3/5/2010 9:29 PM
Another successful adventure day … done. Surprisingly, both Jess and I slept very well at the hostel (save for the guy knocking at someone’s door for about 20 minutes at 4am). We got up bright and early around 7:15, packed up, and headed for the ferry terminal to catch a boat to Rangitoto island. It’s the youngest volcanic island in Auckland (formed just 600 years ago). There’s not a whole lot to do on the island, but you can do an “easy hike” to the top of the crater and take some awesome pictures … so that’s just what we did. This “easy hike,” however, was easy in the sense of the trail being clear and wide, but dang the incline was intense. Halfway through it, I was regretting my jeans / t-shirt decision; should’ve opted for more of a bathing suit and baseball cap. Nonetheless, we made it to the top successfully and enjoyed the cool breeze. The view was pretty amazing --- you could see right into Auckland harbor, and could also see almost 360 degrees around the island. Lots of other islands, boats, green water … very pretty stuff. From the top of the crater, we made our way down a bit to explore some volcanic caves. Jess wasn’t too thrilled at first --- there were tons of spider webs, ha --- but with our “torch” (European for flashlight) in hand, we made it through without a hitch. It wasn’t a long cave at all, but definitely a quick thrill. That was pretty much all of Rangitoto for us. Although, we did get to dip our feet in the ocean before getting back on the boat. The water was refreshingly cool … and a very pretty green.
Our day wasn’t planned much past Rangitoto. Our only “plan” was to eventually head to the Bay of Islands (Paihia). So, that’s just what we did. I ran back to the hostel to grab a kebab and our car, while Jess waited in town, getting some lunch. I picked her up and then we were off on a three-and-a-half hour drive north to the Bay of Islands. The drive was very scenic; however, much of it reminded us of parts of California and Canada. The only unique experience was the ridiculously vast expanse of evergreens, and sheep … or lamb … shamb as they came to be known.
We got into the Bay of Islands around 5:30, and had plenty of time to check into our hostel, explore the town, and book our activities for the next day. In order, our hostel is very nice. Probably the nicest hostel we’ve stayed in yet. It has a very friendly beachy atmosphere … and we have our own bathroom with hot shower! Ha. The place is very clean … and nicely located about 100 yards from the beach (and another 100 from the main town). Awesome.
The town is a very cool town, as well. It has a small town beach feel to it. Lots of different people (including old men with their mail order brides --- no joke). However, this is probably the most expensive food city in all of New Zealand. Dang. It was tough to find a meal for two under $40; however, we did ($22.50) and we regretted every bite of it. Ha. We had chicken and veggie burgers, with some jam bbq sauce and beats on it. Lame. We eventually redeemed our food day by finding a grocery store and loading up on snacks (Tzatziki chips!!) and food for the next day. Jess also finally got her Time Out chocolate bar, which she’d been talking about nonstop since she first saw it after we landed. I guess they discontinued this bar in Canada, and it was Jess’s favorite. Thankfully, it managed to live up to its chocolately amazing reputation.
Now back at the hostel, we have booked our adventure for tomorrow. We’re doing a 6 hour cruise through the Bay of Islands, docking at some island, and doing kayaking, snorkeling, etc. It was only NZ $85 per person and includes lunch and snacks throughout the day. Woohoo. We’re also drinking some New Zealand white wine (Corbans, Muller-Thurgau 2009) … refreshing. Probably another hour or so of whatever, and then it’s off to bed for our 9:45am departure tomorrow.
