Today has been a really cool day! I started off by wandering down to Haruru Falls, just north of Paihia, where I met two cool Argentinian folk. Chilled out by the beautiful waterfalls for 30 mins or so, and then I drove 5km down the road to Paihia where I hired out a Kayak for 2 hours.
I paddled over to a few of the islands and then across to Russell, on the other side of the bay. It was my first time in a kayak, and it was all good! I got back to the kayak place about 3pm and then jumped back in the car and headed up to the Kauri forest, just north of Waipapa.
The forest was amazing, huge ancient trees about 90 feet tall, surrounded by lush sub-tropical vegetation, simply beautiful, kinda like something out of Jurassic Park.
I then headed back towards Kerikeri and stopped off at Rainbow Falls, another beautiful waterfall spot.
This evening I have been chilling after muching a big tasty pizza and scoffing a few brews. Tomorrow I make my way back down the coast to Auckland, where I will stop off along the way to Waiwera to see the hot springs!
3 days until I hit Fiji and the serious surfing kicks in!