Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Hole in the Rock...
Kia ora!
This morning we were supposed to wake up at 7:00AM, because our tour to the Bay of Islands would start at 7:45AM. Unfortunately, we ended up waking up at 7:43AM, and getting ready in record time. I ran down to check if the Stray-bus had arrived, and the lady behind the counter said the driver had just passed. Luckily, there was another person waiting for the bus, that had also overslept, so I asked her to talk to the hostel-staff and call Stray to make sure we were picked up. I ran back up and made sure we had all our stuff. Francesca thought she had forgot her glasses, so I had to go up one more time, only to find out she had in fact already grabbed it. Hey, at least it’s a work-out!
After all of that was said and done we met our driver for the day; a nice girl named Lucky. She would drive us up to the Paihia today. After we stowed our backpacks (which are still overweight, and which Francesca still can’t carry without almost breaking her back) we sat down in the small bus. We were accompanied by one Irish girl and two American guys. Introductions were made and off we went.
It really felt like we were starting our trip now; getting out of the city. Outside of Auckland everyone thinks Aucklanders are snobby, and considered Jafa’s (Just Another F&$#ing Aucklander). No more Jafa for us! Lucky told us some more stories about the history of New Zealand, and taught us some more Maori words to impress the locals. Our first stop of the day was the McKinney Kauri tree. The Kauri is an indigenous tree, that can reach enormous heights and girths. The one we saw today is ‘only’ 600 years old, and already makes me look like a dwarf (and Fran like an ant). For good luck and good weather you’re supposed to hug the tree and tell it it’s beautiful, so yeah… here’s us hugging a tree!
We drove off again, making our way to a little town to pick up some sandwiches and drinks. We bought some Dutch Salami (yes, really), cheese, bread and Fanta for our soon-to-come-beach-picnic. Lucky brought us to Uretiti Beach (yes, really, cheesy jokes allowed). We sat on the beach and ate slightly sandy, but surely satisfying sandwiches (I am an alliteration artist) overlooking a beautiful beach and clear water with little islands on the horizon. Not a bad meal! A little further down the road we stopped in a small town to look at some unique toilets. In the early 1990s the town needed to redo their public toilets and asked Frederick Hundertwasser (an Austrian architect that had lived there for 25 years) to do the design. I have to say, the Gaudi-esque mosaic style makes peeing quite the experience.
Our final destination of the day was Paihia, where we are currently residing. We chose to go to the Pipi Patch, a nice hostel, where we could get a good double room cheaper than a spot in a dorm. We dropped our backpacks in the room and headed back to the center of town for our eco-tour with a possibility of seeing dolphins, and perhaps even orcas. For the brave there was even the opportunity to swim, if we would find any of said marine mammals. The boat took us for a spin across several of the nicer islands, some of which are inhabited. Apparently we could even buy one of the islands, or a vacation home for several millions. Tempting, but perhaps not the wisest thing to spend our money on… We also heard the story of Russell, the first real town of New Zealand. It was once known as the ‘Hellhole of the South Pacific’, because whalers and Australian convicts came together here for brothels and booze. Nowadays it’s known as Romantic Russell, undoubtedly a better nickname. It certainly looks picturesque.
The highlight of the trip was the visit to the ‘Hole in the Rock’. Might not sound like much, but going through a hole in an island on a rough sea with a boat is actually quite cool. The island at one point had a weak spot that eroded, becoming a cave and later on turning into a sizeable hole. After the hole we looked for dolphins again, following hints from the coastguard that had spotted some a few hours before in a nearby bay. Unfortunately we didn’t end up finding any dolphins… We headed back to Paihia and concluded our day. Now we’re waiting in the hostel for the BBQ that should start in 15 minutes. We’re both really hungry, so that’s it for today! Tomorrow we’re going up to Cape Reinga, for some time on 90 Mile Beach, some dune-surfing and a view of two oceans colliding.
Sweet as!
P.S. Please keep the comments coming! We love them! \\o.o//
P.S.2 If you wish to see Francesca skydive/bungee please donate!
P.S.3 Fijne verjaardag nog Jelle! <3 Take care bro! 28 is ancient.
This morning we were supposed to wake up at 7:00AM, because our tour to the Bay of Islands would start at 7:45AM. Unfortunately, we ended up waking up at 7:43AM, and getting ready in record time. I ran down to check if the Stray-bus had arrived, and the lady behind the counter said the driver had just passed. Luckily, there was another person waiting for the bus, that had also overslept, so I asked her to talk to the hostel-staff and call Stray to make sure we were picked up. I ran back up and made sure we had all our stuff. Francesca thought she had forgot her glasses, so I had to go up one more time, only to find out she had in fact already grabbed it. Hey, at least it’s a work-out!
After all of that was said and done we met our driver for the day; a nice girl named Lucky. She would drive us up to the Paihia today. After we stowed our backpacks (which are still overweight, and which Francesca still can’t carry without almost breaking her back) we sat down in the small bus. We were accompanied by one Irish girl and two American guys. Introductions were made and off we went.
It really felt like we were starting our trip now; getting out of the city. Outside of Auckland everyone thinks Aucklanders are snobby, and considered Jafa’s (Just Another F&$#ing Aucklander). No more Jafa for us! Lucky told us some more stories about the history of New Zealand, and taught us some more Maori words to impress the locals. Our first stop of the day was the McKinney Kauri tree. The Kauri is an indigenous tree, that can reach enormous heights and girths. The one we saw today is ‘only’ 600 years old, and already makes me look like a dwarf (and Fran like an ant). For good luck and good weather you’re supposed to hug the tree and tell it it’s beautiful, so yeah… here’s us hugging a tree!
We drove off again, making our way to a little town to pick up some sandwiches and drinks. We bought some Dutch Salami (yes, really), cheese, bread and Fanta for our soon-to-come-beach-picnic. Lucky brought us to Uretiti Beach (yes, really, cheesy jokes allowed). We sat on the beach and ate slightly sandy, but surely satisfying sandwiches (I am an alliteration artist) overlooking a beautiful beach and clear water with little islands on the horizon. Not a bad meal! A little further down the road we stopped in a small town to look at some unique toilets. In the early 1990s the town needed to redo their public toilets and asked Frederick Hundertwasser (an Austrian architect that had lived there for 25 years) to do the design. I have to say, the Gaudi-esque mosaic style makes peeing quite the experience.
Our final destination of the day was Paihia, where we are currently residing. We chose to go to the Pipi Patch, a nice hostel, where we could get a good double room cheaper than a spot in a dorm. We dropped our backpacks in the room and headed back to the center of town for our eco-tour with a possibility of seeing dolphins, and perhaps even orcas. For the brave there was even the opportunity to swim, if we would find any of said marine mammals. The boat took us for a spin across several of the nicer islands, some of which are inhabited. Apparently we could even buy one of the islands, or a vacation home for several millions. Tempting, but perhaps not the wisest thing to spend our money on… We also heard the story of Russell, the first real town of New Zealand. It was once known as the ‘Hellhole of the South Pacific’, because whalers and Australian convicts came together here for brothels and booze. Nowadays it’s known as Romantic Russell, undoubtedly a better nickname. It certainly looks picturesque.
The highlight of the trip was the visit to the ‘Hole in the Rock’. Might not sound like much, but going through a hole in an island on a rough sea with a boat is actually quite cool. The island at one point had a weak spot that eroded, becoming a cave and later on turning into a sizeable hole. After the hole we looked for dolphins again, following hints from the coastguard that had spotted some a few hours before in a nearby bay. Unfortunately we didn’t end up finding any dolphins… We headed back to Paihia and concluded our day. Now we’re waiting in the hostel for the BBQ that should start in 15 minutes. We’re both really hungry, so that’s it for today! Tomorrow we’re going up to Cape Reinga, for some time on 90 Mile Beach, some dune-surfing and a view of two oceans colliding.
Sweet as!
P.S. Please keep the comments coming! We love them! \\o.o//
P.S.2 If you wish to see Francesca skydive/bungee please donate!
P.S.3 Fijne verjaardag nog Jelle! <3 Take care bro! 28 is ancient.
<< Home