Up North, New Zealand

WOW! It's been a busy couple of weeks - 22 days in New Zealand, of which 21 were spent traveling, or sightseeing, or both. This is the first time during our travels that I'm actually getting a bit weary of traveling. I suspect this is due to the fact that we've been racing through Australia and New Zealand and because traveling here requires more money and more planning than traveling in South East Asia. One of my favorite fellow travel bloggers, The Other Flying Dutchman, wrote about his experiences in Australia and New Zealand:

"I think this marks the first time I’m using profanity on this blog, but fucking hell Australia and New Zealand are expensive to travel in. The euro has dropped 40% against the Australian dollar, so it was easily four, five times as expensive as South America. A shock to the system, because unlike almost every other traveler I met, I am not working."

[...]

"My first experience with backpacking was South America, and it’s been pretty rough adapting to the Australian way. Here, it was necessary to plan – to book hostels in advance, to arrange transportation weeks early. The low point of this was when I spent 3.5 hours on the phone to change two of my flights. I didn’t enjoy that rigidity at all, and I look forward to being a wanderer again in Asia."

This pretty much sums up exactly how I feel at this very moment. I can't wait to go back to my aimlessly wandering ways in South America.

But first, let me tell you about our time 'up north', as the Kiwis like to call it. On Wednesday morning we took a bus from Auckland and 4 hours later we arrived in Paihia in the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands is, quite literally, a bay with islands and is very beautiful. Miraculously, we had managed to get ourselves a reservation at the most popular hostel in town (according to our Lonely Planet) called Cap'n Bob's Beach House. Here we were greeted by Jo who gave us our very own double room for the price of 2 hostel beds. I believe that you may not understand the significance of this - we hadn't slept in a double room for almost 2 months at that point. Hurray! No more being considerate of your fellow backpackers and back to walking around naked whenever you want! It was just the cutest little room, close to all of the facilities and with a view of the South Pacific Ocean. I couldn't have asked for a better end to our time here.


our room at Cap'n Bob's Beach House in Paihia


South Pacific Ocean

We didn't have much time to enjoy it, however, because the next day we were picked up early for our 11-hour tour to Cape Reinga. In short, Cape Reinga is NOT the northernmost point of the country (Surville Cliffs is), but it is the most sacred Maori site in New Zealand - the Maoris believe that Cape Reinga is the departing place of souls to their spiritual homeland Hawaiki via an 800-year-old pohutukawa tree. It is also the place where the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific Ocean collide, plus it houses a pretty lighthouse. We also made a visit to Puketi Kauri Forest, where we saw some really big, really beautiful trees, Taputaputa Bay, Te Paki Stream, where Jochem tried his hand at sandboarding (an experience I was more than happy to be left out of), and 90 Mile Beach, which is a highway on the beach. It was a long, but good, day.


Puketi Kauri Forest


pohutukawa tree


Cape Reinga lighthouse


Cape Reinga


Taputaputa Bay


Te Paki Stream


Te Paki Stream


90 Mile Beach

The next day we enjoyed a quiet morning before heading to the wharf for our boat trip. At this point my body really started to protest this incessant sightseeing for I didn't feel good at all and, unlike the last few days, the weather was dreadful - grey, rainy and cold. But you won't hear me complain since we saw both the Hole in the Rock and a family of wild dolphins.


Bay of Islands


Hole in the Rock


Bay of Islands

Saturday was our one and only day in New Zealand where we did absolutely NOTHING - we slept in, read some books, baked some cookies, watched some TV - no traveling, no sightseeing.

And now we're back in Auckland once more. We're preparing ourselves to leave New Zealand, board a 12-hour flight over nothing but Pacific Ocean, and land in South America. Our first stop is Santiago, the capital of Chile, where we will have 2 days before we fly over yet more Pacific Ocean to Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. We will have a week to explore the island before flying back to Santiago on February 8 where we will at last be reunited with some very close friends. Roland and Margaretha have been planning to visit us in South America for a while, but now that Bianca is also coming over, I couldn't be more thrilled (or impatient). I can't wait to sit down with them, cook some food, pour some wine, and catch up.


Sky Tower in Auckland

But first things first.

If you'd like to see more pictures of our world trip, check out our picture gallery here!