Far North

Eric and I took a tour through Northland, New Zealand last week and had a fantastic time. We stayed four nights in Paihia (Pie-he-uh) in the Bay of Islands.



We went kayaking to a waterfall the first full day we had in Pahia.






The second full day we took a trip to Cape Reinga, the very tip top of New Zealand. It was extremely exciting. Our tour bus drove along 90-Mile Beach (actually a little over 64 miles). The drive from bottom to top took a little over half an hour.





Our tour guide dug up a whole bucket of clams to take home.













These sand dunes are HUGE! We climbed to the top (harder than you would think - the top half is almost vertical and sand isn't the easiest to climb) and then slid down on boogie boards! It was very very fun. Eric was really good at it - he almost ended up in the water at the bottom. My pockets were full of sand for the rest of the day.



These next few photos are of Cape Reinga, the very tip of New Zealand where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. I think this was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.



Looking toward the Pacific Ocean.


Looking towards the Tasman Sea.




The water looked like it was glowing.





Shortly after leaving Cape Reinga we stoped to eat lunch at Tapotupotu Bay, which faces north from the top of the island. Georgeous!











On the third full day, we decided to kayak out to the little islands in the bay. (The next photo was taken from the little island.) We weren't very smart when we decided to "just float" for a moment. We drifted farther than we should have and then the weather changed. Suddenly we were battling extremely strong winds back to the little islands. At one point I really couldn't see how I was going to make it back. Ferrys and speed boats kept passing by me, sending me backwards! We were EXTREMELY glad when we finally made it back to land. (Didn't get the chance take photos of that bit! :)





We had a half day left before our bus was set to leave, so we went on one of the many walks in the area. The following photo was taken from one of the lookout points.



Well we wish everyone a very happy and wonderful 2007 (and we hope you will come visit us during the year)!