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So we're about to leave Russell in the Bay of Islands. It has been a wonderful time here, in a very beautiful part of the world. We're staying in an amazing hostel with a Maori lady called Janet. She makes it feel like home, as opposed to the conveyor belt hostel we stayed at in Auckland.
She makes you feel so at home, the other day she gave me the keys to her truck and got me (and an American called Phil) to drop her off near the village centre whilst I drove on to get some shopping for the evening meal. Not sure there's many hostel managers who give you the keys to their 4x4 and tell you to pick them up on the way back.
The beaches in Russell are beautiful and we went swimming on Long Beach. I (Tom) imagined that jumping and swimming through the waves would make me look like someone out of Baywatch. From Abi's point of view though, my jumping over the waves made me look like 'girly-girly-balletwatch.'
We went on a boat trip and saw loads of Dolphins around the bay and it was great to see them jumping and dancing around the boat. Unfortunately we were on a boat with loads of other people, so it felt pretty commercialised. Whilst Abi was walking to the other side of the boat to get a better view, a lady barged past her, like she was on a mission to see the last ever dolphin in existence. Abi threw her overboard, so it all turned out okay in the end,
We also went to Haruru Falls, a water fall near where we're staying. We hired some bikes and the hire guy said it was a simple bike ride to the falls. Well, this guy was either a Triathlete or a big, fat liar. I wondered if we'd ever get there, going up and down hills designed for super-humans. When we finally got there we were wheezing like 50 a day smokers going up stairs to bed. The Falls were lovely, when we got there though. We threw the hire guy in the water as well for telling us bull.
We've met some great people whilst in Russell - it's a much closer community and because the hostel is so small we get to meet everyone new that arrives. Tom has been out to visit the oyster pits to see how it all works round here, Abi went along with him but hates oysters even more now that she knows where their anus is....(?) The people at the hostel have been from around the world, Dutch, German, French, Portuguese , American, Australian......etc. It's been a great eye opener meeting all these varied people and getting to know more about them and having stereotypes broken e.g. the American's favourite food was avacado - not a Big Mac like most! So we've met a bee keeper, a philosopher, creative producers...and now a 15 month year old has just joined us too, with her parents in tow of course! This means Abi is broodier than ever and I really will have to hide the pins far away from the condoms!
We're off back to Auckland soon to get a place to stay and some work. We've seen some lovely house shares so are hoping to get a 3-6 month contract staying with other people for a lot less money than living in hostels. Tom's applied for work in a seafood restaurant, because he thought he'd be crazy and different whilst out here and Abi's on the game, oops, we mean she's also applying for work at some restaurants...
Keep checking out our photos and leaving comments to let us know how you are and what you think of where we've been. Peace out.
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