NEW ZEALAND

So I arrived back in Auckland to the usual grey weather! I quickly cleared out my NZ bank account and headed to the cheapest hostel in town. Wasnt quite sure what to do with myself since there was no Pak n Save in Auckland (where I stocked up on chocolate last year!). I just had a wander round town then decided to get the ferry to Davenport, which was quite nice for a walkabout until it rained.

The next day I was back on the Magic bus half way up to Paihia only to find out that they had changed their timetable. This meant that I was unable to do diving at Poor Knights, which was pretty much the only reason I had returned to NZ! It also meant another day stuck in Auckland! Not happy, letter of complaint heading their way.

Paihia was a nice little resort town. I did a daytrip to Cape Reinga and 90-mile beach (which is actually only 64.5 miles)and did some sand dune surfing on a boogie board, which was fun. We had great weather, but it was a pity I had to watch most of it from the bus window!

The next day I did a cruise round the Bay of Islands in search of dolphins. We were fairly much greeted by the dolphins straight away, although because there was a baby one we were not allowed to swim with them. I am not sure how keen I would have been to swim with them in water temperatures of 15 degrees! We were then lucky enought to come across 3 killer whales, which was unexpected. Another fine day weather wise.

My last day in the Bay of Islands was spent getting my diving computer fixed (after chatting to the guy for a bit he gave me his card saying to get in touch if I want work next season........if the water aint 23 degrees plus he can forget it!). I then hopped on the ferry to Russell which is a tooty wee village over the waters. Not much to say except it rained there too.

My last day in Auckland presented surprisingly good weather so I hopped on the bus to a beach town called Orewa, which I had spotted on my Magic bus travels. It is really nice and the kind of place I would retire. I treated myself to a nice lunch then just lay on the beach until it was time to get the bus back. It was a stunning day so I guess I will be leaving NZ with a good impression!