The 'Winterless' North, Bay of Islands, North Island, New Zealand

The next morning (Saturday 16/08/2014) we were up early and checked out of our hostel. The 'Stray' bus picked us up from right outside our hostel which was a bonus and we were greeted by our driver 'Anna'. Our bus didn't look very full - we had three German girls, a Canadian girl and an Indian guy - luckily we were the last pick-up so we were able to make our ways without having to stop and wait about for others (love it when that happens).

With there only being a few of on the bus there was plenty of room to spread out and Carol could sit with her leg out so she could keep it moving. The German girls were really quiet and kept themselves to themselves, the Canadian girl 'Caitlin' was just finishing off her travels and was chatty. She was full of information of where to go / where not to go which was good. The Indian guy 'Pushkar' was here studying at Auckland University and was using his weekends to travel about NZ.

On the way towards 'Paihia' we headed to a farmers market - it was quite small in the middle of nowhere (Matakana Village) but there was a band playing and the people were selling all sorts of different foods. We hadn't really had any breakfast and the smells were amazing so we both grabbed a bite to eat - Carol couldn't resist and had a fresh crepe. Back on the bus we continued on and had a quick stop off at 'Whangarei' where 'Anna' sorted out our accommodation for us and we grabbed ourselves a quick cup of tea to warm up a bit. 

Once we arrived into 'Paihia' we stopped off to buy our tickets on the marina for our trip to 'Cape Reinga' tomorrow then went and checked into our hostel 'PiPi Patch - Base' ......... which had a swimming pool and hot tub! Five of us from the mini bus were staying at this place whereas 'Miss Canada World Traveller of the Year 2014' had arranged to stay elsewhere. We dropped our stuff in the dorm and went for a wander around 'Paihia' together with Pushkar - we weren't sure what the Germans were doing so we just headed out on a mission ourselves and went out for the afternoon. 

We headed down to Paihia's port (crutches in tow) and we decided to get the Ferry across to 'Russell' (the first Capital of New Zealand). We were also very close to a place called 'Waitangi.' This is where a very famous treaty was signed in relation to land ownership and establishment by a British governor back in 1840 giving the Maori the rights of the British and equal rights over all migrants. There are many issues still to this day regarding the treaty and land ownership with compensations still being paid out to the tribal chiefs. I learnt all about the Treaty of Waitangi for my New Zealand Physiotherapy registration. 

That evening the hostel hosted a BBQ as they had lots of visitors - unfortunately the hot tub was busy but figured we'd wait and possibly give it a whirl tomorrow. After the BBQ which consisted of well done steak, sausage and salads, we chilled outside the bar chatting with 'Anna', a few fellow travellers and the other drivers from the 'Stray' team that had come up for the night for a poker competition! 

The place was pretty busy - we spent a long time chatting with 'Pushkar' who gave us an amazing insight into his upbringing and life in India - very enlightening conversations - we discussed all sorts - really nice open and honest guy.

We think the place was packed out, not because of the BBQ but the fact that the 'All Blacks' were playing the 'Wallabies' in the Bledisloe Cup - New Zealand Vs Australia - Rugby Union - massive game. So anyway we're sat outside chatting when a big group of both men and women turned up singing, holding flags with their faces painted and rugby jerseys on - we joined them and headed inside - the party started.

Now when the 'All Blacks' play they do the 'Haka' before the game kicks off which is a traditional ancestral war cry - this was amazing to see whilst stood in a packed bar in New Zealand next to very patriotic rugby fans - the atmosphere was electric. Just when you thought that it could not get any better the guys in the bar decided to do the 'Haka' themselves which just added to the intensity - the 'All Blacks' had better win! ..... Just for the record it was good but not like the atmosphere you get at Old Trafford watching United Vs City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or on a big European night :)

There was a great atmosphere in the bar for the rugby and after a few drinks it ended up being a pretty late night - Antoni had sneaked off to try and stream the first United game of the season whilst Carol stayed chatting in the bar. Eventually we made it to bed trying not to wake the others in the dorm.

The next morning (Sunday 17/08/2014) we were up super early to meet up for our trip up to 'Cape Reinga' and the '90 mile beach'. Our driver 'Jackie' (originally from Bedford) picked us up, after hearing our accent we started chatting quite a bit about life in NZ - she's in her early 40's and she'd moved to NZ about 6 years ago after quitting her corporate job in the UK and travelling - she said it's the best thing she's ever done and only wished that she did it years ago.

About an hour into our trip and after picking up the rest of the people due on the trip we stopped off at a little bakery in the middle of nowhere - literally fields, fields, bakery, fields, house, fields. We stopped here to get some breakfast then headed straight for the '90 mile beach' so we'd get there before the tide came in. 

We saw an amusing sign "danger speed up" on the beach - never in our lives have we seen a sign like this before - in all seriousness though if you don't speed up in some parts you'll simply sink - apparently there's areas which are a bit like quicksand. When you get onto the beach it's a bit like the whacky races where everyone's just driving everywhere but at great speed - feels odd to be going this fast on a coach.

We stopped off on the beach at a safe point overlooking the 'hole in the rock' on the horizon and we got some pics of our team name 'Caroni' written in the sand with one of my crutches - they came in use for something other than helping me walk ;)

The journey along the 90 mile (or should we say 56.3 mile) beach was a bit crazy! We saw lots of seals and at one point we saw a huge sperm whale that had been washed up on the shore. Unfortunately it was no longer alive and had apparently been there for 3 weeks already. We've both seen whales on the TV before but seeing it there washed up on the beach made us realise just how big these really are - it was huge - twice as long as our coach easily. Due to its size the people tasked in dealing with it had to work out a way of how to remove it from the beach - after numerous failed attempts they had decided to dissect it and bury it in pieces within the sand dunes therefore when we arrived and saw it, it was pretty messy and I'm sure the stench outside would have been stomach churning.

After we had gone the full stretch of the beach we headed for 'Cape Reinga' which is the second most northern point of the north island. At the cape you can walk down to the lighthouse where you can see the Pacific Ocean and Tasmin Ocean meet - there's quite a big swirl and some excellent photo opportunities. 

'Cape Reinga' is also a very spiritual place for the Maori people as this is where they believe the spirit of the deceased finally leaves the land and descends over the ocean towards the 'Three Kings' in the distant horizon. The 'Three Kings' is a rock formation in the ocean. 

From the Cape we stopped off at the beautiful 'Topitopau Bay' for lunch where we sat right by the beach in the sunshine chatting with 'Jackie' our driver. 

Back on the bus passing through the farmland we saw lots of newborn lambs which we thought was a little odd being August yet it's just about to become Springtime over here as the seasons are in reverse order to that of the UK.

Our next stop was at 'Ancient Kauri Kingdom' in 'Awanui' which had a showroom with a really old carved wooden staircase and other carvings made from Kauri trees that you could purchase. Ancient Kauri wood predates the migration of Neanderthal man and was already buried in swamps more than 25000 years before the onset of the last Ice Age. Ancient Kauri is the oldest workable wood in the world.

Before our final scheduled stop the coach took us to 'Mangonui' to a place which boasts to sell the worlds best Fssssssh & Chups (this is how it's said by New Zealanders). Next we went to the 'Manginangina Kauri Walk' - this is one of the few places in the world where you can view the Kauri tree growing in the wild, we had a walk around the forest and hugged the trees - these ones were only about 2 to 3 hundred years old and they don't reach maturity until 1000 years plus. 

From the forest we made our way back into 'Paihia' and returned at our accomodation at about 18:00 - we didn't really do much this evening, the place was really quiet (complete contrast to last night) so we decided to do some more research and book our trip to ................... Fiji :)

Monday (18/08/2014) we got up early - Carol went for a dip in the hot tub, got quick showers and went for a stroll on the beach in the gorgeous sunshine before boarding our bus to head back to Auckland.

'Anna' was our driver which was cool as we just chatted about random stuff all the way back so the journey went pretty quickly. 

Arriving back in Auckland we were spending the night at Sinéads and nipped out to an Italian 'La Porchetta' in 'Parnell' for some dinner after dropping our bags off - had the standard washing it down with a nice bottle of red. After tea we made our ways back, chatted for a bit and grabbed us a well deserved early night.

Carol woke up early (Tuesday 19/08/2014) to FaceTime with her mum while Antoni stayed in bed a little longer. It was lovely chatting with her. Once up and about we headed out to 'Ponsonby' again as Carol had her Orthopaedic Consultant appointment back at the 'White Cross' so we walked up the hill and jumped on the bus. Antoni went to try and find somewhere for a haircut while Carol waited to be seen. He came back having had it done by some Korean bloke who cut it like it was a Bonsai tree - he was gone a good hour.

The consultant assessed Carols knee and felt it was mostly likely a cartilage tear with a possible ligament injury so wanted to send her for a scan. He tried to get her in for a scan the same day (unheard of back in the UK) but unfortunately there was no availability. We were however leaving for Fiji that night so we arranged for the scan to take place the day after we get back. The Consultant again told Carol to go and relax and chill out in Fiji and felt that was the best thing we could do at the moment and do my own rehab there - fingers crossed the knee would be sorted by our return in 3 weeks time on the 10th September! 

While waiting in the clinic Antoni read about a pizza place in the 'Ponsonby News Magazine' that had won awards (best pizza in New Zealand and they have been invited to participate in the world finals - crazy I know but there is a world pizza making championship - I wish I could be judge). After walking / hobbling up the main road we ended up at 'Ponsonby Central' which my Physio had recommended and found the exact pizza place for lunch called 'Dante' so we both had award winning pizza and a glass of red. After lunch we jumped on the bus back to 'Parnell' when the heavens opened - the rain was crazy! We nipped to the local shop to grab a few bits before leaving for Fiji. 

It wasn't long before Sinéad came back from work - we were going to go on a drive to some of the local beaches but the weather had turned crazy so we thought better of it. We packed up our summer stuff and left the rest behind (thanks Sinéad) and chilled for a while before she kindly dropped us off at the airport ....... we got to the airport pretty early but checked in no problem .......... it wasn't long until our next flight ........ next stop Fiji ;)