My weekend in the
Northland, Bay of Islands area, was a weekend full of activities and I have the bruises, cuts and sore muscles to prove it! Friday morning we hopped onto a bus and started north. We
did not stop very many places along the way because a rain storm came
through. After lunch we stopped in Kawakawa to use the public restrooms because
they were designed by the Austrian artist, Hundertwasser. At first I thought
this was a weird stop to be making, but it was very cool because the rest of
the town has started to mimic the style of the restrooms.
From there we made a pit stop at some natural thermal springs while it was still raining outside so it made the warmth of the pools even better. After giving ourselves a spa treatment and having our bodies, swimsuits and clothes smell of sulfur we headed to Paihia, where we would be staying overnight.
That evening, as a group, we went to the local pub next door and participated in some good old fashion karaoke, which was highly entertaining. The next morning we started nice and early and hopped on a ferry over to Russel, which used to be known as the hell-hole of the Pacific, but now it’s a cute little town. While there we got a tour of the Pompallier house, which blew my mind because so many sayings from current times come from printing workshops like this one. We also tried to learn how to count to 7 in the Maori language. Don’t ask me how because I cannot remember for the life of me.
In the afternoon a few of us decided to take the free bikes the hostel offered us and ride up to the view point on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. It was a nice little hike on the one gear bike but so worth it. Later it was time to go kayaking around a waterfall where my parnter and I flipped our kayak 5 times into the freezing cold water! I blame three of those times on the power of the moving and unpredictable water, but for the other two, I place the blame squarely on my partner's warped sense of humor. It was a nice and chilly afternoon. (In this video you can see us flip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzihTOQWs90&feature=share&list=UUAF06aDOSnrh-no8IdCQaew )
It took hours for me to get my body temperature back to normal. The next day we headed back to Auckland, with a stop in Opononi to go sand boarding on boogie boards. It was so much fun; you would run and slide down the dunes into the water. A few of us even tried standing on our boogie boards on the smaller dunes. My first attempt? I fell straight on my butt about half way down, but after that I was able to go without falling! We explored around the dunes and then it was time to get back on the bus and head back to Auckland, but not without a stop at the Waipoua Kauri Forest to visit the largest tree in New Zealand. While there we also got to eat a plant which tasted a lot like cucumbers. Once we arrived back in Auckland I had to figure out how to use the washing machine in our apartment which was like reading hieroglyphics! One of the coolest thing about this weekend is that I have now given myself Maori name – Rahaka – which means sundance. Just another day in New Zealand.
From there we made a pit stop at some natural thermal springs while it was still raining outside so it made the warmth of the pools even better. After giving ourselves a spa treatment and having our bodies, swimsuits and clothes smell of sulfur we headed to Paihia, where we would be staying overnight.
That evening, as a group, we went to the local pub next door and participated in some good old fashion karaoke, which was highly entertaining. The next morning we started nice and early and hopped on a ferry over to Russel, which used to be known as the hell-hole of the Pacific, but now it’s a cute little town. While there we got a tour of the Pompallier house, which blew my mind because so many sayings from current times come from printing workshops like this one. We also tried to learn how to count to 7 in the Maori language. Don’t ask me how because I cannot remember for the life of me.
In the afternoon a few of us decided to take the free bikes the hostel offered us and ride up to the view point on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. It was a nice little hike on the one gear bike but so worth it. Later it was time to go kayaking around a waterfall where my parnter and I flipped our kayak 5 times into the freezing cold water! I blame three of those times on the power of the moving and unpredictable water, but for the other two, I place the blame squarely on my partner's warped sense of humor. It was a nice and chilly afternoon. (In this video you can see us flip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzihTOQWs90&feature=share&list=UUAF06aDOSnrh-no8IdCQaew )
It took hours for me to get my body temperature back to normal. The next day we headed back to Auckland, with a stop in Opononi to go sand boarding on boogie boards. It was so much fun; you would run and slide down the dunes into the water. A few of us even tried standing on our boogie boards on the smaller dunes. My first attempt? I fell straight on my butt about half way down, but after that I was able to go without falling! We explored around the dunes and then it was time to get back on the bus and head back to Auckland, but not without a stop at the Waipoua Kauri Forest to visit the largest tree in New Zealand. While there we also got to eat a plant which tasted a lot like cucumbers. Once we arrived back in Auckland I had to figure out how to use the washing machine in our apartment which was like reading hieroglyphics! One of the coolest thing about this weekend is that I have now given myself Maori name – Rahaka – which means sundance. Just another day in New Zealand.
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