Bay of Islands

January 11, 2010

On Wednesday morning Warren and I woke up early, checked out of the hostel, put our extra bags in storage and caught the 8 am Stray bus to Paihia. On the way we made several stops for food and gas. We stopped by the beach and were given a glass-bottomed boat tour. After eating lunch by a waterfall we arrived in Paihia around 4 in the afternoon. We got settled into the dorm room and joined the others for a BBQ. After a few drinks at the bar we went for a walk along the beach and called it a night.

On Thursday most of the group that traveled with us the day before went on a day trip to Cape Rienga. Warren and I decided to do that trip the next day. Instead I went in to the clinic to get some antibiotics (I just can’t stay healthy) and we spent the rest of the day on the beach reading or in the room sleeping. We met up with the rest of the crew when they got back and sat in the hot tub before having a drink at the bar. I had some trouble falling asleep that night. The bar is located next to the dorms and I could hear everyone partying.

Friday morning we were up early and on the bus by 7:15. After a few more pick-ups we stopped to grab some brunch and headed onto 90-mile beach. The beach is actually 64 miles long and is used as a road with traffic cruising along at a whooping 60 mph. After some picture stops we hit the sand dunes for some sand boarding. The climb was not easy but Warren and I managed to drag our boogie boards up to the top three times and race back down.

The trip continued with a stop at Cape Rienga, the northern most point of the north island. The Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet here and the views were stunning. On the way back we stopped at a fish and chips place to eat. Back in Paihia we went out for garlic cheese pizza and some dessert. The next morning we checked out of the hostel before 10 am and went to get some breakfast pizza. After a little time on the beach watching a family obstacle course race, we got on the Stray bus back to Auckland.

I was not a big fan of ACB Base where we had stayed earlier so when we got back we got our bags from ACB and checked into Snow and Surf down the road. After getting settled in we went out for ice cream and then settled in for the night. After some more Prison Break we called it a night. Again I had trouble falling asleep. The window was open and there were many people enjoying Auckland’s nightlife.

On Sunday morning we checked out of the hostel, grabbed some breakfast and went souvenir shopping. We hung out at the hostel a bit longer before grabbing some pizza at Adana’s (fantastic!). We then got on the bus to the airport. Warren had a 6 o’clock flight back to the United States while I had a 6:30 flight to Christchurch. After checking in our bags we watched one more episode of Prison Break before saying our goodbyes. I’m really glad Warren was with me this first week and a half. I’m going to miss him a lot. I feel bad that we didn’t get out of Auckland more but I hope he enjoyed his time here. For those of you who were wondering, Warren and I are now back together. ☺

The flight into Christchurch was quite scary with the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. However, we did land safely. John Hodgens met me at the airport. He had worked at the farm with Van during the harvests of 2001 and 2002 and had kept in touch with the family. He brought me back to his place in Amberley where he lives with his son Stewart. I cannot express how grateful I am to John for letting me stay at his place until I get things figure out. He is even helping me look for work around Amberley.

Monday morning Stewart, his girlfriend Mel and I went into Christchurch to run some errands. I took my phone in to get unlocked and bought some shampoo and conditioner from the supermarket. I spent the afternoon at John’s office looking for jobs on the internet. I sent out quite a few applications and will hopefully hear back from a lot of them in the next couple of days. The job service at ACB was not nearly as helpful as I had hoped and I have pretty much decided to find work on my own. We’ll see what happens.

That’s it for now. Hopefully my next post will be filled with adventures from my new job. Miss and love you all!