Kai Iwi Lakes are stunning, unfortunately not so much in the pissing rain. We got the car arranged for sleeping in between rain showers, made a little den with cunningly arranged tarps and sheets then entertained ourselves by taking a million photos of the car and ourselves while we waited for the rain to stop.

It was here I got myself reaquainted with long drop toilets and reminded myself of a few dos and don'ts. Like, DON'T look down one at night whilst wearing a head torch and DO avoid splashback, whatever it takes. I began training my lungs to hold more air so I could start holding my breath for longer.

After a quick dip in the lake we were camped next to coz we couldn't find the showers we settled in for the night and watched a movie.

Roughing it just ain't what it used to be.

Since I moved to Auckland and got a job in a call centre my arse has resumed its campaign for world domination. All my waistbands are that little bit tighter and I can grab the rolls around my stomach and hook it over my knees. Not really about that last bit but that's the way I'm heading if I continue thinking that sitting down is the best thing ever and living by the rule that calories don't count if no one else sees you eat it.

Photographic Evidence Of My Arse's Intention To Take Over The World

Hopefully being back on the road will help me shed those extra kilograms so I don't have to buy new underwear (read: have mum send new underwear over from the UK) coz all my knickers have overstretched elastic and my tits escaped from my bra.

written by  Koala Bear on January 3, 2009 from Kai Iwi Lakes, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip
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Next stop was at Tane Mahuta, NZ's biggest living Kauri tree. These things are monsters, seriously, never have I seen a bigger tree, its HUGE! It's hard to try and put it in perspective with photography but this is me sat in front of it.

Tane Mahuta

And then we drove. And drove and drove and drove right up to the top of the country where we set up camp for the night at a DoC (Department of Conservation) run site near Cape Reinga called Tapotupotu, set right next to this stunning beach.

Road Tripping

Tapotupotu

Shame I Can't Surf

Toooo Cold For Kama

I tried to drag Kama in for the obligatory Dunking Of The Missus but she was having none of it so I gave up and we settled in armed with a can of mozzie repellant because as beautiful as Tapotupotu is, its full of mosquitos. Its impossible to keep them out of the car and mozzies seem to like the way I taste, they were all over the toilet as well, every time I went for a piss I felt like an all you can eat buffet. Its what it must feel like to be a bit lower down the food chain.

I doused myself in dubious chemicals labeled "Tropical Strength," tucked my pajama bottoms into a pair of thick socks, pulled on a large jumper and snuggled under the covers hoping I'd have at least some of my blood left in the morning.

written by  Koala Bear on January 4, 2009 from Cape Reinga, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip
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Its also where the two oceans meet and according to the Lonely Planet, on a rough day the seas clash together and generate huge waves. Ah well, we got our wish for nice weather, can't have everything in the world ay.

-makes mental note to work out a way to get everything in the world-

Cape Reinga

Where The Oceans Meet

Making Kama Be A Tourist

After spending a few minutes oohing an ahhing we headed down to the Te Paki dunes where a hippy lady will rent you a sandboard for $15 per hour. This is just about enough time to "get used to your board" on the smaller slope then trek up the Psycho Slope, allow time for your lungs to collapse in on themselves and your calf muscles to wish you a slow and painful death, slide down,lose your hat, try and decide how much the hat really means to you then risk rebellion of your limbs to retrieve the hat before collapsing a few yards short of your girlfriend whilst trying to manage to utter the word "water."

The Psycho Slope

Have you ever walked up a sand dune? Worst. Walk. Ever. And the sand is scorching hot an all, you have to keep stopping to bury your feet in the sand to cool them down. Kama is a firm believer that sand is for lying on, not walking up so she waited for me while I played on the bigger slope.

It was time for a quick, cold shower at the other campsite to remove the small sandpit from my cleavage before we drove down to the gumdiggers park to look at some holes in the ground then it was onto the Karikari Peninsula for a dip in Rotopokaka Lake, better known as Coca Cola Lake on account of the fact its the colour of Coca Cola; A less than healthy shade of brown.

Rotopokaka (Coca Cola) Lake

Apparently its some kind of algae which makes it that colour and its totally safe for swimming and really popular with the locals and no, its not fizzy much to Kama's disappointment. We cooled off and chilled out for a while before heading to the top of the peninsula to Maitai Bay and another DoC camp for the night.

Rainbow Falls

Matt had arrived in Auckland a while ago and promptly pissed off up to Kerikeri to find work on account of the fact they were staying at an X Base hostel which are generally overpriced, unwelcoming and full of wankers and him and his two mates got over it and left for the work up here. There seems to be quite a bit of seasonal work up here, something I did enough of in Australia thankyouverymuch. That's not a side of backpacking I miss, working your arse off in a field for shit pay in the blazing sun. But a side of it I do really miss is sitting round a table with a bunch of people who until a week or two ago were complete strangers, having a chat, a drink and a laugh. NZ is very different from Oz in that respect an all, at least it is in Auckland.

Sunburn Cure?

My Cousin Matt

Aaaaanyways, we just chilled with our Matt at Aranga Backpackers for the night, witnessed a random German man rubbing cottage cheese into his sunburn (a brief reason as to why I can't eat cottage cheese at the bottom of this post), listened to them talk about their day thinning manderins and thanked my lucky stars I hadn't had to work in a field for a while before crashing out in the two spare beds in Matt's dorm.

Why I Can't Eat Cottage Cheese; A Psycholgically Scarring Account Of Inappropiate Comparisons.
When I was about 11 or 12, or maybe even 13, I don't really remember we had The Talk at school, a talk all the girls had about the ups and downs of puberty and becoming a young woman. It was all about periods and stuff and things and one of the things I remember was how to recognise if you have a problem "down there." We were told you'd have a discharge from your vagina similar to cottage cheese.
And that is why, to this day, every time I see cottage cheese I think of diseased minge and therefore can't put it in my mouth and now you will every time you open the fridge and reach for something to spread onto your Ryvita.

Bon Appetite.

written by  Koala Bear on January 6, 2009 from Kerikeri, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip
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Applying Make Up... Before A Swim Tour

Rocky The Parrot

These tours are swim tours, they give you a 95% chance of seeing dolphins but only a 50% chance of swimming with them on account of the laws governing swimming with dolphins such as, you can't swim with juveniles or if the dolphins are sleeping.

It was a nice afternoon out on the boat but the dolphins weren't up for a swim, they decided to have a kip just as we got there. They sleep funny an all do dolphins, they shut down a part of their brain but leave the other part active to stay alert for predators and so they remember to breathe.

After spending a while following the sleeping dolphins around the crew gave up and took us to a spot for a quick snorkel but not before they did try and get us in for a swim. Kama saw two swim under her, I wasn't in the water quick enough but I'll be doing this again on the south island when my sister comes to visit. Fingers crossed for better luck that time.

Yah We Look Hot!

Just As Charming Under The Water

We headed back to the backpackers, watched a movie and crashed out pretty early.

All this Not Sitting Down All Day was taking it out of us.

written by  Koala Bear on January 7, 2009 from Paihia, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip
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Its sooooo relaxing, seriously, no adrenalin at all. You kind of don't realise you're suspended 1200ft above sea level whilst anchored to a fast boat, you feel like you're floating, like when I went hot air ballooning, its so quiet and chilled out.

Then they reel you in, dip you in the water and get you back aboard ready for the next person to go floating off into the air.

The initial plan here was to meander down the coast to Matapouri which is a beach Kama used to go to when she was little but over the last few months she'd been having these, like, nausea/aniety attacks and she started having one now. She describes its as sort of like being hungover and being in a moving vehicle isn't the best thing for her so we missioned it down to Tutukaka with a quick stop at the Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa.

And yes, they really are just... well... bogs init. But at least they flush which is a definate step up from the long drops I was becoming accustomed to. There's a queue to use them though, I haven't had to queue for toilets outside of a night club since Brighton Pride when you had to start queuing for the portaloo at least 20 minutes before you even thought about needing to piss.

We got to Tutukaka where Kama decided she wanted to go home the next day. I was booked in for diving and said I'd drive her back once I was back but she decided to get her mum to come and fetch her instead. It didn't help that we were kept awake half the night by some NZ bird I can't spell or pronounce that has oversized feet and sounds like someone is strangling it.

Someone does need to bloody strangle it an all.

written by  Koala Bear on January 8, 2009 from Tutukaka, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip
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Hammerhead?

ANOTHER???

Oh how very fucking comforting!

After spending a few minutes looking for it for a photo op the boat started up again and resumed the course to the Poor Knights.

Diving in cold water is really different to the warm, tropical water I learnt in. In Fiji I wore a very thin body suit in a rather fetching shade of pink with only a few weights on my belt. Here they kitted me out in a 7mm 2 piece wetsuit along with 12kg of weights. I had to get help to stand up and could hardly reach my feet to get my fins on. Once I was under water it was all good but dragging myself back onto the boat was a mission!

And I got bit by a fish! Food bit me! Poor Nights is a 100% protected marine reserve so I wasn't allowed to bite it back so I contented myself with giving it dirty looks. Its not like being bitten by a small fish hurts, I've been nommed on my small fish before, its just the surprise that they're brave enough to have a go.

The diving was awesome, shame about the pics. I'm still getting the hang of my novelty Straps To The Wrist underwater camera so most of my pics came out blurry. Terrible photography aside, I had a good day.

Afterwards I drove back to Auckland two days early on account of, amongst other things, the crap weather forecast.

And this is where me and Kama finish. That wasn't the plan but since when does anything go to plan? If everything went to plan I'd have been back in England 7 months ago. This time away, living in each others pockets has made us realise how different we are, how little we have in common and how differently we see every single aspect of life. I'd still like to try and make it work with her when I come back to Auckland but she doesn't want to. Maybe she's right. We're two different people from two different and apparently incompatiable worlds. Ah well, I'll keep getting involved with people who aren't right for me and I don't know why. Maybe because it keeps things interesting? Who knows? A friend of mine once told me there's only so many times something can break before it can't be fixed anymore and it looks like I'm on a mission to test that theory.

But anyway.

Life goes on and so does the Tiny Little Adventure Round NZ.

written by  Koala Bear on January 9, 2009 from Auckland, New Zealand
from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip
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