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The Bay of Islands. We left KariKari, after having spent 3 fulls days there, kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, and relaxing. We headed south to the Bay of Islands. It really is pretty here. Looks just like the San Juan Islands... but only a few more pastures. The Bay of Islands consists of 3 major towns KeriKer (not to be confused with KariKari that we just left), Paihi and Russell. We stopped at Kerikeri and went for a little walk through the historic section.. saw the Kemp House and the missionary house. All made out of cobble stone. Pretty cool. We then went back through town to the Kauri woodshop and saw some amazing wood carvings from Kauri trees.. some of them dating back 1500 years. YIKES! Then on to the confectionary.. which was a bit of a dissapointment.. but had good samples. Yum Yum. We then moved onto Paihia. They had nice beaches.. but was super toursity. About the only thing you could do there was book a tour of somesort... and they had every kind from scenic helicopter tours to parasailing to whale watching boats and sky diving. We then moved onto Kawakawa to see the "famous" tolilets. They were designed by some artist. They too were a bit of a dissapointment as the toilets were just plain jane...but it was actually the decoration in and around that was cool. Lots of glass set in concret. Pictures to follow.. at least we can say we did it! Then onto Russell which is where we currently are. It's a nice quite little town. We spent the day wondering through the town and checking out the little shops, going fishing.. still haven't caught anything. Actually that isn't true. Nick did catch 5 bait fish in about 15 minuets.. at least now we have bait. Ha Ha And that was a wrap for the day. Tomorrow we are heading out to a place called "The Farm" where we plan to stay for a few days. http://www.thefarm.co.nz/ It's a 1000 acre workign dairy farm. There is horseback riding, kayaking (it's on a harbor), fishing, dirt biking, and of course the farm stuff. We are looking forward to meeting new people and having some more adventures. We have been continualy suprised with how quiet New Zealand has been. Not much of a social scene.. even in the kiting community. We have met some nice families while cooking dinner in our community kitchen at our Holiday Parks.. but other than thats it's been a lot of solo flying. Even in the touristy villages like the Bay of Islands. It has been nice to be on no schedule.. although it is a bit odd.. especially when bed time has been around 8:30 as that's when it gets dark and then we are up at 7:30 or so. Ha Ha I guess that is the more natural way. We do love being with eachother all the time. A nice perk of the trip. We are continually suprised with how much this area reminds us of WA. It's amazing how we never really realized how pretty it really is in WA until comming here. If you just sit on the hill you would almost think you are back home in the cascades. :) We are still on low bandwith wifi.. hopefully when we get to the farm they will have somthign better as we have a lot of pictures to upload. Hope all is going well back home.
Cheers!
- comments
Hayley Pine Hi Nick and Magen, My husband came across your blog while googling info on the Karikari pennisula. I am from Idaho and have been in Wellington New Zealand for a year and half now. I am married to a kiwi. ANYWAY, I am loving your blog! I can relate to a lot of your stories about the language, little roads, and everything closing up early! What a wonderful adventure you are having so far! Enjoy New Zealand. It is a beautiful place! If you do need anything or come through Wellington send us an email. We would love to help out however we can. Our neighbor and friend down the road is from Washington too. He is married to an Aussie. Anyway just wanted to let you know some fellow Americans are cheering you on! Have fun and enjoy this wonderful country!! :) Hayley and Dave Pine
Magen Hi Hayley! Great to hear from a fellow American. I'm glad you are enjoying the blog. We have been having fun creating the adventure. Ha Ha We really enjoyed our time on the KariKari Peninsula... it's pretty remote so be prepared to bring anything food wise with you. It's great kayaking and swimming and there is also a really nice golf course and hotel there. We aren't golfers so we didn't actually play the course but it looked nice. :) If you have any specific questions just let me know.. you can email me at [email protected]. I'd be happy to tell you what I know. We are now heading south and plan to be at the Coromandel Peninsula tomorrow. If we make it to Wellington I will for sure let you know. New Zealand is a wonderful place.. such amazing scenery and great people. The towns are super small and very quite.. we were thinking... great Bay of Islands.. super touristy this should be huge... nope.. another small town.. and all the shops closed at 4:30! Ha Ha but we had a great time. How long have you been in NZ? Any recommendations for places to go or things to see? Hope you guys are enjoying the evening! Cheers, Nick and Magen