No. 43 part 3: Exploration

It was still a little grey on Day 2 at Paihia.

By now you must be wondering, what's that No. 43 all about?

Just one of those things on my list - to go swimming with dolphins.

The organizers had already called the day before, telling me that the dolphin trip was cancelled due to the bad weather, therefore rescheduling for the next day. I was pretty hopeful for this, so I reserved Day 2 for some exploring...

I would've prolly gotten a fantastic view here during the summertime. Still, the plains do really go on for miles and miles.

The other island from a distance (perhaps it was Russell):


A fascinating tree (just me being in touch with nature).

Seagulls enjoying the view.

After driving past the Waitangi Treaty Grounds ($25 entrance fee for non-NewZealanders), a golf course, and some more fluffy seagulls, I chanced on an unknown path:


...which became intriguing.

Eventually I took a road that led to this curious spot.

I assumed Mount Bledisloe was the tallest peak in Paihia, so I didn't think it would hurt seeing what's up there. The hike did seem like I was entering the Shire...

...but instead led to an opening.

I'll cut the suspense. It was just a ceramic marker, showing the distances to the major countries around the world, presented to Lord Bledisloe back in the 1930s (me thinks he was the govt general of NZ back then).

I also had good fortune to ingest a dreary yet spectacular view of the bay:


Ok, time to start a NZ photo album!