It's a four hour drive from Auckland up to the Bay of Islands in the north of the north island (!). There were no real notable stops on the way as the main focus was on getting there as early as possible to maximise time there. Some people had chosen only to stay for the day, but I was staying for two nights, so had more time to look around.

I spent the afternoon on a boat cruise around the Bay of Islands, passing Cook Bay, Twin Lagoon Bay and right around to Cape Brett and the famous 'hole in the rock'. It was a really good afternoon, the commentary on the boat was good, telling you all about the history of the different islands and how they got their names etc. They even take the boat right through the 'hole' despite the swelling seas and closeness to the rocks on either side. You also have the option to get off on the biggest of the islands for an hour, to do a short walk up to a lookout, which gives you the most spectacular views over several different islands.

Then it was another early start as I took a day trip right up to the very top of the north island, to Cape Reinga. By 8.30am we were strolling through the Puketi Kauri forest to see some of the oldest trees in New Zealand, some up to 2000 years old. The Kauri tree is supposedly the second tallest tree in the world, behind the Californian redwood and was traditionally used by the Maori's for making canoes due to it's strength and toughness. After that it was on to Ninety mile beach (which is actually only 64 miles long!) and a long drive up there, past The Bluff, where we stopped for pics and then onto Bretts where we got to dig for shellfish in the sand. These particular type of fish live 3-4cm below the surface and a bit of heel action into the sand soon has them popping up all over the place. We were invited to try the delicacy but I myself declined the most generous offer. They didn't look too great, a cross between a mussel and an oyster, neither of which are on my top ten list of 'must eats', and after the first person suggested they were flavoured with a sprinkling of sand too, it really didn't take my fancy!

So we left the beach at Te Paki stream and drove up the stream for a while. On this particular day the water was not too high and the quick sands beneath quite solid (or so we were told) so the jounrney was not such a treacherous one...which is more than can be said for the sandboarding?at our next stop. Having been sandboarding a couple of times in Australia I thought I'd be prepared for this, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The dunes themselves had seen a bit of bad weather over the past few weeks and as a result had been roughed up a bit. This meant the run down was extremely bumpy and just a slight detour off the path and it was goodbye to your board and hello to some serious rolling and thudding down the dune. Needless to say, that was me and I now have the aching limbs and sore body to prove it. I'm glad I got to experience the real fun of it in Australia, cos this one was certainly not the best!

While still trying to wipe the sand from in your ears, in your pockets, out of your hair etc, it was back on the bus for a short ride to our furthest point at Cape Reinga. Not only is this the place where?the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific ocean meet, but it is a very sacred place for Maoris, where they believe their spirits pass into the next world. There is one particular tree where this is thought to happen and you can see it standing alone out on the peninsular.

Our lunch stop was at Tapotapota Bay, a beautiful little beach, where some brave souls went for a swim and the rest of us sat basking in the sun enjoying?our lunch instead. And then it was on to Awanui and the Kauri Kingdom where you can see all sorts of atrefacts made from the famous Kauri tree. There is even an enormous staircase you can climb up made from the trunk of one of these immense trees.

Our final stop of the day was for fish and chips at what is apparently the best fish and chip shop in New Zealand. Monganui is a quaint little fishing harbour, famous for it's fishing trade and therefore it's fish and chips. As someone who's not overly keen on this typically English dish, there were pretty good, and it also gave me chance to try another different fish - this time it was the trevally fish. And then back to Paihia for an early night and another 12 hour marathon sleep!

The next morning the weather wasn't so good so I decided just to stay in Paihia and explore here. I took a short walk up to a lookout point, and got soaked in the process as a heavy shower decided to shed it's load while I was on my way back down. But other than that it was a fairly relaxing day juts watching the world go by and waiting for the bus back to Auckland that afternoon. Paihia itself is a nice little place and definitely somewhere you can spend a few days getting away from it all.