Paihia - Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands, North Island NZ

 

Boarding the Kiwi Experience bus at 7am on Wednesday 3^rd July with Flea the driver was wonderful. She was very cheery and enthusiastic and gave amusing commentary on the way to the Bay. Such as when the bridge we were driving on re-opened 2 years before, after two additional lanes (imported from Japan) had been added on with ‘nipple clamps’, there was a 4 hour traffic jam because so many JAFA’s[1] were that excited about the new road they all had to have a go on it. On the bus I met Mhairi (pronounced marry) and Will who had both been to Thailand and the East Coast of Australia  (reduced to East coast by anyone who had been there, I quickly learnt) and we were all equally as excited about our next destination. The bus is great, even though it was a four hour drive there were toilet and snack stops and the scenery was indescribable, so you will have to wait for some pictures. Usually they pull over for activities but not on this particular route as there is not much to do on the way. I got my first taste of ‘the clip board’ as well, where the driver explains activities and accommodation choices and passes a sheet back so you can fill it out and they can book you in, so its super simple. But after x amount of trips and activities you begin to dread the board.

We got to Paihia (Pie here) in the Bay of Islands, where Flea had grown up, so she drove us around the tiny town telling us the best walks, activities and pubs to go to, which was really great. The hostel was another Base hostel called the Ipipi patch and me and Mhairi chose to stay for 4 days instead of 1 as we wanted to go the Cape Reinga at the very top of the North Island (the kiwi bus has a set route so buses visit an area every few days in winter instead of every other day). Again, gorgeous scenery where my words, nor unfortunately my pictures, could do it justice, rolling green hills to the left and turquoise clear sea to the right, with cheeky little ‘Russell Island’ across the water.

Me on a rainy day in the Bay

Russell Island

Checked in to the hostel and met our new roommates, 2 girls from Wisconsin, a girl from Oxford who had come over to visit her sister and 18 year old Sam from the West Country. Unfortunately it had started to rain so we passed the time with a game of ring of fire, supported by my purchases from Duty Free. Beth from Base in Auckland popped out of a room as I was walking past, she had hung around Paihia for a bit but was leaving that day, but it was nice to bump into her! Some of us went to Russell Island the next day and enjoyed the scenery and the fancy houses (apparently Richard Branson owns a house there) and had a nice night in the outdoor hot tub. Got chatting to a guy called Charlie who was the first to recommend Queenstown whilst it is still ski season, he was also working for accommodation which intrigued me and my money saving ways.

On Friday me and Mhairi rose at 7 to get the bus to Cape Reinga and enjoyed talking with the other passengers. We met German Mike who had been away for 10 months and an Irish teacher who was travelling for 3 summer months. Our bus driver was a man called Aerial and a cheeky kiwi who was commentating along the way. We got to the cape where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean and there is nothing but sea to see. We got told some lovely Maori stories along the way and I am hoping to find a book of them somewhere, but here is one from the Cape I found.

After this little venture Aerial drove us to the sand dunes to sand board down them, never really gave this much consideration until he started to climb to the peak of the dune and my legs felt like they were going to seize up. It was so steep I felt like I was falling back merely walking up it so the thought of sliding down it on my tummy with half a surfboard was unconscionable. But I ended up having such a good time I did it twice, and would definitely do it again! Here's a picture of Mhairi at the foot of the dunes, look how tiny the people are at the top!

 

The next day was just good for relaxing and skyping. Sam had moved on and 2 French boys had moved in. The Lions game was also on that night so we watched it in the local pub and I enjoyed the victory even if I didn’t quite understand it. Paihia was beautiful and I think it wold be nice to go back sometime, but I shall go and see the rest of the country first.

 

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[1] Just Another ‘Friendly’ Aucklander

Auckland

Auckland

 

After a brief 10 hour flight I finally landed in Auckland, New Zealand, a destination I had been talking about for quite some time, and it felt like home. Not that I felt like I was at home but it was overcast and a bit chilly and they drove on the left. All these things comforted me, especially after my brief foray into France a few years before. I boarded the shuttle for the 50 minute bus ride into town, feeling a little bit like I had been tumble dried after my 2 days of travelling and had my first of many chats about my plans and must-see sights and adventures.

I arrived at Base Auckland, a hostel that was recommended to me by previous adventurers, and entered my first hostel room. After quickly discovering I was sharing a room with 3 boys (Canadien Robbie, Brazilien Phillipe and Korean Ming) I whipped out my digital chess set for a bit of non verbal bondng, as after such a long journey I did not fancy miming platitudes. We set up a bit of a tournament and were all beaten by nonchalant Canadian Robbie, who was apparently taught by his granddad and hadn’t played in a while. He was a bit peculiar and didn’t leave the hostel whilst I was there, preferring instead to watch breaking bad on his iPhone and letting out disgruntled yelps every so often when the connection went down. Ming (really hoping that was his name, as I kept calling him it) gave me a lovely bookmark of traditional Korean dress and left at 2am to his next destination.

My luxurious 4 bed room

Later that evening I went looking for the Balcony bar at base to meet some people I could verbally communicate with, unfortunately it was closed but there was one other person on the 6^th floor looking similarly lost, she was called Beth and was also looking for the bar. We walked down to the harbour and she told me there is not much in the way of activities on offer in Auckland, unless you wanted to jump off the sky tower or the bridge, I assume she meant using a bungy but I’m still not sure. She was off on the Kiwi experience bus the next day to get a quick 3 week view of the country but it was a very nice first night in a new city.

This would bring me to Monday, or day 2 of my 3 night stay in Base Auckland and I went for a wander around the city after playing a few games of pool with a Scotsman at the hostel. As it was a big hostel with 9 floors there weren’t that many people just hanging about to talk to so I wasn’t really sure what to do with myself. I was still a bit fuzzy so kept awake for as long as possible by going souvenir shopping with Philippe, who asked for a receipt in every shop in case the next shop thought he had stolen something, I asked him about this odd thought process and he said as he was Brazilian no one trusted him here. Peculiar but each to their own. Fell asleep around 7pm that night so woke up on Tuesday around 3am, luckily I slept in til about 9 and felt ok.

 

Selfie at the Harbour

 

I went for another wander and tried to find the war museum on Tuesday, but got waylaid at several charity shops, or op shops on the way. Aware that I only had one night left of accommodation and still no clue what to do I realized I had 2 options, to stay or not to stay? All my roommates had moved out that day so I was alone in a four bed (typical) but there were still museums and bird sanctuaries to see. Got a bit of info about the kiwi bus from the hostel and spoke to Emma who agreed I should go for the bus, if it didn’t work out I could just come back. So I bought the Super funky unlimited bus pass with its 59% discount for $711 (or £380) and booked myself on to the 7am bus the next day to take me North to the Bay of Islands. Then I went to the cinema to watch Seth Rogans's ‘This is the End’ and I don’t think I have ever left the cinema in a better mood, humming ‘Backstreet’s Back’ to myself all the way back to the hostel and looking forward to my next destination.

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

         Stepping off the plane into the city in a sauna I began chatting with a Floridian called Dorothy, who was meeting a friend from Nashville Uni, who lived in Malaysia. The airport was enormous, there were gardens inside and I'm pretty sure we walked about a mile in one direction until we asked someone where to go (though that could have been the onset of jet lag). Turns out we were going the wrong way, which I think was my fault as I had followed a group of people thanks to my inherent duckling instincts. So we got on the shuttle to the main airport (!) and went to collect Dorothy's luggage, which hadn't arrived and was due in 12 hours later (loving my backpack!). We milled about for a bit and went to find the train to the city so I knew where to go, she was being picked up by her friend so I was just keeping her company and enjoying marvelling at the scenery instead of taking selfies in front of funny shops. Her friend arrived and I asked her about the train and she very kindly offered me a lift to the city as she was going to take Dorothy on a little tour on their way home.
       So me, Dorothy, Anice and her younger brother drove around Malaysia singing along to the radio (well, they were singing, I was still British) and Anice took us to a big mosque, as she said it was a big tourist attraction. It was a big mosque and I took a few pictures...and that's all I have to say about that. Here it is.

Dunno what this guy's photographing

Me and Dorothy

 

Anice's brother, I want to say Hameesh or something similar, was hungry so we went to a mall to get some cheap food. I was feeling adventurous (again, possible jetlag onset) so I bought some sharkfin dumplings and a bundong lychee beverage and both were delicious! Took the picture on my phone which is all the way upstairs so you shall have to make do with a screenshot, but look at that neon bundong beverage!

 

We left the mall and drove into traffic, apparently football was on in the city and everyone there loves a bit of footie, and drives like an absolute mentalist! Even though it was a nice car we were riding in Anice kept patting the steering wheel and asking the car to keep going, which unerved me a little, so I got dropped off at a train station to avoid the traffic and a possible breakdown. I got the train to the Patronus Towers which was above a giant underground mall. Turns out you need to get a ticket first and the queue starts around 8am, so i just took some pictures from the outside. There was not much going on around the area, just tall bank buildings and very hot weather.



 

Seeing as it was el scorchio outside and I was a bit tired after my 12 hour flight with no sleep I decided to head to the airport so I could wait for my flight. On the train journey back I had to change at another station and saw that trains to the Batu Caves ran from there, after a quick enquiry I found out the train takes 30 minutes and stops right outside, so as I had 3 hours to spare I thought I would risk it. Arriving at the cave I thought I wouldn't go inside as it would take to long but then I thought I probably wont be here again and I could do it! There were a lot of steps though...as you can see.

 I think the stairs go up to this guys shoulder

the view from the top

 

Yes it was warm, yes  I still had my 15lb backpack on and yes there were loose monkeys running under my feet but I made it to the top! (I took breathers and drank water, just to stop you worrying). The cave was enormous, and apparently 3 caves in one. Though  they had shops in the entrance which took away a little of the awe. Also the monkeys were quite aggressively cheeky, and it was a little sad to see them jumping about with bottles of water in there hands, not sure what David Attenborough would have to say about that.

So after this little adventure I got the train to the airport and managed got my connecting flight to Auckland, ready for my real adventure to begin!