If the rest of my time in NZ is like this then I'm in serious trouble, wow oh wow, I love this place. It's simply a beautiful bay overlooking some of the many islands in this region. The beaches are a long, golden curve, the surrounding countryside a lush, green delight, the bay a calm, deep blue and the sun setting from the little town of Russel opposite where i stayed in Paihia...magical. It has huge numbers of tourists that flock here, yet Paihia has the feel of a small Swiss town, it has loads of water activities and of course some great diving.
Even with 15C water, how could i not dive the Rainbow Warrior?! Sank in 1985 by the Environmentally conscious French, with the death of one Portuguese guy, it sits at a depth of 27m a little up the coast. With visibility of 15m, water that had an ethereal clarity, a cool swim through the middle of the wreck and a bizarre moray eel, the whole dive was out of this world.
The rest of my time is spent with Sam, a nice girl i met on the bus here, who unusually for me to meet is English, and 'only' has a month to travel. She's attempting two months worth of activities in that time - from sky diving to bungee jumping. She made me feel very tired, and i think i made her feel very jealous with my slightly longer break.
I don't want to leave this place; a cool hostel, friendly roommates, views i love... but with a hard lesson in life. A young backpacker died while swimming on the day i arrived...you've only one life :-(