That's enough excitement for now!

On Saturday, our last day in Auckland, we decided that we would book accommodation for the next two nights spontaneously using the Intercity Bus Wi-Fi to Whangarei.

After an unsuccessful search for a suitable hostel, we asked our seat neighbors for help. Funny enough, they were from Bodenheim, which once again showed us how small the world is, and recommended AirBnB to us.

Said and done, so we quickly downloaded the app and searched for a listing that met our price expectations. After a while, we came across Naomi and Brent, who offered a room in their house for overnight stays. After sending a request, we received a quick positive response and the relieving realization that we would indeed have a roof over our heads for the next few nights.

Surprisingly, at 3:00 p.m., Brent picked us up from the bus stop, which pleased us very much, as walking the same distance with all our luggage would certainly not have been enjoyable. Once we arrived, we had 'a cup of tea' with our extremely nice hosts. (not 'tea', because when you are invited to 'tea' in New Zealand, you should expect a whole dinner instead of a cup of tea and a piece of cake, as Naomi explained to us)

The next day, we rented bicycles at half past 10 in the morning to ride to MC Lead Bay, which was 30 km away. The rental agent, a Swiss person, gave us the tip not to ride along the coastal highway at noon, but rather through Mount Tiger Rd inland, as it was not as busy and also passed by the Abbey Caves.

We took his recommendation to heart and set off. A long stay at the caves in question and the fact that the MOUNT Tiger Road did not get its name for nothing, however, led to a significant delay, so we didn't reach the bay until half past 4.

After an hour at the bay, we headed back as recommended by the rental agent along the coastal highway. As expected, it had little traffic in the evening and thanks to left-hand traffic, offered a great view of the sea, but contrary to our expectation, there was a lack of any lighting. Now it was too late, and after 6 p.m., the sun was gone and the road was dark due to dense cloud cover. To have at least a bit of light, we improvised by making a bicycle light out of the flashlight on our phone and a plastic bottle, which illuminated the way, but would certainly not have passed a technical inspection.

A concerned woman stopped and insisted that we were very difficult to see and could not continue like this. Therefore, she offered to take us, get her bike carrier, go back, and then take the attached bicycles with her. In our desperate situation, we agreed to the offer. What a relief! Happy ending? Not quite yet... When we returned, we found that a key must have been lost along the way, and we were forced to leave one of the bikes behind.

The next morning, we humbly explained our situation to the bike rental shop, who then handed us all the spare keys along with a metal saw for emergencies. Fortunately, we didn't need it, as the correct key was among them. Now we returned the second bike as well, and all the problems were solved. Without the help of Naomi and Brent, who rescheduled their day plans for us and drove us to the rental shop and the stand (!), this happy turn of events would not have been possible.

After saying goodbye to them and thanking them for their wonderful hospitality, we spent the afternoon at the Whangarei Waterfalls before taking the bus to Paihia.

That's enough excitement for now!