Paihia
My birthday had come around again, which meant only one thing. I needed to get out of Auckland.
The day that I celebrated my birth anniversary, is the day I made plans to be somewhere that is not overly urban. Somewhere beautiful; somewhere that we had not discovered yet. The place we decided on was Paihia, a gorgeous seaside town in the North of New Zealand. The name translates to good here in Maori, so really thought there couldn’t be a more perfect place to head to. I was looking for some good.
After booking an Airbnb for the weekend, packing in a disorganised manner (i.e the morning of our trip…), we were off for our weekend of adventure. The sun was shining, and I was ready for some frolicking, exploring, and of course, fun.
Upon arriving in Paihia, we were greeted with this beautiful beach. White sand and blue blue waters. The clear sky hang calmly above our heads, and I thought to myself, this here is good. A good place.
After frolicking over the rocks, and getting my feet wet in the cool ocean, we hopped over to our Airbnb to have a much needed lie down after 3 hours of driving. The Airbnb was lovely, a tiny home built on a back of a house. Situated in the bush, we saw a line of baby quails and their parents walk across the road as we arrived. Quite the welcoming party. The Airbnb was light and breezy, with a mosquito net blowing in the breeze (which was beautiful, and there for practical reasons as well, which we later learnt that night…)
After a rest accompanied by a dinner of avocado toast to fuel our bodies, we chased the sunset. Driving to the historical grounds of Waitangi, which is a short drive from Paihia, we headed up the hill towards the golf course. Parking up our car, we watched the sky turn red and orange and breathed in the peace.
There’s something special and peaceful about watching a sunset. Especially in a new place.
The next day I was very excited. That was because dolphins. I was going to tick something off my bucket list, which had been there for a while. Swimming with dolphins. To say I was excited, was a bit of an understatement. I was basically vibrating with excitement.
Dolphins are kind of a big deal in Paihia…
That morning we headed off on a boat, with Carino Sailing and set forth for a day of sun, sailing and hopefully dolphins. After a couple of hours of drifting, the captain got a radio call that dolphins had been spotted. And we were off. She turned on the motor, and gunned it to that location. While she was speeding her way across the surf, we were speeding our ways into wetsuits, flippers and snorkels. This would also be my first time snorkelling. The flippers were very awkward and I felt like I had clown feet on.
Once we were kitted out, the boat came to a stop and we were told to start jumping into the ocean. It was very fast, go-go-go atmosphere. Me being me, I jumped into the water without my snorkel on…..so had a large drink of sea water. But I was determined to swim with the dolphins. So I paddled around, while choking up a lung. I am sure the dolphins were impressed. After a while, it got too much and I had to get out. As I felt like I was drowning a little. But I will never forget being close to these beautiful creatures. They are so playful and nimble, and they are amazing to watch. I definitely want to do it again. But maybe first, learn how to snorkel properly.
Because there are strict DOC regulations when it comes to swimming with dolphins in New Zealand, after certain time period everyone had to get out. After drying off, and gushing over our experience, the captain got back to her helm and set sail for a paradise island to have lunch on.
You could opt to have a BBQ lunch on the boat, but we came prepared with our own sammies. Marmite sammies at that. The island was beautiful, and we hiked to the top for a panoramic view of the Bay of Islands.
After huffing and puffing my way up the steep hill, we sat ourselves down and enjoyed the breathtaking view. It sure took my breathe away, and that wasn’t just because i was still huffing from that walk. After enjoying the sun for a while, we squeezed back in the dingy to take us back to the yacht. We then leisurely sailed back to the Paihia Wharf. I have never felt more relaxed than sailing on that calm water with the sun shining overhead. So if you are ever in the area, check out Carino Sailing and Dolphin Adventures. It was a highlight of our trip.
Once we got back we were ravenous and hit up the local fish and chips. Hot and salty chips while watching the sunset, was a perfect end to a magical day.
The next day we headed back towards Auckland. Along the way, we stopped at Whangarei Falls. A green and lush spot, where you can see a roaring waterfall. Though beware, this seems to be a spot where instagramers stop off to take that selfie next to a waterfall. I was becoming a bit overwhelmed by it all, so decided to take a little explore to try and find a quiet spot. We ended up walking a little bit up stream and finding this spot. There was a duck family enjoying the quiet as well, which was added treat.
Our trip was awesome and I can’t wait to get out again.