No More 9 to 5: Pics of NZ

All in all we had a great time this past 2 weeks with Bossman. We were on the dock in Tauranga for a few days so that we could stay and celebrate New Years Eve at the restaurant. Once we left there we headed straight for this place called Mayor Island. We can't sail for too long because Bossmans girlfriend gets really sea sick and she just has a terrible time so we try to keep the day sails short. Of course we had to motor everywhere because we dont have a genoa right now and the traveller system for the main is out of commission. The Maori village charges $5 per person per day if you want to hike on land. We stayed for 2 days and left on the 3rd day but we hiked for about 4 hours on the first full day there and went on a trail called the Devils Staircase. It was a little intense since the Boss is suffering from a couple broken ribs from a ski trip he took a month ago. Hes a tough guy cuz he made it the whole way only stopping a few times. It was not an easy hike for people who only hike every now and then. It was actually pretty dangerous and Charntel was fearing for her life at one point. I had a blast and just went ahead of her so she could follow my steps and see that it wasn't so bad. The next day we did an easy hike with a wide trail that had no steep inclines or ladders and we hiked for 3 hours or so. Once we left there we heading for Whitianga which is a coastal town on the way to Auckland. The weather turned on us and we knew it was going to be a nasty trip to Auckland and we knew they would not enjoy that so we went to this town and would use their visitors dock overnight and leave at 8:30am to go to another island for the day so they could dive. Their dives were not long as the water was super cold and they didnt really see anything of interest. We spent the last few days of their visit to rent a car and drive along the coast and through the mountains to Auckland. We stayed overnight in a hotel halfway there so we could enjoy the scenery and the smaller towns. The hotel was great and we stayed up at the hotel bar and played a little pool and finally ended with karaoke. The last day we made it to Auckland and walked around downtown and looked at the potential marina that we might have stayed in. We had one last supper at this Brazilian place that he loved before they hopped in a taxi to go to the airport. So now we are off for the next 4 months and we are heading back to Tauranga. Its a great place to stay with all the hiking trails and the beach right there. There is a surf break we can practice on and the marina is super nice and relatively cheap compared to other places. We enjoy the walk to town and the selection of bars and restaurants there along the boardwalk. We will probably be there for about 2 weeks or so to get our sail fixed or get a new one and get our welding of the chrome that broke on the way here. Here are some photos of our trip and experiences so far...:)

On our way to pick up Bossman

Hike to the waterfalls. They all jumped in and I took pics...It was freeezing!!!!

More of the waterfalls of Tauranga

The Devils Staircase hike on Mayor Island

Volcanic rock- black obsidian - Mayor Island

Made it to the top of the volcano on Mayor Island

Black Obsidian

A little hole in the wall to see the crater of the old volcano

The trees are so amazing on Mayor Island!

We hiked this trail. It was less intense than Devils Staircase

Cool canopy from the trees

See how big these trees are will Bossman standing next to one

I love how they grow all crooked and crazy like

Hiking down to the beach from the trail by the village

Gazing out over the water from the heli-pad

Everything is sooo green!

Cool trees

Fun-guys!

I found the first hobbit hole on Mt. Manganui. Had to go see if there was a hobbit in there:)

New Years Eve. What a fun night! :)

Waterfalls of Tauranga

See I am dressed for warmth...it was coooold...and they jumped in the water these crazy kids...

This is where the waterfalls begin.

Mt. Manganui which is 5 min from Tauranga by taxi

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!!

Hiking my booty up this trail in ma new trail runnin shoes:)

There is the little village of the main anchorage on Mayor Island

On the steep parts of the trail they had cables to hold on to instead of ropes...they weren't easy to use actually I think rope would have been better

Not sure where this is exactly but somewhere on Mayor Island

Rocks down below- Mayor Island again

Cool cave on side of Mayor Island..I swear we did not stay here for 2 weeks lol

Close up of cave Mayor Island

Our beauty in the anchorage

Bossman in the trees looking for Hobbits

It rained and we hid under this tree for 10 min.

The dive spot bossman said there was nothing really down there but big stingray and some garden like seaweed stuff....lol

Master of Yachts....and dinghys

New Zealand Coast

The surgeon hard at work prepping our fresh dinner

Ty the little bitty butter churner....he's just mixing garlic and butter for the steaks

Cathedral Cove beach by Whitanga...Its a popular spot to take pics. That cave goes all the was through to the other side of the beach

Kayaker in the green water off Cathedral Beach

Here you can see the archway of Cathedral Cove

We drove along the coast from Whitianga to Auckland to get Bossman to the airport

We stopped at the viewing spots along the way to Auckalnd.

The drive is incredible...you go along the beach, up through the mountains on all these super curvy roads, through the jungle areas, passed these rolling hills and its all so lush and green with sheep everywhere.

Driving a little closer to sea level

This sting ray was about 6 feet wide!

Walking around Tauranga we found this little flower garden but my favorite part was this purple tree with all its purpleness on the street!

Flowers in the garden

Red flowers in the garden in Tauranga

Pink Roses

The fountain in the middle of the garden

More roses in the garden

Purpleness

Purple everywhere!!!

Another random shot at the lookout on the way to Auckland

We caught this while fishing off the back of the boat in Mayor Island anchorage and it tasted horrible!!!

Archway we passed on the way to take them diving off Mercury Island

At the dive spot off Mercury Island. Again they came back within 15 minutes saying they cant really see anything and its flippin cold so not enjoyable. Thats why we mostly hiked and took the drive to Auckland