We woke up and went straight to the information center, convenient since we stayed immediately outside of it. After talking to the lovely woman behind the counter (who pointed us towards LOTS of different options for things to do in town from hikes to shopping to boat rides, etc. etc. etc.), we used the internet at the cafe next door and then decided to head into town to explore the Town Basin.
The Town Basin is basically a marina that surrounds the downtown area, quite cute with lots of rock and wooden sculptures around it. It kinda reminded us of Northport - lots of adorable mom and pop shops and sailing masts :).
After the Town Basin we decided to follow her advice and drive (somewhat) along the coast, making a few stops on the way. Our first stop was Whangarei Falls, a lovely waterfall located about a 10 minute drive outside of town. We parked the car and headed down to the water through a nice little nature walk.
When we got back to the car we ate a quick lunch. After we ate we were outside of our van when another couple from Germany, also in a Jucy van waved us over. They said they'd been given two folding chairs by fellow travelers and wanted to know if we wanted them. Sure! Thanks!
So after loading up our new chairs we headed along the superrrrrr windy coast that leads to the Tutukaka Marina and the beach! We had decided to drive this hour loop because the woman at the information center had told us it was a really scenic drive which would land us at the beach. While it wasn't the BEST beach weather ever (ya know, only about 75 and fairly windy), we decided we had the time so it was worth it.
The road was one of the crazier ones we've driven on while in NZ (which is saying A LOT). And while it wasn't actually the most scenic drive, it did bring us to Matutu Beach :)
We landed at the beach around 1, set up our brand new chairs, and enjoyed the sun for a while. MAN was it beautiful! It was definitely one of my favorite beaches we've been to on this trip. The sand was lovely, the views were amazing, and, while it could have been a few degrees warmer..., the weather was pretty close to perfect :).
We stayed at the beach for about an hour and a half before packing up and heading towards the other side of the crazy windy loop that had brought us to the harbor, on our way to Paihia and the Bay of Islands!
New Zealand's Northland is known as the "winterless north", since there isn't much variety in weather or seasons the further north you go (we are south of the equator remember so North = warm!) While we hadn't exactly been sure that we'd have enough time to explore the Northland area, as soon as we figured out our schedule I KNEW we had to try to get to the north, and more specifically to the Bay of Islands!
The town of Paihia is located in an inlet, in a bay with 144 islands! SO MANY ISLANDS! As such, it's called the Bay of Islands (surprising, right?) While Jon drove from the beach to Paihia I read through all of the maps and brochures the woman at the information center in Whangarei had given us. And as I read I checked out what excursions to the islands we might want to do tomorrow. The ones that stood out most to me were full-day boat excursions where you could swim with dolphins. Who doesn't want to swim with dolphins???
But then I saw it.
Diving.
New Zealand has a lot of wonderful dive sites, but its BEST dive site is basically exactly where we had just been. Tutukaka Marina. From Tutukaka you can take a dive boat out to the Poor Knight's Islands to catch a glimpse of both native fish and some of the tropical fish that travel along the East Australian Current (the EAC), aka a warm front of water that travels from Australia around Oceana. Jacques Cousteau ranked the Poor Knights as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.
How do you say no to that?
So as we drove I mentioned to Jon that I was contemplating diving tomorrow instead of going on a boat ride. We talked about it and he decided that he would probably be able to play golf if I went diving, since he isn't so sure he feels the need to go diving again any time soon. While it is weird contemplating spending basically an entire day apart, diving and golf sounded pretty good to both of us!
The only problem? We were currently on our way to Paihia and the Bay of Islands...about an hour north of where we currently were. Womp womp. At this point we basically needed to get ourselves to Paihia just to book our excursions for tomorrow. So we kept driving north. We arrived in Paihia around 4 pm and went straight to the information center. There, I was able to book my diving excursion for tomorrow - two dives in the Bay of Islands (HUZZAH!) and Jon was able to get some information on the local golf courses. The next issue? The best golf places are in Whangarei...so it makes a LOT more sense for us to head back to Whangarei fo the night then to stay in Paihia, especially since we need to be in Auckland in a few days (further south than where we are now). SO! After booking diving, we wandered around Paihia for about an hour, checked out the free internet at the library, and walked around the harbor, checking out the islands we could see from the mainland.
Anddddddddd then we hopped back in the car (with me driving...sorry for the detour to the north, hun!) and headed back to the same information center we had stayed at last night, but not before stopping to pick up a special treat for tonight's dessert...
We haven't had ice cream in SO LONG (never mind the fact that I'm lactose intolerant - that's what dairy pills are for!)
After a delicious feast of Mexican food (YUM) and ice cream (MORE YUM) we watched "The Usual Suspects" which was AWESOME - seriously - go watch it if you haven't seen it.
Definitely time for bed - I need to be up and ready by 7:20 am for tomorrow's diving adventures!
Jess' highlight of the day: the beach!
Jon's highlight of the day: Whangarei Falls
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