Northland

Tuesday was the start of a Stray tour of both islands, beginning with Northland (the long bit that sticks out the top of North Island). It is most famous for the Kauri forests (big trees!), the Bay of Islands and beaches. Most of Tuesday, however, was spent travelling up to Pihia, which is the main base for the Bay of Islands, stopping off at the occasional forest or park to look at the wildlife (mainly plants and birds) but included the Goat Island reserve for some sealife spotting.

The next day also involved a lot of travel but there was more to do along the way as we were taking a 4WD to the top end of the island and then back to Pihia. Along the way we drove along 90 mile beach which is actually only 64 miles long but the Kiwis wanted to have a bigger beach than the Aussies! It actually is classed as a national highway, with a 100 kph speed limit - not that there is much chance of exceeded that in most places! Along the side of the beach are a series on steep sand dunes so it was time for more sand boarding but the wipeouts were a little less spectacular. Following the boarding we continued up to Cape Reinga at the extreme north end to see the point at which the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific. Unfortunately it was a little overcast and flat and so the transition was not as obvious as it can apparantly be at times. The day ended with fish and chips at the 'world famous' Mangonui Fish Shop - world famous primarily for the fact that most overseas tourists are taken there!

Thursday morning was spent cruising in the Bay of Islands, including some dolphin watching. As there were babies in the pod no-one was allowed to go swimming with them which is probably just as well as the night before had gone on for quite a bit longer than expected! The rest of the day was spent continuing the hangover recovery before heading back to Auckland.