WHANGAROA BIRTHDAY

I really enjoyed having a car to explore many of the places off the beaten track in my own time. I visited the Haruru falls
The Mangawhai heads
And many other fantastic beaches along the route to Whangaroa.

It was my birthday and Sammie and Ryan called first thing to sing me happy birthday, which made me very happy! And thanks to everyone who sent me birthday greetings. It is nice to know that I am on the other side of the planet to most of you and you still remember to message me on my birthday. I wanted to spend the day with no fuss so I made a packed lunch and drove along the north East coast.

I parked up at Tauranga Bay and enjoyed the amazing view as I had my lunch.
Then I had a long walk along the deserted beach and felt very happy. Afterwards I headed off to book into my hostel. I discovered it the previous day when I was driving around. It is called Sunseekers and it is in Whangaroa. My bed is in a dorm for eight people but luckily I am the only person booked in because it is their winter season now. There is another English guy called Danny who lives here all year, in a room around the side of the hostel. But apart from that I was alone and I loved it. From my bed I had a great view of the Bay.
(VIEW OVER THE BAY FROM MY BEDROOM WINDOW)
(VIEW OF THE HOT TUB FROM MY BEDROOM WINDOW)
And it only costs me eighteen dollars a night,which is about seven pounds!! Needless to say I have booked in for four nights to really relax. The owner was there when I booked in and he asked if I wanted to have a trip in his little boat around the harbour. First I went for a walk to the top of St Pauls hill which overlooks the Bay. It was pretty hard going because there had been a lot of rain in the previous days and it was very slippy. I got a bit scared near the very top when it got very steep and slippery, so I turn around and came down again.But it was worth it to see over the Bay. (ST PAUL'S HILL)
Once I was safely down the hill I went out with Linsey and his dog Ben for a trip in the boat around the bay.


It was so kind of him and it was a nice birthday treat. And to top it all off the hostel has an amazing hot tub !!!!!! Things could not get any better. So I got myself a bottle of bubbly and watched the sunset from the comfort of the hot tub.

Danny came back from work later and he joined me and we had a good natter. He is originally from Cornwall, but has been over here for about ten years.

I was glad he was around because he lit the open fire in the kitchen and we stayed up chatting until late. A prefect Birthday!!