Whangarei

Today Anthony and I drove to Whangarei, the northermost city in New Zealand. It's about 2 hours north of Auckland. It is still maybe a 3 hour drive from the top of NZ, but it most only be towns and villages north of Whangarei. Anyways, we went up there today to get out of the city. On the way up we picked up a hitch hiker, Casey, a young man from Australia. He was likely about our age but we didn't ask. He was really nice and headed to the top of the North Island. He rode with us for maybe 100 kms. I probably wouldn't have picked him up if I was on my own but since Anthony was with me I felt fine. Casey was really nice and Anthony and I both enjoyed the experience. After all of the free rides the I had gotten from others (and Anthony as well), it's about time we start giving back.

We drove up to Whangarei to see a beautiful waterfall they have there and escape Auckland for a few hours. The weather did not end up being great today, but it's only going to get worse the next 3-4 days with a storm coming into town (and then winter) so we probably did okay in the end. We had lunch on the water in Whangarei - nothing amazing. The view wasn't that great since it was cloudy and misty all during out meal but you could tell it would look really pretty if the sun was out. We then went on a small hike and then went to the water fall. Here's some photos:

The Marina where were had lunch.

Nice view, if not for the large water/waste pipe on the right side of the stream....

Anthony. It was quite chilly yesterday. Well, it actually got warmer/more humid as the day went on but at this point it was a chilly.

Trying to hold up the Kauri tree.

A fern lear/the NZ flag.

Looking down onto Whangarei Falls.

I spy a duck...

There he is!

Looking up at Whangarei Falls.

Anthony and me.

Stunning, isn't it?!

Wow!

On our drive back to Auckland we considered stopping at a cave to check it out but the caves are apparently prone to flooding and it was a pretty strong downpour when we were in the area so we decided next time - in which case there likely won't be a next time but than god there are more caves in NZ!

We  went out for dinner last night at the Blue Breeze Inn - a great restaurant in Ponsonby. It was our "first date" except Anthony is gay and therefore our chances of this relationship going anywhere are not that great. I'm sure I'll get another date with Anthony - actually I know I will - but it won't lead anywhere. :( Haha!

Next week on our days off (Tuesday and Wednesday) I think we are going to go away for two days. I'm going to look into buying an air mattress for the back of my truck so we can sleep there and not spend any money on hotels/motels. We will probably leave the city on Tuesday and come back Thursday morning. All dependent on our work schedule but you'll obviously see what happens.

That's all for now. Chat soon!

Best!

And here's a few videos:

Canopy Kauri Walk

Whangarei Falls