Paihia and Bay of Islands

After the escape out of Auckland, it was time to spend some time in Paihia, where the weather was actually pretty decent. The first day was a washout, but the next two days were beautiful.

The first day consisted of getting on a boat around the bay to a hole in a rock, imaginatively called hole in the rock. The sea was rather choppy but it was a nice experience.

That evening, we then got on a ferry to a place called Russell (apparently the first capital of New Zealand), had some fish and chips, and a couple of sunset pints.

The next day consisted of hiking around the bay through some amazing forests. The sounds coming from the forests were just beautiful and I could have stayed in there all day.

But it was back to Paihia in the evening for an impromptu Karaoke session (Dylan didn’t attend that one!).

I was dreading my 9 hour double bus ride today, especially when the buses had been cancelled this weekend. Driving the route back to Auckland was quite a sad sight. Water everywhere and landslides and trees covering the roads. But after lots of diversions I made it to the next stop, Rotorua, which smells of eggs.