Paihia

From Ahipara, I headed towards Paihia. At Taupo Bay, I made breakfast and had my air mattress inflated while surfing. After that, I made a stop at the Challenging Hike. After 2 hours through forest, mud, and river, I enjoyed a beautiful view over the Bay of Islands. Upon arrival at the top, I met Nora and Julia (German). Therefore, my return journey was even more entertaining. Back at the parking lot, I went to the campground where I spent my last night for now. This time, I was well-located, but mosquitoes kept me from sleeping. After 20 deaths and a dirty car blanket, I managed to sleep until dawn.

The next day, I met Nora, Julia, and Miriam in Kerikeri as planned. Then it was time to shop and stroll through the town. Together, we went to Paihia to the hostel, a beautiful place that even had a pool which we tested.

In the afternoon, we went back to the beach where we were surprised by a rainbow. My two new roommates, Seyat and Mike (Turkish and Brazilian), planned the evening. Everyone who wanted to join came together in the hostel kitchen to play beer pong. Afterwards, we went to a bar where we danced and played billiards. In the end, we had a beautiful starry sky at the beach.

The night was short, not only because the evening was long, but also because of the live jackhammer below me (Seyat). Otherwise, he was a really nice guy, but with him in the room, I could hardly sleep. After long, deep conversations in the kitchen, Theo (Titus) joined us. A super cool guy with whom you can have a lot of fun. Together, we took the day a bit more relaxed. We cooked delicious fish with vegetables and played Wizard in the evening. Afterwards, we watched some discount shows and laughed a lot.

The next morning was action-packed; after sleeping in late, we headed to the Rainbow Waterfall. A waterfall you could climb behind, a very cool and exciting place, simply mystical. From there, we went to 'Charli’s Rock' to jump from 8-meter high cliffs. Something I had always wanted to do, super cool. Back at the hostel, we cooked and wrapped up the evening playing cards, listening to music, and making plans.

The next morning meant early rising; the plan was to make pizza and take it for a picnic. We wanted to visit the cliffs again since Miriam hadn’t seen them yet, and we thought they were so cool. However, first we had to take the ferry to Russell, a small historical town with beautiful stone beaches and a cool vibe. Before we crossed back to Paihia, we stopped for a bite to eat. I had delicious ice cream with Baileys crème brûlée.

At the hostel, we quickly packed everything together, then five of us set off in the car (Knolle) with good music to 'Charli’s Rock'. After a refreshing dip, we warmed up in the sun and played some fun rounds of cards. We then spent the evening at the hostel, but we also had a very exciting nighttime experience that would be too much to explain now.

The next morning, we all went paintballing again, which was really cool. It was my first time, and I ended up with a gash, but it's healing quite well, or at least I think so.

The last few days were extremely exciting, and I still haven’t been able to process all the experiences; it’s too much for my mind. But it was the best time I’ve had in New Zealand so far. With Theo, we then headed south, but I'll share more about that in the next blog.