Something is starting to look familiar...

After our adventure at Hot Water Beach, we slept soundly and arose the next morning to drive to Auckland, where we said farewell to Marshall's parents and brother. Marshall and I spent the afternoon with my college friend Kirsten. It was the break we needed!

The following morning we drove up to Paihia, a cute town in the Bay of Islands. The next two days were nearly identical to the two days Marshall and I spent in Paihia in 2014. We took a coach tour up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand. It is at the point where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet, but do not mix. The Maori people believe that it is here that the spirits of the dead leap off the earth to return to their ancestral home. It is a very special and sacred place, and I enjoyed returning there (while I'm still alive).



We then went sandboarding! I forget how hard climbing a sand dune is.






Our final excursion of the trip was to take a cruise through the Bay of Islands to Hole in the Rock. The hole is quite small, and sometimes the water is too rough for a ship to pass through. Our Captain said that if he doesn't feel 100% confident in his ability to get us through safely, he won't do it. But, he could get us pretty close for some pictures.





Then, as we were starting to back away from the hole, the Captain punched through!





What an exciting way to end our trip. Our last task was the long drive back to the airport, and then try to get some sleep on the 14 hour flight back to Vancouver.