Paihia, Bay of Islands
Kia Ora Everyone!! (hi everyone in Maori) These last four days have been
INCREDIBLE! I took my very first trip with two good friends, Cassie and
Allison. We headed to the far
north for our four-day Easter Holiday from school! On Saturday morning we boarded the Naked Bus, yes I still
can’t get over the name! After sitting in hours of traffic leaving Auckland
city, we finally arrived in Paihia, which is nestled in the Bay of
Islands. The night we arrived we
met up with “The Two Morgan’s” who are also in our program and hit the town to
unwind and enjoy!! Here is how this incredible adventure went from here:
Day One:
We
woke up early on Sunday to explore.
We had scheduled tours for Monday and Tuesday but had absolutely no
plans for this day. With thousands
of ideas in mind, we headed first to Haruru Falls. These waterfalls were absolutely stunning and we were even
able to stand at the top with our feet in the water! What a rush to feel that
water gushing over the cliff and to stand right on the edge (sorry mom and
dad)! After taking millions of pictures and contemplating jumping off the cliff
into the water (thank god a kayaker below told us there were rocks at the
bottom) we headed off for adventure #2!
We
drove a little further than the falls to Kaitomo Glowworm Caves. New Zealand plays host to some of the
only glowworms in the world. As we
hiked deeper into the caves with our lanterns, we were instructed to turn them
off (bad time to say I have always been scared of the dark and to this day
still sleep with a nightlight on my cell phone)! The cave was filled with
little blue “stars” made from the glowworms. It looked like I stood three feet from the Milky Way. I was amazed! Our tour guide also
pointed out an eel that was swimming under the walkway stream-never thought I
would hate something more than a snake until meeting this thing. What an incredible experience!
We
then left “The Morgan’s” and headed to the beach for some R&R. There is nothing better than napping on
a sandy beach with turquoise water in front of you! Cassie and I decided we
needed just a little more adventure in our day and headed out to kayak in the
open ocean! We paddled to a nearby island and all around the bay. I even jumped out of my kayak for the first
time!! It was incredible!! Swimming in the deep ocean was electrifying and
terrifying all at once! I loved it!!
The rest of the night was spent having dinner out and a movie in,
preparing for our extra long tour the next day!
Day Two:
On
Monday Cassie and I woke up early to catch our 7:15am bus for our 90 mile
beach, sand dune riding, Cape Reinga and Mangingangina Forest tour! We boarded the bus and immediately knew
this was going to be an amazing day! Our bus driver greeted us and began
telling us what to expect as we made our way to the northern most habitable
point in New Zealand, Cape Reinga.
This journey would take us on 90 mile beach, which is actually only 64
miles with many legends as to why the discrepancy of name, but I won’t bore
you. As we began our journey our guide
warned us that they have lost buses in the past because of rough waters on 90
mile beach. You see, we have to
drive directly on the beach in order to make it to our proper destinations. At this point I was a little nervous
and exhilarated!
After
our morning tea stop (I am getting quite used to this tradition) we made our
way through the gorgeous New Zealand landscape and finally to 90 mile
beach. As we entered the sand I
didn’t know what to expect! Then we took off!!! We were flying through sand and
surf as the MASSIVE waves reached up and under the bus! It was incredible!!! We
were even able to get out at one point and take pictures. I put my feet into the Tasman Sea for
the first time!
Our
next stop was Sand boarding! Now this was exhausting. Our bus chose to do the
hardest dune, which took nearly 15 minutes straight vertical to climb! But
Cassie and I were not going to chicken out of this, especially when seeing old
ladies do it. We huffed and puffed
and finally made it to the top for some of the most spectacular views of the
Tasman Sea and Dunes. Then we were
off on our boards! WE FLEW!!! I tried to slow down so much that all the nail
polish on my toes was burned off…that’s how fast we were going! So much fun and
such a thrill, even though I now desperately need a pedicure!! Our next stop was lunch on the Tasman
Sea. I had never seen such
gorgeous waters.
Finally
we made it to my favorite spot, Cape Reinga. This is the most sacred place in New Zealand. The Maori people believe that Cape
Reinga is where the spirits of loved ones journey to to depart into the
afterlife. Our guide gave us such
a moving explanation that both Cassie and I teared up thinking about our
recently departed loved ones. As
we entered into Cape Reinga our guide gave a prayer in Maori to invite our
loved ones with us on our journey.
It was beautiful and made me think of my grandma. As we hiked to the top hill and stood
over the cliff looking into the Tasman Sea and the gorgeous landscape 150 meters
below, Cassie and I were silent. I
could feel the presence of my grandma with me, and although I don’t believe in
Maori Gods, I prayed to my God and thanked him for my beautiful grandmother. It
was really a powerful moment. Although grandma barely got to see the parking
lot of Canada (thanks to grandpa haha) I know she was with me in the most
beautiful place on earth, seeing the sights that literally took my breath away.
We
finally made it to the northern most point at Cape Reinga. Did you know I was closer to the South
Pole than I was to LA?! If that doesn’t make me feel far from home I don’t know
what does! We ended our journey with fish and chips at a local restaurant and a
final hike to the Mangingangina Forest.
This forest holds trees that live for 3,000 years. They don’t even mature until they are
800 years old. Legend has it that
hugging this tree with gives you energy.
Having spent nearly 10 hours traveling, Cassie and I thought a hug was
just what we needed! I got to hug a tree that is 800 years old and HUGE!! It
was actually a lot of fun and very sappy, pun intended.
We
ended the day exhausted and yet knew we had another full day ahead so we went
to bed early again and ready for our next adventures!
Day Three:
We
woke up on Tuesday and packed before heading off for our Dolphin Cruise on the
notorious Dolphin Seeker Yacht! I
was so excited I couldn’t contain myself! I warned the girls that I would live
up to the “loud and annoying American tourist” stereotype today because I LOVE
dolphins! As we set off we took a
journey among the 144 different islands in the Bay of Islands. The views were absolutely stunning and
I’m pretty sure my jaw was on the floor as my camera was pressed to my face the
whole time. We started sitting on
the top of the boat, but Allison and I grew adventurous and decided we wanted
more action. We moved to the front
deck where every move the boat made you could feel and the ocean was just a
foot from you! We ended up riding
the rest of the day in this spot, which was thrilling! The wind and the speed
nearly knocked you off balance, but I still say we had the best spot in the
house!
After
being at the front only a few minutes we came across a pod of dolphins. Usually a pod out here is only 10-15
dolphins. We came across a pod
that had over 50 dolphins or more!!! Everywhere you looked you could see them!
I was so excited I screamed, literally and everyone stared but I didn’t care
because I finally got to see WILD DOLPHINS!!! They were beautiful and so
majestic! It made my day just to ride on the boat, let alone come across one of
the biggest pods of dolphins our skipper had ever seen! Such a cool experience.
I’ve learned just how beautiful our world is.
We
then went to the hole in the rock, which is the largest hole in a rock in the
Southern Hemisphere! We even got to drive the boat through it! This was so
interesting and actually really cool.
I want to know how there is such beauty here. Our last stop on our tour was at a little island where we
were able to get off, have some carrot cake and put our feet in the clearest
water I have ever see. You could
see for meters down into the water! Cassie and I got our feet wet and picked up
gorgeous shells to bring home!
After
our tour we went across the bay to Russell, which is the first settled place in
New Zealand. It holds the first
church and many more firsts for this country. We shopped for souvenirs and relaxed. As we were sitting near the dock we
watched kids jumping off the dock into the water. It looked like a lot of fun so Allison and I decided, “when in Rome” and climbed on top high
wooden pillars on the dock. If we
were going to jump off the dock, we were going to do it in the most adventurous
way possible! It took a lot of
convincing and Allison going first to test the waters before I jumped off the 8
foot pillar into the ocean! We did it twice and it was such a fun way to end
our trip. With the sea salt
clinging to me on the ferry ride back to Paihia, our trip came to an end. We changed, had lunch and loaded our
Naked Bus for home.
I am so blessed to have gotten to be in
such a gorgeous place with some great friends. I cannot wait for our next adventure together! I’m going to sleep tonight with a light
heart and a mild sunburn. Sweetest
Dreams from New Zealand!! xoxoxox
No comments:
Post a Comment