From Paihia to Paekakariki
Second week of New Zealand brought me from close to the northern most part of the North island to the very south. I had a great stay in Paihia, the cabins I stayed in were very nice. I was able to bike around the local area, which was real New Zealand bush, very thick vegetation. I went out on a "swim with the dolphins" cruise, but I was only able to look at them from the boat. The first pod had babies (no swiming with dolphin babies and protective moms!), the second pod had a bunch of playful teenagers, but by then the wind had whipped up and the skipper wouldn't let anyone in the water. It was a nice cruise and I (hopefully) got some good closeups of some dolphins. Finally I got to do a little kayaking. The trip across to Russel was fine, but the trip back we had a stiff headwind. It was quite the workout.

A local floating cafe along the Waitangi River
Paihai warf and down town.
My little cabin.
The view from my little cabin.
Rich with the Bay of Islands in the Background.
Rich finally finds someone with the same good taste in head wear.

I have since taken the Overlander train from the north down to Paekakariki (just a little outside of Wellington). The Backpacker hostel I'm staying at is nice, but the weather has turned sour (a southwester is blowing). Although it's still warm (mid 60's) there's rain and true to the guidebooks, Wellington is a windy city.

Wellington Harbor with plenty of wind.

Where the heckie is Waiheke?
Just got off the ferry from an awesome stay at Waiheke Island. The place reminded me so much of Long Beach durring the summertime. Lots of tourists visit here from Auckland. Though there were still plenty of out of the way places where you didn't feel crowded, and the beaches were great. So what is there to do in Waiheke?



You can hit the beach.
Check out the local flora....
Visit a local vinyard...
Watch the sun set....
Or watch the moon rise.
Or take poorly exposed pictures of yourself (it was the only place I could find a rock for the camera!)

I mainly went for the beach option. Lots of really nice beaches, which I didn't lug my camera along to. The folks that I was staying with at the B&B (Peter and Anne of Twin Gables) were very nice and their place had a spectacular view of one of the many bays.

Auckland!!!
Ha! I finally managed to coax one of these ancient computers to download some of my pictures. It's been a great stay in Auckland, I was able to see at least a few of the sites. I got a nice sunburn out at Mission bay. I really liked the view from the sky tower and it was neat to see the American challenger in the America's cup down at the harbor.

My little hotel
A view to the west from the Sky Tower
Rich in the process of getting baked on the road to Mission Bay
Hobbit Feet with Rangitoto Island in the background.

Last Day In Hawaii

Camping at Bellows beach was great. First night I was treated to a nice tropical storm. I weathered it pretty good with the help of ol' blue and Heather's air matteress. Below are a couple of pictures from Bellows beach. The weather scared away all but the die hard campers so there weren't more than a couple of people on the beach at any one time. Almost felt like my own private beach.

Today I take off for Auckland at 12:30am. I'm showered, I've got clean clothes, I'm ready to go.

Rich on Beach with nice case of "mono hair"
Bellows Beach at 8:30 in the morning

Pictures from Hawaii
Rich and Grandma
Rich, Aunt Bev and Grandma