Paihia: 27 Feb to 2 Mar

Bay of Islands

Paihia. In the far north of the North Island, in the Bay of Islands. It is a gorgeous, lazy-days town. The 27th we rode the bus up from Auckland. (We got a flexipass, which allowed us to travel on the bus systems in NZ, and is how we got around.) It was a beautiful drive. NZ is so beautiful! We stayed at a cute hostel, called Pepper Tree.

Pepper Tree hostel

Two nights we made dinner. It was fun in the kitchen with everyone else staying there. 

The 28th we went on a dolphin cruise. The islands are amazing!

On the boat

One of the islands

Dolphins!

One of the islands is informally called Hole in the Rock. 

Hole in the Rock

We were in a fairly large boat, and we managed to go through it! It was pretty sweet to watch the waves go into it. When the seas are high, the hole is completely covered with water!

We then had the option of stopping at an island for an hour, or getting a free ferry to Russell, the town across the bay from Paihia. I, naturally, chose the island! It was beyond amazing. The islands in the Bay of Islands are very mountainous. We stopped at Urupukapuka. There were many trails through it. I tramped up to the top in my jandles, which was a bad idea. But it was worth the sore feet! This was the first time I truly felt like I was in New Zealand. I was high up on this island that was covered in trees and sheep, and surrounded by deep blue water and other hilly islands. It was amazing. I took more than 100 pictures, so I suppose you should be glad you are spared them. But this is what a nearby peninsula looked like, right from the water:

Cape Brett Peninsula

It really was beyond pictures. Looking at them afterwards, I didn't think they did the beauty justice, so you'll just have to go yourself!

Later that day we went on a hike. It went along the beach for a while, and then through the bush next to the water. 

The cool rocks on the shore

On the way we saw these enormous bamboo trees.

Giant bamboo

Every glance you took, basically, was beautiful. 

Resting from the hike

The next day, the 1st, was a true beach day. We started out kayaking (had some trouble...), and then spent the rest of the day laying around on the beach. I already had a really bad sunburn from the previous days, so I tried to stay out of the sun. My feet look hilarious, along with my watch tan. My shoulders got very burnt too. But I was burnt from being in NZ, so I didn't really care :)  I did go swimming in the Pacific though. It was very refreshing, not at all cold (or warm, really). I got tons of salt in my mouth. It was great!

Pre sunburn

Paihia was a much needed vacation from our vacation from our vacation. 

The beach

(Paihia was the vacation from our vacation to the north island, which was our vacation from our vacation to New Zealand. Yay!)