued to Robinson island. Where we anchored at the edge of the bay making our way over to the beach via kayak and the boat that we arrived on first of all.

The water in the bay is the clearest I've ever seen! We then made our way up to a look out point on the island. We have some lovely wind-swept photos of the island.

Upon returning to the boat we had lunch which consisted of a pot noodle and some bread we stole from our first hotel. This is because we thought we would save money by opting out of their sandwich, fruit, chocolate brownie and a drink lunch that only cost another $10. About £5!
Anyway.... Still hungry after forcing down the most disgusting own brand example of a pot noodle which let's face it is bad enough when it's the real thing, started to make our way back to Paihia.

Probably the best 24 hours of holiday I've ever had!