Paihia
The drive to Paihia is a four hours through we stretch it over a full day by failing to find the right highway out of Auckland and by paying a visit to Goat Island Marine Reserve.
On arrival, it is easy to see why our interim destination is called Goat Island. It is completely surrounded by water.
Goat Island Marine Reserve was set aside in the seventies by the New Zealand government as a marine research facility, though is it open to snorkellers. To get a close-up view of the rich aquatic life, visitors merely need a snorkel mask (available for hire), fins (available for hire), and immunity from hypothermia and the tag team of tidal force and sharp rocks (no advice offered). Unable to complete this checklist, our aspirations of snorkeling were dashed like the frozen bodies of so many of the site’s braver visitors.
Paihia is a beach town in the Bay of Islands and the lure here is kayaking the next day. There are a number of kayak rental operators advertised, though the small print on the brochures reveals only two distinct phone numbers. One of the operators tries to pass off a flutterboard as a ‘kayak suitable for a novice’ so we go with the other guy. I will post a link to Andrew’s kayaking photos once he has them up.
On arrival, it is easy to see why our interim destination is called Goat Island. It is completely surrounded by water.
Goat Island Marine Reserve was set aside in the seventies by the New Zealand government as a marine research facility, though is it open to snorkellers. To get a close-up view of the rich aquatic life, visitors merely need a snorkel mask (available for hire), fins (available for hire), and immunity from hypothermia and the tag team of tidal force and sharp rocks (no advice offered). Unable to complete this checklist, our aspirations of snorkeling were dashed like the frozen bodies of so many of the site’s braver visitors.
Paihia is a beach town in the Bay of Islands and the lure here is kayaking the next day. There are a number of kayak rental operators advertised, though the small print on the brochures reveals only two distinct phone numbers. One of the operators tries to pass off a flutterboard as a ‘kayak suitable for a novice’ so we go with the other guy. I will post a link to Andrew’s kayaking photos once he has them up.
posted by Steve at 12:31 AM
3 Comments:
Dear Travelling Spaghetti Monster,
Re: failing to find the right highway out of Auckland. I'm sure your readers would be interested in guessing who was navigating that day. Hint: it wasn't me.
Well it obviously it wasn't me either.
The real reason that it is called Goat Island is that early sailors stored goats there in case of food shortages. If a food shortage were to arise, the sailors could simply send the goats to fetch help.
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