We did a 4 day trip with Stray to the Bay of Islands before Christmas. We stopped off at the Parry Kauri Park in 
Warkworth to see 200 year old Kauri trees. We did a 'hunga' to the tree (rubbed our noses against it) for good luck! We then went to the Native Bird Recovery Centre in Whangarei and saw a talking Tui called Woof Woof and got to stroke a Kiwi called Sparky. We also got to stroke a small baby Blue Penguin. We headed up the coast to see Hundertwasser's Kawakawa Toilets which were very funky! That evening we arrived in Paihia and got chatting to some of our fellow travellers - Jules, Louise & Bridgit - over a pint or two!
The next day we took a trip up to Cape Reinga, stopping along the way at some of the smaller towns. The weather today had decided to be very British and it was blowing a gale! We walked to the lighthouse at the end of the Cape and nearly got blown into the sea! We headed to a nearby beah for lunch and Kate, Jules, Louise & Bridgit decided to go and stand in the sea (I wasn't that mad!!!)
Next we headed to the Te Poki stream for some sandboarding. As it was raining quite a lot (and I'd already sand boarded in Peru), I decided to pass and take photos of people instead. They looked very funny when the arrived at the bottom of the hill covered head to toe in sand!
We then took a drive down the 90 mile beach (that isn't actually 90 miles long!) and drove over sand dunes. On the way home, we stopped for fish & chips in Mangunga.
The next day we (me, Kate, Jules & Louise) took a trip on the R Tucker Thompson, a pirate ship! We sailed out through the Bay of Islands and used the sails to drive us. Kate & I climbed out to the front of the ship. We stopped for lunch and went onto one of the islands for a little walk. Back on board the ship, we saw Bridgit (who was on a catamaran). She told us that her boat was better than ours - that was until we got out our little cannon and fired at her ship! Her face was a picture!! 
On the way back the boat broke down and we had to take the small spped boat to the harbour (it was amusing trying to clamber up when the dock was meant for a larger ship!)
We spent an afternoon at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the treaty was signed between the British and the many Maori tribes. We watched a documentary and took a guided tour around the place which was fascintating.
That afternoon, we took the Stray bus to Whangarei and then Graham (Kate's dad's cousin) took us to Whananaki North where he & Jo were camping for Christmas. Their tents were basically on the beach! The next day we took a short walk around the area and went to a deserted beach where I made a sandcastle (very surreal considering that it was the 22nd December!) That night we took the Stray bus back to Auckland.
Warkworth to see 200 year old Kauri trees. We did a 'hunga' to the tree (rubbed our noses against it) for good luck! We then went to the Native Bird Recovery Centre in Whangarei and saw a talking Tui called Woof Woof and got to stroke a Kiwi called Sparky. We also got to stroke a small baby Blue Penguin. We headed up the coast to see Hundertwasser's Kawakawa Toilets which were very funky! That evening we arrived in Paihia and got chatting to some of our fellow travellers - Jules, Louise & Bridgit - over a pint or two!The next day we took a trip up to Cape Reinga, stopping along the way at some of the smaller towns. The weather today had decided to be very British and it was blowing a gale! We walked to the lighthouse at the end of the Cape and nearly got blown into the sea! We headed to a nearby beah for lunch and Kate, Jules, Louise & Bridgit decided to go and stand in the sea (I wasn't that mad!!!)Next we headed to the Te Poki stream for some sandboarding. As it was raining quite a lot (and I'd already sand boarded in Peru), I decided to pass and take photos of people instead. They looked very funny when the arrived at the bottom of the hill covered head to toe in sand!
We then took a drive down the 90 mile beach (that isn't actually 90 miles long!) and drove over sand dunes. On the way home, we stopped for fish & chips in Mangunga.
The next day we (me, Kate, Jules & Louise) took a trip on the R Tucker Thompson, a pirate ship! We sailed out through the Bay of Islands and used the sails to drive us. Kate & I climbed out to the front of the ship. We stopped for lunch and went onto one of the islands for a little walk. Back on board the ship, we saw Bridgit (who was on a catamaran). She told us that her boat was better than ours - that was until we got out our little cannon and fired at her ship! Her face was a picture!! On the way back the boat broke down and we had to take the small spped boat to the harbour (it was amusing trying to clamber up when the dock was meant for a larger ship!)We spent an afternoon at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the treaty was signed between the British and the many Maori tribes. We watched a documentary and took a guided tour around the place which was fascintating.
That afternoon, we took the Stray bus to Whangarei and then Graham (Kate's dad's cousin) took us to Whananaki North where he & Jo were camping for Christmas. Their tents were basically on the beach! The next day we took a short walk around the area and went to a deserted beach where I made a sandcastle (very surreal considering that it was the 22nd December!) That night we took the Stray bus back to Auckland.
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