Hi Everyone,

The flight over to N.Z. was uneventfull apart from an Aussie I sat next to but i can not comment on that within this format! I had declared four points on the embarkation card and was dully stopped at Bio-examination Control. My mosi net, shoes and boots were all dissinfected and my boots actually got a wash which was a real treat! Having had all my baggage scanned I was passed as clean and let loose on the Kiwi population.

Six of us shared a lift into the City and I arrived at my hostel around 4.00am. I had pre-booked a room and apart from having been given the wrong one, was grateful to get just a couple of hours sleep before getting up around 8.

14/08

To cut a long story short, I had decided to opt for a Kiwi Experience, no not a loose Maori woman but a backpackers bus around both Islands. The trip I went for took in just about everything Dion had discussed with me (thanks Bro) I had to wait a couple of days for the tour to start so I rearranged my room and had a double en-suite just to have some comfort prior to the 'Dorm' culture experience of backpack touring.

The first leg was a trip to the Northern tip of the North Island, a place called Cape Reinga, I was going to stay at the Bay of Islands, near to the original landing place of Captain Cook and the original Capital of New Zealand, a town called Russell. 6 of us have gravitated together, 2 German girls, a lovely guy from Ireland and Chris and Sarah from the UK.

Auckland is not the most remarkable City I have been to so I spent most of my time re-planning my kit and itinerary. There is an incredible amount of Asian people and food around, everything from Indian, Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian and more Japanese than is good for you. I had a couple of good nights out before leaving for the Bay of Islands with my little gang, and went to an Irish bar round the corner from the hostel where there seemed to be never ending entertainment of one sort or another.

16/08

We had a long days drive up from Auckland and arrived at a small hostel in the Bay for a 2 night stay. I got straight on with organising something to do. There is a trip on a power boat called The Excitor, so I booked myself onto it. The sea is quite lumpy at present due to the time of year, so I thought it would be a worthwhile thing to do. The boat is approximately 50 feet long and takes around 20 people, it is basically just a large power boat adapted to take passengers on the front. The trip is to an offshore location called the Hole in the Rock, guess what you go to see? Having been given a safety briefing and been togged up in wet weather clothing and life vests we set off. The seats are in several rows side to side and are made of mesh slung between support rails with a small amount of padding around the lower back, there is precious little to hang onto apart from the back of the seat infront.

We set off at a reasonable rate but when we hit the open water the Skipper opened up the engines and we really started motoring. We were now in much bigger water and hit successive waves, pitching this way and that , cresting large swells and crashing into unseen troughs. The Skipper was obviously experienced at riding the top of the waves as if surfing and shooting off the tops into the breaking surf. Everyone was thoughly wet but buzzing, even if some were a bit green! We arrivedat the Hole in the Rock but due to the conditions could not go through. We headed back and were promised more thrills. This time we were hitting waves head on and had a real back jarring time. An hour and a half later we landed back at the jetty. It had been money well spent and great fun, I was soaked through despite the waterproofs, a recommended trip if ever you are in the Bay.

17/08 The folowing day we headed up to the very North and Cape Reinga and to 90 mile beach. We had been put on a tourist bus, I'm not a tourist, I'm a backpacker thank you very much! Our driver was a native Maori and very informative so he kept us well up to speed all the way, in fact he didn't really stop talking. We stopped at the Aupouri Forest and had a walk around to look at the vegetation and indigenous plant life. It was intersting but very brief, however it was cold and damp so perhaps it was just as well. We photographed the ancient trees and headed off again. Arrival at the North point lighthouse is lovely, ancient lands, unspoilt and where the Maori people believe that the Spirit leaves the Islands after death. It is a facinating culture and interesting that all Kiwis, including those from European decent, take the cultural heretige onside, it is taught in schools and forms an active part of society. It is not only taught as Kiwi past, but as Kiwi present, traditions and practices are respected and honoured.

I walked to the lighthouse from where you can view the joining of two seas, the South Pacific and the Tasman Sea, They literally crash into each other with such force that breaking rollers are created half a kilometer off shore. The currents send surf flying in all directions and is quite astonishing to stand and observe what is happening. The result is tremendous rip tides around the areas. The lighthouse is there to warn shipping and can apparently be seen for up to 50K away due to its elevated postion on the point of the headland. There is also a post box in order that you can post cards to people from the most northerly point of N.Z. they have their own unique post mark so those who received a card take note.

We headed West from here to the massive shifting sand dunes on the 90 mile beach. Having come all this way it would have been churlish not to have a go at riding the dunes. We were provided with Boogie Boards and then climbed the 60 foot high sand stacks only to chuck ourselves down into a river! Yep there was a shallow river running along the foot of the sand and then a gently rising bank on the other side. My first run was just a feeler really and I stopped myslef going into the water, my second run was somewhat different. Having got my confidence up, I threw myself off the top of the dune and didn't brake at all, I flew off the sand into the water and skimmed across the top, up the bank the other side and then started to fear that I wasn't going to stop as I headed for a tree. I rolled off in time but decided that a third go was just trempting fate too much.

The driver then took us for a drive along the sand for about 15K and we witnessed several examples of vehicle which had foolishly stopped and then just been consumed by the sand and the surf. Apparently anyone can drive the sands as they are officially a public highway, quite why you would want to take your own car on such a journey I can't imagine, if the sand doesn't get you then the salt surely will. The beach is still officially called 90 Mile Beach but is in fact 60 odd miles long. It was called ninety miles because of Ox pulling a cart in days gone by. It was estimated that an Ox could pull a cart for 30 miles a day, it took 3 days to complete the journey, hence the estimated distance, then along came the tripometer and oh dear, we found that the Ox had got all lazy on us!

We eventually came off the beach and went to Awanui, the home of the ancient Kauri tree treasures. These are tees which have been reclaimed from swamps and a centre has been build around one tree which weighs 15 tons and is dated from between 45 and 50 thousand years old. The wood is incredibly hard and this particular tree has been fashioned into a spirral stairwell in the centre of the building. It took a total of 500 man hours to complete and is quite beautiful. There are some fantastic objects in the showroom with even more fantastic price labels!

It was a good day out and we topped it off with a wonderfull fish supper at a local restaurant and then cards at the hostel.

18/08 The town of Russell is just across the Bay from Paihia and only takes a short trip by boat to reach. It is actually the original Capital of New Zealand and dates right back to Cooks first landing. The buildings are very much in keeping with those days and the Duke of Marlborough Hotel hold the distinction of having been the first licenced premises in N.Z. I payed a visit to the museum and looked around the properties, it is a sleepy little hamlet now and reminded me very much of a small Cornish harbour town. If money were no object then this would be the little hideaway retreat of that there is no doubt.

It appears to be a separate Island but is in fact part of the mainlandbut right around the Bay. It was originally inhabited by whalers and was considered a very lawless place with illegal liquour and prostitution. slowly the local inhabitants changed and a vigilante group handed out instant justice to lawbreakers. This eventually led to the Town being given its own police officer and Station, a delightful cottage, which is still in use today. Next door is an enormous fig treewhich must be six or seven feet in diameter. The buildings are in typical Colonial style, made from wood with beautiful verandahs all painted white in keeping with similar buildings. The town remains small and quiet, the locals refer to it as abit run down, I would describe it as exclusive, keeping most away due to its location, must be a benefit to some.

The boat trip across the Bay takes between 15 and 20 minutes depending on which boat you take, hardly much difference to going to the local shops except it is across the water. the other benefit to this area iss that generally it gets the best weather in New Zealand and the locals say that they have a non existant winter, sounds good to me! I returned to the main town across the Bay ready to head back to Auckland but first I had to do something.

I have decided that I need another jumper. I bought a cheap version in Chile which is very nice but I need something just a little more substantial. Paihia has a small number of shops and the knirtwear is fabulous. I ventured out and met Betty in one of the shops. A lovely Lady and a fellow, like minded, traveller who had a great story to tell. We immediately hit it off and could have talked all day. However, it was not possible as I had a bus to catch and Betty had other customers. She advised me regarding the local garments and relieved me of 200$! Mind you I ended up with a wonderful jumper made from merino wool and possum, a bit more luxury for my pack! Thank you Betty lovely to meet you.

The bus left at 4.00pm for the trip back to Auckland and we arrived back around 4 hours later. The Bay of Islands is a lovely spot and really somewhere special, the little town of Russell is very sweet and I felt good in the area. I guess it suits people of a certain type and age, both of which I am!

There's more to come, See you soon,

Chris