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Saturday 3rd November 2007- Bay of Islands and Paihia
Left Auckland and although I did not hate Auckland it does not compare with Sydney. I had decided to the do the Jack Pass which was an add on to the Moe pass as I had heard the Bay of Island was spectacular. Got picked up by the Stray driver Princess an English girl from Hertfordshire who was applying for residency. She was very good but I think I had drank too many vodka and redbulls the night before. There was only 3 of us on the bus Michael and Dennis both from Germany who were really nice boys and this meant I could sleep on the back seat of the bus. On the way to the Paihai we called at various places. We hugged a Kaouri tree which is meant to be good luck. We called for lunch at Whangarei which was a nice little town. Then we stopped off at Goat Island where in the Summer people snorkel but we just looked at the fish and the beautiful clear water. We then picked up Lynn a Scottish girl who was really nice who I got on really well with. We also stopped off at the poshest public toilets ever which had been designed by a Swedish designer who had used natural materials from the ground plus recycled things. I can't remember his name but will come back and edit. All in all the journey up to to Paihia was beautiful and the weather was really nice and briliant sunshine. I was happy sunbathing would be possible in Nz.
We arrived in Paihia at about 2:30 booked ourselves on some trips as we had been given a $30 dollar voucher. I booked myself on the Bay of Islands dolphin trip which also allowed you to swim with dolphins if this was possible. We were staying at the Pipi Patch backpackers which is part of the Base company. It was a really nice hostel.
Met some girls in the room from London and Brighton. One was a teacher, Kath, and had just taken 6 months off work she was about 35 and really nice. Then there was Sophie who is actually on the same flight home as me. Decided I was going to like Nz everyone is so laid back and friendly.
The rest of the group went of exploring I decided to sunbathe around the pool as I was still tired. Sunbathed for around 1 hour and then a mixed group of Kiwis and English came around the pool. They were really nice and I spent the afternoon talking to them. They all invited me out that night and I said I would meet them after the BBQ. I had decided not to pay pay $12 for the BBQ and had soup instead. (I did not realise the soup was condensed, do we even have condensed soup anymore? so it tased like crap, as I had no milk so I had bread and butter and an apple). Decided to get a bottle of wine which was the cheapest option. From this point the night turned into a drunken party which was awesome. Lynn, Dennis and myself ended up drinking with the Kiwis. Also bumped into Ben the PE teacher from Auckland (who had been drinking with the Kiwis the night before). So we all had a cool night. Ended up at the lighthouse club which had a wet t-shirt compettion. I did consider it for while as the prize money was $300. However did care slightly what the Kiwis thought of English girls and thought I should not hinder our reputation any furthur. Made friends with Bridget who lives in Auckland and her boyf Matt and her triplet bro Michael. There was also another English Ben, Roxy and Hamish (Hamish was 16 and had fake ID and had somehow managed to pull the 21 year old girl staying in our room, I felt I owed it to her to say something but didn't in the end). I had a brilliant night and got in about 3:00. Bridget said I should come and stay in Auckland for longer and come to one of their BBQ's. E-mails have been exchanged and I have offered her a bed in the UK when she comes travelling.
Sunday 4th November 2007- Dolphin watching around the Bay of Islands.
Luckily I had booked the 12:30 trip around the Islands as there was no way I could have got up for the 9:30 one. The weather was awful, windy and rainy. So different to the day before I was gutted. Never mind hopefully I was going to see some dolphins. We spent about 4.5 hours looking for the dolphins and at 4:45 we found them. However they kept swimming away from us so the skipper said that he was not going to chase them any longer (they did not want to paly). So unfortunately we only got to see them for 15 minutes and we did not get to swim with them. I now have a free ticket that can be redeemed anytime. So if I return in 20 years I will be there. It was such a shame because if the weather had been nice then the boat trip would have been lovely. I only paid $49 which is about 22quid. So a bit of a dissappointment but no ones fault. Did I mention I was freezing. If you go on this trip wear warm clothes unless its Dec or Jan. Got off the boat and treated myself to fish and chips. The guy in the fish and chip was really nice and had lived in Kent for 8 years. Then a bloke in the next cafe over heard I was from Manchester and asked where form. He was from Streford and had retired in Nz about 4 years ago. He had played professioanl football for Stockport County but was a dedicated Man City fan. I told him someone had to be! It is such a small world. Got back to the hostel and put washing on and watched Bad Boys.
Monday 5th November 2007- Waitangi Treaty Cultural Centre.
Checked out and debated whether to go on the dolphin trip but apparatly the weather forecast said winds of 35 knots. This means nothing to me but it had been 10 the day before and that was enough. Walked down to the Waitangi treaty house in the miserable weather. Walked around the sight and saw the beach where Captain William Hobson landed in 1840 to negotiate the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maori Chiefs. I then saw the war canoe that is still used today and was used in 1940 to commemorate the signing of the treaty. I then wandered back on myself to watch a short film on the history of Paihia. It was very interesting to learn about the Maori's and the European settlers. Although there was resistance from the Maori kings to the settling of us some actually wrote to King George asking for his protection. This is why the treaty was signed. The man who was sent to lok after the Maori people was Busby however he could do little as he had no real power. The Maori's called him the protector with no guns. I then went to see the treaty house and the Maori house. All in all it was very interesting and well worth a visit and I think good value. Trundled back to the hostel and got on the bus.
Arrived back in Auckland (ACB Base Hostel) and idiot Rachel locked her valuables in the locker with the keys. Reception had cutters but would they cut through my industrial padlock would they b*****. Me and Lynn spent an hour or so wondering what to do. We went to get lads to cut it off, one guy from B'ham tried to pick the lock.)no luck) So I'm thinking thats it I'm going to have to pay $300 for a locks smith. Then we saw the light we manged to cut the hook that you feed the pad lock thorugh then take out the lock and weld the hook back in with the cutters. It was a stroke of genius! Who needs lad to sort out such problems (obviously at first we did but ignore that). Went to the Globe bar for a drink but decided to come back and shower and ring Gareth.
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