Hole-in-the-Rock, Whales and time to move on

Our last big adventure on a boat was a dolphin/whale watching trip and Hole-in-the-Rock.
We saw whales, and they also took the boat through Hole-in-the-Rock with the King's afternoon cruise. Wasn't a sailboat this time much to Mark's disappointment.


For our next adventure, Mark and Lori will be joining the circus as a brother/sister flying trapeze team, and I've been working on my jousting in case they ever bring American Gladiators back.






In other news we're quitting our jobs and going back to backpacking around again. We're heading to Auckland this weekend and then we'll make our way to south island New Zealand from there.

Cape Reinga

Another day off of work and another adventure. This time we hopped an Awesome Adventures bus headed to the northern most point in New Zealand, Cape Reinga. We visited a Kauri tree forest, which are the very large trees native to New Zealand. Here's a picture of me standing in front of one of the smaller ones. We also went sandboarding, which was the highlight of the trip for me. We saw the lighthouse at the Cape and spent some time at the beach before heading back to Paihia.

Sailing On The Edge

We're not letting actually having to work interfere with having the time of our lives though. We spent a bay off sailing around the bay on a catamaran called On the Edge, and went kayaking and hiking when we stopped at one of the islands. Nights are spent hanging out with new friends in Paihia, at one of the 5 places that have nightlife here.

Paihia

We arrived in Paihia and decided we liked it here quite a bit and would stay awhile. To support our sailing habit (its not cheap), we decided to get jobs. All three of us are currently working at the same hotel, Scenic Circle - Bay of Islands. Lori is working as waitstaff (in the hotel restaurant) and housekeeping, and usually works both positions in the same day. I'm being lazy and only working in housekeeping, and usually volunteering to get cut from the shift first. Mark is working as porter & waitstaff & housekeeping & gardener and practically lives at the hotel. I think next week he's starting shifts in reception, cook, and night watchman. I think he has to wait two more weeks before his first manager shift, which would mean he's tried every position at the hotel I'm aware of.

In addition to working, we also decided to take a break from hostel life for a bit. Dorms and tandem bikes are exciting and all, but sometimes you need a break. Lori and Mark are staying in the staff house for the hotel with 4 other flatmates. They have to go over a large hill to get to work/town everyday, but they have a great view from their back balcony out over the bay.

I moved into a place creatively named the whitehouse. I'm at the top of the hill overlooking the bay, check out the view from my front porch that I get to see every morning. I have 7 other flatmates, and yes, I have noticed I'm using British English in this post.