I ended up in jail

Who fell for it?

I couldn't resist and confessed something similar to my parents on that Sunday morning - sorry. But it was worth it :)

The resolution will come a bit later, but for now, let me just say: I didn't do anything wrong and I'm not actually in a real prison.

Are you all relieved? Then let's get started:

The day had come - today I left Paihia and moved to Whangarei. That also meant I had to leave Duncan's house. I will miss it...

But in the morning, we took on two activities together: first, we went through the town of Kawakawa, where you could admire and use Hundertwasser toilets. The artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, born in Austria, actually lived in New Zealand for most of his life and designed toilets there. Not just toilets, but they became famous. In Whangarei, they are even building a large museum for Hundertwasser at the moment.

Next, we continued on the road towards Whangarei with a stop at the Kawiti Glow Worm Caves. The most famous caves are at Waitomo, but where Duncan took me, you can experience the same thing at a better price. The Maori family on-site uses the entrance fee to make the caves more accessible and enjoyable for tourists. Not many tourists come to the caves, but those who find their way there experience very beautiful moments.

Yes, I saw glow worms. They were not the fireflies that represent glow worms, but a different species of the eight. They were really small worms that build hammocks on the cave ceiling and then stay there for 11 months. From these hammocks, they let down sticky threads that can grow up to 15cm long (the record is 1m). They use these threads to fish out moths or small flies from the cave, and yes, you guessed it, they are attracted by the light. The brighter the light, the hungrier the worm.

After 11 months, they then pupate and produce little worms - but only for three days, then they die of hunger because they only have a rudimentary mouth. And if the adult worms behave stupidly, they get fished by the glow worms and eaten. Charming creatures.

But the sight of the numerous little lights on the ceiling was truly breathtaking. I didn't take any photos because that would harm the creatures in the long run, but I really recommend googling it. It was beautiful. You could get really close to the worms - breathtaking!

At this point, I also have to mention that the cave itself was worth seeing - an ancient stalactite cave with quirky stalactites and stalagmites that have been dripping there for millions of years.

It was such a beautiful trip and I was glad to be able to experience it.

And then we reached Whangarei, and it was time to say goodbye. It was really a bit painful, not only because of the free accommodation in a great house, but also because I have taken Duncan to my heart. I hope we will keep in touch so that I can come back to him again.

In Whangarei, I stay in a hostel that used to be a prison (badum tsss). The rooms used to be cells, and that's kind of cool. The owners also wanted to give the hostel a Mexican touch, so there are all sorts of weird things hanging on the walls.

And then I stood there and felt truly alone for the first time. Since I landed in Auckland, I always had people around me: roommates, other backpackers, and then Duncan. And now I was alone (I have a 4-bed room but no other roommates), that was kind of strange. For the first time, I actually felt something like homesickness, or rather a longing for a familiar person. As I write this, I'm also crying a bit - I think I've reached the longing phase.

To distract myself a little, I went hiking. In New Zealand, hiking is always a solution. And as luck would have it, Whangarei offers six hiking trails. I'm slowly starting to believe that every New Zealand city has hiking trails simply because they can.

The hostel is conveniently located in the city center, which is a big advantage.

I started off easy with the Hatea Loop, which goes around the Whangarei harbor in the city center. It's a nice path, fun to walk on, and you can work out on fitness equipment along the way.

After about half an hour, I then turned off to the Parihaka Walk. At least I thought so. In fact, I ended up hiking the Mackesys Bush Walk Loop.

I got lost while hiking!

That cost me a total of 5km and a good hour. I also slipped, my jeans and hoodie are dirty again (washed yesterday!), and I was fed up. Yes, I cried.

Frustated, I then walked about 2km on an asphalt road in the blazing sun (I wasn't wearing sunscreen, I'm curious...) to get to this stupid lookout on top of Parihaka. And then I had a view of the city. Great. I was in such a bad mood.

Then I took the right (!) path down and continued on the Hatea River Walk. This trail follows a river for 6km (surprise) to the Otuihau-Whangarei Falls. The trail was beautiful, the nature calming as always, and gradually I started to feel better. But due to the detour, I was already a bit exhausted and was slowly getting tired of hiking.

And at the Otuihau Falls, there was a waterfall waiting for me - it's not like I haven't seen one in a while. Please don't get me wrong, it was impressive, but it didn't knock me out of my hiking boots.

On the way back, I quickly did the Ah Reed Memorial Park, a "tree-top" (the treetops were much higher) walk of about 2km with kauri trees and a waterfall. Hm. I'm getting a bit tired of those now.

But return paths are always shorter, so I reached the center of Whangarei in the early evening. I took the opportunity to visit a huge Pack'n'Save (supermarket) - it was gigantic! So tomorrow, I will go shopping in peace.

Exhausted, I finally returned to the hostel. Today, I made the rest of the potatoes, nothing special but still yummy. The hostel kitchen is nice, and there's a bit of free food, which I might take advantage of a little.

In the evening, I will plan tomorrow's day, take a relaxed shower, and then read again. I'm really looking forward to it!

So it will be a surprise what I can report from beautiful Whangarei tomorrow.