Kia Ora from Kiwiland

I arrived in Hong Kong early Friday morning. We were picked up from the airport by our tour guide, Lyona and taken to our hotel in Kowloon. Unfortunately not all the rooms had been vacated and cleaned so some of us had to dump bags in other rooms. Luckily we (Alice, Genevieve and I) were in one of the rooms that was ready. As we had a free day we went for a wander and then had a snooze in the afternoon. On Saturday we had a free morning so we went to the harbour to take some pictures but it was very hazy so the views weren't that good.

In the afternoon we boarded the bus for a tour of Hong Kong island. We visited some markets, the Aberdeen fishing village (where we had a ride on a water taxi) and Victoria peak. The jetlag and the heat made it hard to concentrate but our guide was very knowledgable and gave us a little history lesson of Hong Kong, including the meaning of "Hong Kong" which is "fragrant harbour." After a traditional Cantonese meal at a restaurant, we went to the harbour to see the light show and then decided to see what the Hong Kong nightlife is like

P2040068

On Sunday we checked out and had a tour of some gardens, a temple and a nunnery which would have been nicer without the hangover! At around 6 we headed to the airport, checked in, had something eat and said goodbye to those heading to Sydney. Now we could see for definite who was going where. After another long flight (with dodgy food and not much sleep) I arrived in Auckland, City of Sails and the largest city in New Zealand!

On Monday lunchtime I arrived in Auckland, very tired and hungry. On the way from the airport to the hostel we stopped at the top of Mt Eden to get some views of the city.

View from Mt Eden 1

View from Mt Eden 2

After checking in, I dumped my bags in our 6 bed dorm and we headed out for a wander to see the city. As I was so tired from the jetlag I went to bed fairly early. At 10am on Tuesday we had our orientation which overloaded our exhausted (and in some cases hungover) brains with the information we needed for our Working Holiday. I discovered a small complication when it came to filling in our IRD forms - I didn't have a second form of identification. Nevertheless, I went to the bank and opened my account and they got it all sorted there and then. The only thing I had left to do was take everything to the IRD office on the North Shore, along with a letter from the bank. The problem was I'd booked myself onto a free Stray bus tour around Auckland which left at 10.20am. So the next morning (Wednesday) I got up at 6 and got the bus at about 7.45, after waiting for 10-15 mins. Luckily for me there was only one other person at the IRD office so I didn't have to hang around. And I was finished by 8.30. As I had time to kill, I headed to the beach which was beautiful at that time in the morning. North Shore is a very pretty part of Auckland and it feels miles away from the bustle of Queen's Street. However I had to get back and sort out my stuff for the day trip so after a stroll on the sand I got the bus back to the centre of the city.
So at about 10.30 we boarded our little bus and made our way around Auckland with our funny and knowledgable Kiwi (though actually he was born in the UK) guide, Chucky. First stop was a little cafe for "morning tea" by the Sky Tower. We played a little game of heads or tails to decide which lucky person got to jump off the tower. Attached to cables, of course. While we waited for the lucky girl to get to the top and jump, we sat and chatted and had a drink or something to eat. Once we were all back on the bus we headed to Auckland Domain, the oldest park in Auckland. It also houses the museum and there are many trails criss-crossing through the native bush. After a little wander with our tour guide we headed on to (one of the) best parts of the trip, the free beer-tasting and pub lunch. Unfortunately a couple of the varieties of Speight's (including the cider) were unavailable due to the Christchurch earthquake but I tried some lager instead. It was actually alright. After some of the best fish and chips I'd ever had (there were better to come) we got back on the bus and headed to Auckland Harbour Bridge for the Bridge "climb." One crazy member of our group had already booked his bungee jump and a couple of others decided to join him. We all donned our helmets and harnesses and started our walk across the bridge. Under the cars, on a little walkway like a metal grill. The sea was very green beneath us. About halfway along was the bungee pod with glass on one side so you could see the people fall and bounce. Just watching the others filled me with adrenaline! So I swore I'd be coming back to jump off.
By now it was time to go back to the hostel but not before getting our special discount from Chucky.
I spent Thursday morning at IEP sorting out my life then after a quick lunch a friend and I headed to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter and Underwater World as she was booked in to swim with sharks. We had time for a look at the penguins and other fish before she got in the cage with some other crazy people! The tank where the sharks and other fish are kept is pretty big and underneath is a glass tunnel you can walk through whilst getting a good look at the fish all around you. Also the cage moved through the water so if the sharks don't come to you, you can go to them.

Shark swimming near my head

Shark cage above me

Later in the afternoon we headed to back to IEP to take advantage of Chucky's discount and the extra discount if we booked to passes at the same time. After parting with more money than I've ever held in my hands (I think) we headed back to the hostel to pack. On Friday we were going to the Bay of Islands.

At around 8 o' clock we hopped on our little Stray bus and started on our journey to Paihia. Our first stop was breakfast which was good because I was hungry after a little sleep on the bus. Already we seemed a million miles from Auckland. After another short snooze (that's generally all I do on buses) we arrived at the Kauri reserve. Kauri trees are native to New Zealand and can live for up to 2,000 years. The majority of Northland was once covered in a Kauri forest and as we wandered around the reserve our guide told us of the people who settled here and made their living from the trees by digging them out of the ground. Scientists believe a large amount of Kauri trees were flattened to the ground by a tsunami, possibly caused by a meteor, thousands of years ago. The wood from Kauri trees was used for ships, carving and building houses. The trees also produced a resin, which once fossilised had many uses from firelighting to an ingredient for varnish and was called gum. This industry gave the settlers their nickname "gumdiggers."
Our next stop was the Goat Island Marine Reserve where we had a free glass bottom boat tour. However we had to wait around for about half an hour for the boat to return from a school trip but this gave us an opportunity to have a chat with the others on the bus. The glass bottom boat tour was not as interesting as you might think as the water was cloudy due to a storm earlier in the week so our view was mainly of cloudy water, seaweed and kelp. We did see some blue fish, who were quite well camouflaged. Our guide was keen to stress how this wasn't a visit to an aquarium but a marine reserve which was a completely natural habitat.

Goat Island

We had lunch somewhere along the way (I can't remember the name of the place) and arrived in Paihia in the late afternoon/early evening. After dumping our stuff we headed to the local shop to find something for dinner and something for our packed lunches for Saturday.

On Saturday we set off at about 7 on the DuneRider trip to Cape Reinga and 90 mile Beach included in our Stray Patch Pass. We picked up some individual travellers along the way and set off for the tip of New Zealand. On our journey we stopped at a cafe for morning tea to wake us up and then carried straight on to Cape Reinga, where the Maori believe your spirit departs when you die. Because of the spiritual significance of the place you aren't allowed to eat or drink and the car park was moved a few years ago. At the entrance to the pathway down to the lighthouse there is a huge archway with some kind of instrument which the wind whistles through, making a rather eerie noise. All along the path there are plaques of text with history of the area and Maori myths linked to the cape, written in both English and Maori. At the end is a little white lighthouse and views over the clashing of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean which are pretty awesome.

The meeting of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean

After walking back (uphill) we set off for the sand dunes of 90 Mile Beach once everyone was back on the coach.
Unfortunately I hadn't brought any extra clothes or swimsuit or a towel which was recommended for our next activity - sand dune surfing
Now you might be wondering what on Earth sand dune surfing is which I was at this point. We arrived at the bottom of the biggest sand dune I've ever seen, just round the corner from 90 Mile Beach and got out. At the bottom of the sand dune was a wide flat river, a bit like a big puddle. Our driver got out the small boards, which are basically body boards, and explained how it was going to work. There was another coach load of people on a slightly different tour doing the same thing so we had to be careful not to crash into anyone on the way down. We picked up our boards and trekked up the steep sand dune, where others' feet had made a clear path. Looking down at the steep descent, I thought it's too late to back out now. When it got to my turn I lay on the board with my elbows tucked in, head up and feet prepared to stop me and steer me. I took a deep breath and our driver gave me shove to start me off. As I travelled down the slope headfirst, I picked up speed, the breath sucked from my mouth as I tried to scream. As I slowed comparatively a scream/yell of exhilaration escaped me and I slowed to a stop at the foot of the dune, just missing the river. With the adrenalin still pumping, I stood up and got my breath back, getting out of the way of the other surfers quickly, before deciding to go again. I experienced the same fear when I go to the top but this time I didn't have our driver to give a headstart. And I'd noticed my left foot was stinging from the abrasive sand. Nevertheless off I went again, at a slightly slower pace. I attempted to increase my speed by lifting my feet but found myself drifting and in danger of spinning around so I ended up stopping a little short of the bottom with very sore feet. Also shortly before the end I hit an uneven bit of ground which threw sand in my face and open mouth. I decided twice was enough and walked back to the bus, trying in vain to brush the sand off me but it covered me pretty much all over. After everyone had had their fill of sand boarding (and sustained some interesting but minor injuries) we headed around the corner to 90 Mile Beach and washed off (some of) the sand. I managed to get some sand out of the grazes on my feet although the saltwater made them sting even more. I had a painful couple of days.

90 Mile Beach

On the way back to Paihia we stopped at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom which had an interesting gift shop with lots of carved figures and little souvenirs. For dinner our driver ordered fish & chips ahead and we picked it up when we arrived at the Mangonui Fish and Chip Shop which has a great outside area to eat (with lots of flies). The fish and chips were some of the best I've ever tasted as the fish had been caught that day. The chips were also good, though not the same as you get in England. Writing this is making me hungry...
Once we got back to Paihia, I showered to get rid of the sand and we headed to the local off licence to get some booze and then headed to the beach for a very interesting night...enough said

On Sunday we took a little trip over to Russell which was one of the earlier European settlements in New Zealand. However the weather was cloudy so our trip wasn't that great and there wasn't all that much to do. We weren't prepared to pay the entrance fee to the museum, the beach back on the other side was sandier and the sea was too cold to swim in. So all in all it was a bit of a wasted trip. However we did have an ice cream and the boat trip itself was nice.

View of Russell from the boat

Unfortunately on Monday it rained all day so I spent the day doing nothing special: washing, watching TV and packing as I was leaving at 4. A couple of people from the same hostel as me were on the Stray bus but our driver got us all introduced by getting us to make an imaginary pizza and repeating everyone's names and the ingredients we were adding to it. There weren't any interesting stops on this journey as it was still chucking it down. The highlight of this trip was probably having to stop because of an accident on the road. I think a logging truck lost some logs and someone got pretty badly injured. Anyway that set us back a bit so we stopped at McDonald's for dinner and arrived back at Base around 8.30.

After nearly missing the ferry (the bus was late) we arrived on Rangitoto Island around 11ish and started our ascent to the summit. It was a very hot day but otherwise the walk was very pleasant. Along the way there were points of interest and information about the wildlife and plants and the formation of the volcano where we stopped for well-earned rests. Roughly two hours later we got to the summit with the sun beating down hard. I ate lunch with sweat dripping down my back (I'm sure that conjures up a lovely image!) and the sun in my eyes trying not to get sunburnt knees. Due to the island being a volcano, the trees are small and there are few around the summit, providing little shade. However the views make up for all these bad points as they were simply spectacular.

I could see for miles. I found the way down not so fun, as I normally do, because of the stony gravel paths which are my least favourite terrain. It did remind me a lot of Mt Kilimanjaro though. We went back via the lava caves where I did some exploring.

I enjoyed this a lot as at first I didn't know how far the caves went until I came out the other end!

We then headed back to the pier for the ferry home and I took some pictures of the island as we sped away back to Auckland harbour where we enjoyed a very nice ice cream

Once I got back I realised I'd got a bit sunburnt but it's not bad enough to peel!
Sunday was a relatively boring day so I made some cookies with the chocolate I had left. They turned out a bit like flat cakes but they tasted good.