NZ with Tom & Luke
3rd Oct - 8th Oct 2006
I was one of the first off the plane at Auckland airport and the friendly Maori guy at passport control started asking me what drugs I've tried and whether I use LSD to help me with programming. He was joking but I still wasn't gonna admit to anything - especially not the heroin in my back pocket.
There was a mix up with the time of my arrival, so no-one picked me up for a while. Eventually I arrived at my uncle Steve's house where Tom and Luke joined me and we all headed to my uncle Roger's for dinner to see everyone. Tom and Luke came back to where I was staying and we stayed up and watched The Wicker Man on the home cinema until 3am.
We got up early with the intention of getting away quickly to head north, but we had to get Tom's car checked out and new tyres fitted. We drove all the way to Paihia in the Bay of Islands and it rained most of the way. We stayed at the Pickled Parrot, a nice backpackers where we got our own 3-person hut thing. We freshened up, booked a fishing trip for the next day and headed around the corner to a pool hall.
We had a pizza in a local bar and won some prizes in a raffle, including some 'jandals' (flip-flops) which had a bottle-opener on the under-side. After a few different bars, we were given vouchers for a club called 'The Lighthouse', so that's where we went! It was quite fun and we met some travellers. We stayed until close at 3am knowing we'd get limited sleep for the fishing trip.
There was a bit of a rush to get up, get food and get to the boat by 9am, but we just about did it. It was a bright sunny day, perfect for the trip. After an hour of gorgeous sights, we anchored and started fishing. It was slow but we were hopeful it would pick up. I caught 5 in the first hour, but only 1 Snapper that was big enough to keep. Most caught less and unfortunately Tom and Luke caught nothing.
After the first hour, the fish weren't even biting and even a change of location didn't help. Other boats were having the same problem. Apparently the cold southerly winds make it difficult: "Winds from the south, fish shut their mouth." as the fishermen said. There was some confusion over the fish being divided up and we didn't even get to keep the one I caught - gutted!
After a siesta, we went back out and had gourmet burgers whilst listening to live music. More drinks later and we went back to the same club. It was less busy but I still enjoyed the cheese.
Down the road was the Te Paki Stream leading down to 90 Mile Beach. We drove along the stream and it was great fun, like being on a boat skimming along the water. When we got to the beach, I wanted to have a drive but we'd been warned not to stop the car due to the quick-sand. The sand seemed solid enough but to be cautious I suggested we change place without stopping the vehicle. This led to all sorts of fun.
We left the automatic car running along, opened the doors and jumped out running. We then ran around the moving car and jumped back in the other side. We did it lots of times and even filmed it. After we'd played around with the car, we realised time was getting on and we still had to drive the length of the beach, which takes about an hour at high speeds. We had to race against the tide and stopped to help out a Spanish couple who'd got their car stuck.
We drove south for a few hours and turned up at Matakana, where my uncle Phil lives. Roger and all my cousins were there for the night, which was nice.
Being jumped on by a large group of kids isn't my favourite method of being woken up in the morning, but it works. After a cooked breakfast, Tom and Luke got to briefly see Matakana the next morning before they had to drive to the airport for Luke's flight. I stayed behind and got a lift with Roger later in the day.
That night I wandered around the city, had a lovely Japanese meal and rented Lost In Translation. It was cool seeing it from a different point of view.
Tom got delayed the next morning and we didn't leave Auckland until 1pm, the time he was meant to be at the airport. A mad rush to the airport, a quick goodbye and I was on my own with a car.
I was one of the first off the plane at Auckland airport and the friendly Maori guy at passport control started asking me what drugs I've tried and whether I use LSD to help me with programming. He was joking but I still wasn't gonna admit to anything - especially not the heroin in my back pocket.
There was a mix up with the time of my arrival, so no-one picked me up for a while. Eventually I arrived at my uncle Steve's house where Tom and Luke joined me and we all headed to my uncle Roger's for dinner to see everyone. Tom and Luke came back to where I was staying and we stayed up and watched The Wicker Man on the home cinema until 3am.
We got up early with the intention of getting away quickly to head north, but we had to get Tom's car checked out and new tyres fitted. We drove all the way to Paihia in the Bay of Islands and it rained most of the way. We stayed at the Pickled Parrot, a nice backpackers where we got our own 3-person hut thing. We freshened up, booked a fishing trip for the next day and headed around the corner to a pool hall.
We had a pizza in a local bar and won some prizes in a raffle, including some 'jandals' (flip-flops) which had a bottle-opener on the under-side. After a few different bars, we were given vouchers for a club called 'The Lighthouse', so that's where we went! It was quite fun and we met some travellers. We stayed until close at 3am knowing we'd get limited sleep for the fishing trip.
There was a bit of a rush to get up, get food and get to the boat by 9am, but we just about did it. It was a bright sunny day, perfect for the trip. After an hour of gorgeous sights, we anchored and started fishing. It was slow but we were hopeful it would pick up. I caught 5 in the first hour, but only 1 Snapper that was big enough to keep. Most caught less and unfortunately Tom and Luke caught nothing.
After the first hour, the fish weren't even biting and even a change of location didn't help. Other boats were having the same problem. Apparently the cold southerly winds make it difficult: "Winds from the south, fish shut their mouth." as the fishermen said. There was some confusion over the fish being divided up and we didn't even get to keep the one I caught - gutted!
After a siesta, we went back out and had gourmet burgers whilst listening to live music. More drinks later and we went back to the same club. It was less busy but I still enjoyed the cheese.
Down the road was the Te Paki Stream leading down to 90 Mile Beach. We drove along the stream and it was great fun, like being on a boat skimming along the water. When we got to the beach, I wanted to have a drive but we'd been warned not to stop the car due to the quick-sand. The sand seemed solid enough but to be cautious I suggested we change place without stopping the vehicle. This led to all sorts of fun.
We left the automatic car running along, opened the doors and jumped out running. We then ran around the moving car and jumped back in the other side. We did it lots of times and even filmed it. After we'd played around with the car, we realised time was getting on and we still had to drive the length of the beach, which takes about an hour at high speeds. We had to race against the tide and stopped to help out a Spanish couple who'd got their car stuck.
We drove south for a few hours and turned up at Matakana, where my uncle Phil lives. Roger and all my cousins were there for the night, which was nice.
Being jumped on by a large group of kids isn't my favourite method of being woken up in the morning, but it works. After a cooked breakfast, Tom and Luke got to briefly see Matakana the next morning before they had to drive to the airport for Luke's flight. I stayed behind and got a lift with Roger later in the day.
That night I wandered around the city, had a lovely Japanese meal and rented Lost In Translation. It was cool seeing it from a different point of view.
Tom got delayed the next morning and we didn't leave Auckland until 1pm, the time he was meant to be at the airport. A mad rush to the airport, a quick goodbye and I was on my own with a car.
posted by fatchris at
04:12
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