We arrived early Sunday evening at Paihai - a pretty little town with a Mediteranean feel. In holiday mode we strolled along the promendade perusing the menus of the vast array of cafes and restaurants, ending up in a backpackers bar which was full of pensioners! We woke early in anticipation of catching a bus up to Cape Reigna and doing the 90 mile beach, but the tours had left for the day, so we hopped aboard a boat trip to explore the 140 odd islands that scattered the bay.
It was a great trip with some fantastic scenery - lush green volcanic hills, edged with white sandy beaches and surrounded by turquoise waters. Dolphins leaped beside the boat and we also had a glimpse of a wild penguin which was amazing! We stopped for some lunch at Urupukapuka island and had some time to take a walk up to a small summit to marvel at the panoramic view - truly spectacular. We then headed through the hole in the rock and wished we had our fishing rods - there were fish waiting to be catched all over teh place!
Once we were back ashore, we decided to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Cape Reigna, stopping at Doubtless Bay for a spot of fishing. The fishing was unsuccessful and we ended up losing our tackle to the weeds and rocks!
It was a long windy drive to the top of the North Island, we were blessed with beautiful rugged coastline as the sun was setting We arrived in the dark and pulled up to site beside the Pacific Ocean and camped under the most spectacular canopy of stars i have ever seen.
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