February 10, 2013-
Is it really still Feb. 10??? Doesn't it feel like it should be the 11th already??? I think you'll agree with me that it's been one very LOOOOOOOOOOOONG day.
It's been such a gorgeous drive- we tried to hug the coast as much as we could. We passed by many other beautiful beaches and cute little towns. There just never is enough time to do it all, is there?
Thank goodness we've arrived in Paihai. We made it!!!
Paihia is located in The Bay of Islands. I think that pretty much sums it up- bay of islands. The views are absolutely stunning! We're passing through the town in hopes of finding a campground to park our Beast for the night. Ooo!!!! I just saw a bunch of restaurants – I'm sure any one of them would make us a fine dinner.
Aha! We've found a campground just outside the town…
The very pretty campground (I think it's called Waiora campground) was just on the outskirts of town- which is about a ten minute walk along the ocean (and on a nice sidewalk). The owner was very kind and friendly – and he made a suggestion to us. He talked about how there are many boat tour operators and how several of them offer "swimming with the dolphins" and suggested that we might enjoy such a tour. He helped us narrow down a tour (sailboat! swimming with dolphins! yay!!!) and he booked it for us. THANK YOU!!!!
Best spontaneous decision we've made (thus far…) on our trip!
It's getting late and we are really tired and hungry. Let's take a quick walk into the town to find a restaurant that looks like it serves seafood. After all, we're in a coastal town…they should have seafood, right???
Which restaurant should we choose????
This one looks good – it's RIGHT on the water:
They've got all kinds of seafood and a Fresh Catch of the Day on their menu. Looks good to me!!!
okay… We've polished off our (kind of expensive) meal and desserts. It's not a vacation if you can't have dessert….right? Right???!? Oof. I'm stuffed. At least we've got a nice walk home…
The girls begged and pleaded with us to have some time to play on this public play ground. Oh heck. Why not?? It's their vacation too!!!
Okay girlies. I know you'd stay here all night long and play if we let you but right now Mommy & Daddy are very tired and would like to go back "home" (ie the Beast) and sleep. c'mon….time to go.
Hey!!! I think we're going to call it a day. We're all pretty wiped out and tomorrow sounds like it is going to be A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!
By the way, just in case you're planning on showering- you'll need a $2NZ coin for hot water (there's a 4-minute timer on it) AND although the lights are supposed to be motion-sensitive don't be surprised if they go out while you're showering. Every once in a while you just have to wave at the light fixture and it'll turn back on. Just a FYI. ;-)
**As a child I thought that the people living on the Southern Hemisphere were living upside down. I tried hard to imagine what that be like….living upside down. LOL! I hope I'm not the only one that thought that!!!**