New Zealand, Day 8 & 9 (dec 2nd & 3rd)

We got up at a deent hour and got going. We headed back through Auckland and northward. We headed up to Whangarei. We arrived at the information center, and were able to book scuba diving for Ross and snorkeling for me the next day. We were going to be heading out from Tutukaka, on the eastern coast, so we some an early dinner at Hell Pizza (a New Zealand chain) and then headed out to Tutukaka. We camped about 5 minutes from where we would leave in the morning, so it was very easy for us to get in the morning.

We got up the morning in plenty of time, and made our way over the dive company's office. We got our wet suits, and set up for the dive. We had to wait a while on the boat for some of the other people who were going out with us. There was about 20 people or so on the boat. A few of us were snorkeling, most everyone was scuba diving. It was a perfect weather day, probably about 70 and sunny. We eventually got going, and headed out to our first spot of the day.

It was my first time getting into a wet suit. My calves are not meant for wet suits. So... it was a bitch to get into it. But, I eventually did. The water was cold, but not too bad. The wet suit was very warm. The first spot, was pretty cool. I got comfortable in the wet suit and using fins. I spent a lot of time scooting around and saw a lot of cool fish.

Then, it was back in the boat, and we had our lunch. It was warm and we sat up on the deck. We moved to another spot, and so it was back into the wet suit with me. It went easier. The 2nd spot was awesome. I went all along this island's wall, and there was the most amazing kelp and fish. I went into a cave and through an archway and i had 100s of fish all around me. It was quite the experience. R. really enjoyed his scuba diving and got some awesome stuff as well. He also felt the 2nd spot was better. The crew on the boat was great, always feeding us hot drinks, and were super personable. I am very glad I got to do that.

Once we were back on shore, we headed out of town to camp further up the coast. We totally busted and the campground we wanted to stay was closed. So, we decided to poach a spot instead. We drove down some country roads, and found this piece of public land that some other girls were camping on. They'd talk to a person in one of the houses nearby and were told it was OK. So R. talked to the woman as well, found out it was cool and we had free camping for the night. It was getting dark, so we quickly got our tent set up, ate dinner, and passed out. It was a great spot, up on a hill, looking out at the beach.

-N.