Note:  We have a pretty crappy internet connection right now.  I will add pictures when we have a better connection.

Spence

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After recovering from our Tongariro crossing, we headed north, through Auckland and on to Snells Beach on the east coast of the North Island. It was a long driving day and put us through Auckland during the dreaded rush hour. But we arrived to a nice apartment near the beach. The next morning the owner, a big fishing enthusiast, brought us some fresh snapper from his early morning trip, which we enjoyed that evening. We drove out to the beach near the Goat Island Marine Reserve. We donned our wetsuits and snorkeling gear and headed out in low tide to see what marine life was swimming around out there. We saw mostly kelp but admittedly weren’t as patient as we should have been. The next day we headed out to Anchor Bay at the Tawharanui Regional Park. I’d say this was our first real beach day of the entire trip. We intended to do some walking out there but the beach and bay were so beautiful and it was actually warm enough to enjoy sitting on the beach and swimming in the water, so we just plunked down and didn’t move, except to the water. It was a nice relaxing day on the sand.

Our next stop was further up the east coast to Whangarei, a larger town with a large harbor and a big tourist draw. Our hosts were a couple, he from the UK, she from South Africa. Prior to NZ, they had been cruising around the world for 7 years on their 40 foot sailboat. They apparently sailed into Whangarei Harbour and never left. Their home overlooked the harbour and a lovely marina with many, many sailboats. Our first day there we drove out to Whangarei Heads and did a hike around Smugglers Bay. Then spent an hour in the carpark talking with a couple we met. The wife was walking large sections of Te Araroa, the 3000 km trail that goes from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island. The husband was following along in the camper van. They were an interesting couple. The next morning at the crack of dawn, we got up to drive to Tutukaka, a bit further up the coast to pick up a dive boat to go scuba diving for the day off Poor Knights Islands. The islands are about 22 km off the coast and are a nature reserve and the water around the islands is a marine reserve. There has been a full fishing ban there for about 17 years and so there are loads of fish. In addition, some tropical fish get caught in currents and carried up there, so there is a strange combination of colder water fish and tropical fish. This is a very famous and popular dive site and we were on a large boat with about 20 other divers and snorkelers. The water was quite cold and we had to rent heavy wet suits – I felt like a cork bobbing around out there. This meant doubling the weights needed, so maneuvering around on the boat with tanks, fins and all that weight was pretty challenging, especially with about 25 people all trying to get suited up and off the boat at the same time. But once under water, it was very fun with lots of colorful and big fish, including a large ray. During a break between dives, the captain drove this large boat into a sea cave – I never thought that thing would fit in that cave! But it was very large inside and we played with the echoes for awhile. Then he drove us around the islands and gave some history of the islands and the reserves. It was a fun day and the benefit of the large group of people was that they could break us down into groups of 4 with similar diving abilities and assign a dive master to each group. All in all, it was a great day and we were glad to have made the last minute decision to give it a go.