January 25, 2001 Thursday - Whangarei to Paihia, New Zealand
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| End of the hiking trails, Whangarei, New Zealand |
I was able to hike some trails around Whangarei before the bus driver picked me up. There's a nice trail that wounds through some lush wet rainforests to the top of a hill. Other trails branches off and eventually ends up at the bottom of a forested picnic area along a lovely river. It's definitely a nice hike for anybody visiting the area.
A different bus driver picked me up with a younger crowd. We headed to Paihia, AKA "Bay of Islands". It was an interesting group. There was a pair of handsome English twins, and a pair of Dutch guys - both had dyed orange hair. There was a Norwegian girl named Erin who had a slight English accent but you can tell by talking to her and watching here that she has an attitude. She has a really nice face and upper body but she had those huge Eastern European women's fat legs and thighs.
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| Whangarei Falls, Whangarei, New Zealand |
We stopped by Whangarei Falls for a short time before heading to Paihia. After arriving in Paihia, I checked into my hostel and went for a hike recommended by two Belgium staying in the same dorm.
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| Lookout behind Paihia, Paihia, New Zealand |
The trail, which is behind the town, passes a very lovely part of the rain forest with numerous birdcalls and lush giant ferns. The cools streams had fish swimming in them too and I believe some were killies. I watched Australian Open's woman's tennis on TV with a few other people later that evening and turned in.
Early next morning, I talked to a trio of Japanese girls while eating breakfast. I found out that they thought I was Japanese because they said hello to me in Japanese last night while walking past me but I didn't say anything back.
Since the harbour in Bermuda is much more beautiful than the Bay of Islands, I didn't see the need to spend NZ$70 to take a cruise. Instead, I opted for hiking the local trail. I went on a long hike today, leaving from the town and headed to the Waitangi treaty house. This is the location where 500 Maori chiefs signed away their lands to England in exchange for their "protection".
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| Mangrove Walkway north of Paihia, Paihia, New Zealand |
I walked the Waitangi National Reserve's Mangrove Walk that took me through temperate rainforests, an awesome boardwalk that snaked through a lovely mangrove swamp, and a trail along a inlet that ended up at the Haruru Falls. I met a Brit on the trail named Matt who is exploring the North Island on his own while his Kiwi girlfriend worked at Christchurch.
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| A waterfall at the end of the trail (don't remember the name), Paihia, New Zealand |
I chatted with him for a while and ate lunch by the waterfall before heading back to town again. It was a very far and long walk so I decided to hitchhike back to Paihia. At first, nobody stopped but about 10 minutes later, a guy in a pickup truck stopped. A Kiwi from Whangarei working in the forest industry, he drove me back to town.
I continued hiking up the same path as last night to the lookout again and was able to take my time this time. The trail then continued up hill over a very high ridge to the other side of the rolling hills. It was a grueling hike and by the time I got back on the road again, I hitchhiked.
It only took a few seconds this time because the first car stopped and picked me up. It was a smelly Kiwi who was going back to Paihia to go fishing but I wanted to continue my hiking so he dropped me off at where the trail starts along the beach. It was a much better hike along the beach where I got some shades and scenery.
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| "Pee Pee", Paihia, New Zealand |
I saw about 10 to 20 people waist deep in the middle of the bay, bending over with their arms in the water. It looked like they were groping for clams and it turned out to be correct. The locals call them Pee-Pee (yes, pounced as "pee pee") some even offer to let me try them raw but I gracefully declined.
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