Paihia - Bay of Islands

Hallo!

weather Update: More sunny days than rain :-) Yeah!!!
The last days I spent in Paihia, Bay of Islands. That is on the east coast of the Northern Island and the bay has hundreds of small and bigger islands.

-> All islands are bright green (when sunny :-) ) and green when cloudy :-),
-> the water is crystal blue and turquoise when it's sunny and dark blue when cloudy :-)
-> it is really warm and hot when sunny and rather cool when cloudy

But however the weather, it is marvellous! Really very beautiful. Walking on the islands is amazing, enjoying the view over all those bays and beaches and islands! The town itself is small but charming and has some nice seaside bars.

I found a very nice hostel and got to know many very nice people from all over the world! It was really fun drinking some wine together in the evening or having breakfast with whoever was around! Was great!

I went diving one day and found out that the waters are really cold in NZ... on 20m in the water it was "freezing" 18°C :-O.
One day sailing through the islands was warmer :-), but we unfortunately did see no dolphins, which were supposed to be around.
Walking the trek to the "waterfalls" was nice until I noticed, arriving at the "waterfalls" after hours of walking, that there is a big parking lot and many tourists were posing for photos... hmmm. you could drive there with a car! ..so no romantic small, lonely, hidden waterfall in the middle of the forest... ;-) But the walk was nice anyway. :-)

The Bay of Islands was great!

Take a look at the pictures, although they are only a glimpse on what there was to see!

I hope you are all well! Take care! Thinking of you!
Regards to all of you!!

Renate

Auckland

Hallo to all of you!

I have landed in Auckland a few days ago. And I was overwhelmed by how "green" the city as well as the whole surroundings are. But on the other hand it was immediately raining, and out of 4 days here in New Zealand I had two days (50%) of rain... but I guess that's the price you pay for all that lush green :-)

Auckland is a very nice city. I liked it very much. It is green and friendly, many cafes and bars, restaurants and parks to sit.
On Sunday there was the "IronMan Auckland", which was rather a spectacle.

I enjoyed the city very much! It is great!

I am sending you some pictures!

Hope you are fine and I am thinking of you! Take care!

Best regards, Renate

Coral Coast and Shark Bay, Dryandra and Rockingham

Hallo,

The last week I was snorkelling with sharks and mantas, was lying in the sun getting roasted, drove many kilometers and was fascinated by the landscape.

Did you know that there are so many different forms of "Nothing":

Sand with rocks
Sand without rocks
Sand with bushes
Red Sand
White Sand
Sand with Grass and dead trees
Grass and bushes
Gras and Grass Trees
Bushes and rocks
...

Everywhere when you drive up north, there are hundreds of kilometers where there is not a living soul, no house, no gas station, no...nothing...
That's where you don't want to have a breakdown.

It was really very hot the last days (up to 45-48°C) and the wind felt like a hot hair blow dryer held agains your face.

But one thing you at least could rely on was, the sun will be there next morning. I had two days where there were a few clouds up in the sky, but they were gone by 9am..no chance against the sun.

Approaching Perth again, the bushes got bigger and greener, till there finally turned to trees again and the rivers sometimes actually were filled with some water again.

I visited Dryandra Woodlands and enjoyed looking at those cute little native marsupials, which are nearly extinct now in Australia :-).
Unfortunately they are active only during the night, so the pictures are not good, but at least a glimpse.
In Rockingham - Penguin Island I spotted some "little penguins" :-).

I am back in Perth now and returned the car. On the 16th I will fly to Auckland.

Here are the pictures for Coral Bay, Shark Bay, Coral Coast!

Sending you regards, and I hope you are all well!

Renate