Bay of islands

This weekend Summer, the boy and I drove up north to the bay of islands, more specifically to Pihia (Pee-ha). Yesterday morning (saturday) we woke up, had some breakfast then walked over to pick up our white Honda sedan from EZY rentals. We thought we'd be on the highway in no time but alas, we got lost in Auckland and wasnt on the right motorway until an hour later, it was a little frustrating, but only because i hadnt had any coffee, but by 10am we were heading north on Rte. 1. Its about a 3 or 4 hour drive up to Pihia in which time, through off and on rain and raidio signal we saw some beautiful countryside, many small towns and a crapload of cows and sheep. It was a very good time. I had called ahead to book a room at the Saltwater Hostel (which in my "Lets Go" guide was described as the "only 5 star hostel in New Zealand") for a checkin time at 4pm but we were early. So with a couple hours to kill we jumped back in the car and headed west to see the oldest and largest tree in new Zealand, a 2000 year old Kauri tree called Tane Mahuta (the maori god of the forest) to say the least, it was big. Not like titanic big but big enough to warrant unexplained and uncontrolled cursing. It was pretty amazing. We headed back to Pihia before it got to dark and rainy, the sunset was beautiful through the rain clouds and over the green hills, im glad the boy got to see some of the real New Zealand. When we got back to the hostel we went next door to the bar and got some dinner and watched the rugby game, it was a fun night, but i am getting sick so we went back to the room and relaxed. This morning called for a 10am checkout, so up we got and stuffed my nose was, i hate being sick. But i was distracted by a delicious breakfast on a deck overlooking the Bay of Islands, a very beautiful way to start the day. We were going to go up to 90 mile beach but that would have taken and extra 6 hours so instead we took the long way back to Auckland. We cut across and went down the west coast. it was a beautiful sunny day and a great ride back. We got back to Auckland at about 3:30pm and now im doing laundry. We still have the car for the night so we might find a restraunt that we havent been to, one that would necessitate a car. Hope you are all well! thanks for reading, enjoy the pictures.

Pihia for the weekend