Classic Bay of Islands

I know I said I wasn’t going to go on a trip this weekend but it gets hard to resist when all your friends are planning a trip to the Bay of Islands.

Friday afternoon we left for Paihia. This was probably the most fun and relaxing weekend we have had so far. When we first arrived in Paihia we dropped our bags off in the hostile and headed down to the beach. We spent all night switching between the beach, the hot tub and the pool. The next morning we woke up late and headed down to the beach where we rented kayaks and paddled around a few of the islands. The first island we arrived at we hiked up a mountain and saw a gorgeous view of the bay. When we arrived at the next island we all jumped out of our kayaks and went for a swim. I had never kayaked before so I was really excited that we had the opportunity to do this. After we went Kayaking we drove about a half hour away to where this big rock was on top of a mountain. We climbed all the way up to the top and watched the sun set. I love watching the stars and the sunsets here; they’re completely different then they are in New York. When we got back to the hostile that night my friends and I barbequed steaks (everyone else in the hostile was jealous). We spent the night hanging out on the beach again like we did the night before.

The next morning we all woke up early to go sailing. We headed down to the dock at about nine AM and spent the day on the boat. The boat took us to a spot where we could see dolphins swimming and playing in the water. At one point we stopped at an island where we hiked up a mountain and went snorkeling. After sailing we headed back to Auckland.

I’m glad I went to the Bay of Islands because it was so much fun. However, now I only have three days before I leave for Australia and I have a million things to do before going. I have to work on a paper, study for a test, register for classes, pack, and book hostiles and car rentals etc.. I have to just remind myself that I always accomplish what I set out to do and in the end and everything will get done and this trip coming up will be one I remember for the rest of my life.