The Northland

After Auckland we headed up north as there were a few things we wanted to see plus some diving we wanted to do. Debby has a friend with a place up there and it would be pretty cheap for us to camp there. So that's where we headed for....Debby was heading up there with some friends the next day.

When we arrived at The Valley 'Healing Arts' Retreat, we were a little unsure of what to expect. Debby had told us a little bit about the place, that it was on 30 acres of land and it had hot tubs and an outdoor sauna and stuff, but we didn't realise it was hippyville!!! There was supposed to be a big party happening all weekend, so we were told by Debbys friends hubby. And they were getting fires ready and making sure the hot tub and sauna and stuff were all sorted. We were looking forward to a bit of partying until we realised that this was a place of 'healing' and no drinking or smoking was permitted on site.....booo....what sort of party was that going to be?!! But, as luck would have it, when Debby arrived we went up the road to this german guys house Who Debby also knew, and he was all for drinking and smoking and partying.....so we did!!! But then Emma and Dave (runners of hippyville) came to get us for the proper party...which was OK while we were still drunk......Anyway, we stayed there for a few nights, more than we'd planned really but nevermind. After that, Debby joined us as a house guest for a couple of days and we headed up to the Northern tip.

At Cape Reinga, we saw where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.....apparantly on a stormy day the 2 seas crash together in a dramatic stylie, but it was a calm day when we saw it :-(

We also did some sand dune surfing, which is kind of like sledging, but on the sand. That was good fun...the sand dunes were massive and it was hard work getting halfway up nevermind to the top....but coming down was fun!!

On Debby's last night we decided to go out for some food and beers and Debby very kindly bought our dinner for us, which was nice!!!