Bay of islands

MWe arrived at the airport to pick up the car in good time. A grumpy lady picked up In a shuttle bus and took us to pick up the car. 

An Irish man called Ivan helped us with the paperwork and we were shown to a bright yellow Mazda. In true 'us' style we got the most garish car on the road!it was comfy enough, we set off on Highway 1 to Paihia. We saw a beautiful sunset and tackled a number of steep bends along the way but 4 hours later we'd been to paihia countdown and were eating jacket potatoes in Mousetrap Backpackers. 

We set off the next day for the Fullers Dolphin cruise to the hole in the rock. We arrived at the maritime building to jump on the 'dolphin explorer' boat. It was a really nice big boat. We set off into the bay. The views were spectacular and the weather amazing. 

On the boat cruise 

Blue ocean!

View from the boat 

More views!

The map of the hole in the rock cruise

The hole in the rock 

The weather meant we could go through the hole! 

Out the other side!

Hole In the rock in the distance

Wild baby seal!

We stopped for a walk around one of the smaller islands 

Lookout point over the water 

Looking out over the bay of islands 

The view from our beach in Paihia 

That evening we went for our final dinner out. We started with a cocktail at a beachside restaurant. I had a blueberry gin and tonic and Amy had a 'Cinderella' with vodka! Mm yum! 

Cocktails with a blanket

The Cinderella

The gorgeous sunset

We watched sunset but got a little chilly (it is winter after all). Then we headed for dinner at a littl restaurant called 'Only Seafood' I had read great reviews on tripadvisor and it definitely didn't disappoint. 

We had a starter of pumpkin and tomato soup with mussels 

Yum!

And a whole flounder with caper sauce for main. 

Enjoying the food!

And a chocolate mousse for pudding!

This 'last supper' was delightful. So yummy and just perfect setting :) we had a bottle of Lindauer to celebrate the end of our trip. Brilliant!

The banana! The next day was a trip to Cape Reinga, the tip of the North Islansd. The journey was quite long, but very scenic with tons of bends! 

We made it to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga, just with enough time for the rain to chuck it down, we retreated to the banana for safety and warmth to emerge again 15 minutes later when the sky was blue once more

Here we are with a sign showing how far it is to London ! (18029 km!) 

At the most northern tip of North Island

Where the Tasman sea flows into the Pacific ocean and makes this whirlpool effect!

On the way back to Paihia we went to 90 mile beach, this is literally what it says in the name. Coaches and cars (we weren't sure about the Banana) can drive up and down for miles, and there's just nothing, it's eerie but still beautiful

There are sand dunes you can body board down (verycool) 

It stretched for miles!!

We stopped for an ice cream (as Brits do in winter!)yum! And headed back to Paihia to pack our bags and to have our favourite Vanuatuu dinner (Tuna omlette :)) 

Journeys to the North

We left Franz Josef to travel to Nelson. The journey was nice, maybe not as spectacular as the one from Queenstown but there were some pretty awesome views 

Strange mist out the coach window 

We stopped at the pancake rocks on the way. These were cool rock formations with blow holes made from the sea crashing into little caves!

Amy at pancake rocks

Here they are close up!

We also stopped at this beach in Hokitika that looks like something from a horror movie!

Creepy

We arrived in Nelson late, we were driven to our hostel as it was a fair walk out of town. Tasman bay backpackers was really quaint and comfortable, they had free chocolate pudding from 8pm every day. Everyone tells me it was brill! We were up early and at the bus stop by 745 so didn't really have time to see the sights of Nelson. The next journey was to Picton to catch the ferry over to North Island. 

Picton was so lovely, it felt like a seaside town in the south of France, glittering water, flapping boat sails and eateries with outside tables. We took a walk to 'Bobs bay' where we sat and had a picnic. 

  

Bag lady walking for her picnic!

The view from Bobs bay! 

Looking out over Picton harbour. 

The view from the harbour side cafe. 

We had driven through the Marlborough region, famous for its wine, to get to Picton. So I decided to try the 'Two Rivers' Sauvinon blanc as a wine tour of my own! 

Even if it was only just 12 o clock! 

We took the ferry across to Wellington on which the captain announced in front of us was a pod of wild dolphins! This was amazing! They were there 100m ahead, we got closer and closer U til they were literally outside, we had conveniently sat at the front in the top deck cafe as the sea was to be calm this crossing. Amazing! 

The pod of dolphins 

We arrived late again in Wellington, had a stroll around the cry centre as the sun went down and headed back for some dinner. We both are really fond of the capital city, it really has a lot to offer ! 

The next morning was another early start. We took the coach from Wellington to Whanganui. We stopped in a place called Bulls, named after an Englishman James Bull, and twinned with Cowes (Isle of Wight!). This was supposed to be a ten minute stop but we were informed as we arrived in Bulls that the roads were closed following the devastating flooding that had happened in Whanganui the previous weekend. This was disappointing as for the first time in awhile it was raining, and even for us, there was little to do in Bulls!

Eventually 3 hours later than expected we made it to Whanganui, our hostel was lovely, very quiet but luckily untouched by the flooding. We walked up the hill to a monument to the war. An elevator had been built in 1919 to get to the top of this hill but in true Amy and alex style we walked instead 

The top of the elevator. 

A sign showing they've still got their sense of humour! 

After some dinner and a cuddle in front of the tele we headed to bed. The next mornin. We walked around the Victoria lake reserve. It was gorgeous, there were birds everywhere and really crystal clear water.

Deer park 

The entrance to the reserve 

By the lake - blue sky :)

This bird chased me, I screamed, gave Kelly a heart attack!

Love birds in the aviary 

A cute bridge inthe park 

Amys grandma had told us to take every opportunity as we've only got a few days left so on seeing these pencils it seemed appropriate to hug them :) 

We made it back to the hostel and to the bus on time for a quick bus ride to New Plymouth

Our last dorm experience 

After a sleep we headed off to walk the coastal walk before getting the bus for the last couple of legs to Hamilton! 

Our coastal walk in New Plymouth was fab! The weather was a little bit cheeky, we got a complete frontal shower at one point but the views over the sea were lovely 

The coastal walk up to the Te Wera Wera bridge. 

The bridge 

Behind the grey clouds was the peak of Mount Taranaki

You can just about see it 

A rainbow! And on to Hamilton