Tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remember, involve me and I will understand.

One additional option for travellers when visiting Hokianga is the Footprints Experience, where you are led on a guided tour through the Waipoa forest at night with a local Maori guide. The tour is also listed as one of Lonely Planet's top “Code Green” Eco-tours in the world, so I didn't really feel like it was something I should miss.

Our guide, Koro, brought us through the forest and his stories blended scientific explanations of forest life with Maori legends. We approached Te Matua Ngahere just as the sun was setting. Te Matua Ngahere is the oldest living Kauri tree in the world. The forest vegetation is short in between the viewing platform and the tree, and so the light hits the trunk directly rather than through the regular canopy of leaves throughout the rest of the forest. This made Te Matua Ngahere seem illuminated and slightly ethereal. As we silently looked up at the tree in awe, a Morepork flew over our heads and landed in the branches of a tree closest to where we were standing. The Morepork (what an unfortunate name) is the only owl indigenous to New Zealand. Seeing the owl was the first sign of the approaching night as the bird is nocturnal.

We walked back to the trail head in the twilight, and when we arrived at Tane Mahuta, the largest Kauri tree in the world, it was dark. Tane Mahuta is Maori for “Lord of the Forest”, and is named after the god who successfully separated his parents who were locked in an eternal embrace. By separating his parents, he brought light to the world and life began. Once again, this is a badly summarized “Danielle verison” of the Maori creation story. I encourage you to read it for yourself.

As Koro shared these stories under Tane Mahuta, I was looking up to take in the whole tree. When Koro stopped talking to let his words sink in, we were engulfed in silence. You may remember just two weeks ago when I hiked up to the Sunrise Hut and was literally blown over by the force of the wind. The Waipoa forest is huge and full of leaves and branches ready to catch a breeze, but nothing was moving. Excuse me as I get a bit touchy-feely here, but the accentuated stillness of the forest compared to the intense juxtaposition of my last windy encounter with nature rooted me to my immediate surroundings and to the absolute present state of my being. My mind is constantly buzzing as to 'what will come next' – from my plans for tomorrow, a month from now, or even a year. I even dream about it. At that moment though, all of that fell away. Even though I was with 5 others, a silence as intense as the one we shared is hard to come by. In Edmonton, the noises from the city are always present. In the backpackers I have been frequenting for the past two months, there is always someone wandering around at any time of day. Even in the forest during the day, there is the crunching of the leaves underneath your feet, the calling of birds, and the sound of the wind in the trees.

But the Waipoa was in a state of absolute tranquil, unmoving stillness.

Koro broke the silence with a prayer to end our evening, but halfway through, he stopped himself and shouted “Kiwi!” For a full minute we listened to the call of a nearby endangered Kiwi bird before saying goodbye to the forest and each other to head back into the world.

“We are only said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

Hammock in Hokianga

Mostly to avoid staying longer in Auckland than I have to, I booked myself into the last place the Magic Bus stops on its tour of the North. The towns closest to where I am staying are Omapere and Opononi, but the entire bay area is known as Hokianga, which is on the west coast of the Northland. The backpackers I am staying at is called Globe Trekkers, and is owned by Mike and Sue. Similar to the one in Whangerei, the place is family owned and operated and feels more like a house than a backpackers which I really have come to appreciate. They have a English man named John who stays here for 6 months of the year, and spends the other 6 months enjoying his summers in England. He is an interesting and slightly eccentric old guy who is always up for a long conversation where he does most of the talking. Yesterday he told me explicitly that my English Degree is useless, but today he said he would like to figure out what makes a novel 'the best' instead of just 'good'. Well John, English degree over here can help you figure that one out.

This place has a great view of the ocean, lots of hiking trails, and really has that “away from it all” feeling. There isn't even an ATM here. But I mainly love it for the hammock that is hanging out by the patio. I plan to spend all of my time in it, reading my book and enjoying the sunshine in peace and quiet before I head to Auckland for a week. Lethargy, thy name is Danielle.

My Foot Hurts. Oh and I went to Russell

On my last day in the Bay of Islands, I wanted to do a 10 km hike, check out the town across the bay called Russell, go for a swim, and read my book. As it happened, that cut on the bottom of my foot that I got at Big Day Out did not like the sand exfoliation I gave it yesterday at Cape Reinga, and it was hurting more than ever. I also had my cell phone glued to my hand since I was waiting for a phone call from a potential employer (which never came). So I didn't manage to make the 10 km walk or go for a swim, but I had a great day nonetheless.

I got on a ferry over to Russell before noon, and had a good time wandering around exploring the town. When the Europeans settled in the area, Russell was known as the hell-hole of New Zealand because of all the drinking and prostitution that went on there. That time is long gone, and now Russell is just a quaint little beach village. On the other side of the peninsula from the ferry docks is Long Beach, which is a beautiful bay area with blue sparkly water and golden sand. I didn't have my swim suit and didn't want to miss the call, so I admired the water from afar and worked on my tan. Let me tell you, it was a challenge to not jump in the water.

I had been texting Chantal during the day, and she scolded me for not telling Omi I was in town. (Omi is from Christchurch, and she met Chantal when they worked in Fiji together seven years ago. We met up with her and her husband Ben when we visited Christchurch. Omi and Ben moved to Keri Keri in the Bay of Islands from Christchurch a week before I got there). I didn't necessarily feel like bothering Chantal's friend when Chantal wasn't there anymore, but I sent Omi a text anyways praising her beautiful choice of a place to live. This was automatically responded with “Are you here? Do you need a place to stay? Do you want to come over for dinner?” Canadians really need to pick up on this hospitality thing that Kiwi's have going on. Omi, Ben, and I ended up meeting in Paihia for pizza on the waterfront, which was a lovely way to spend my last night in the Bay of Islands with a few friends.

Kauri Trees – Sandboarding – Lunchtime Swim in Paradise – Cape Reinga – 90 Mile Beach

No visit to the Bay of Islands is complete without a day trip up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand. In Maori tradition, when people die their departed souls walk north to Cape Reinga. When they arrive here, they turn to face south, wave goodbye to their home and loved ones, and then drop down over the rocky cliffs which is the entrance to Hawaiki, the afterlife. That's a summarized “Danielle” version, but I had to record it here because I find it such a beautiful way to say goodbye to life and greet death. Cape Reinga was at the end of the day though, and I need to start at the beginning.

The bus took off bright and early, leaving the backpackers before 7:30. Full day ahead! Our first stop was the Manginangina, a Kauri tree forest that had Kauri trees a lot older than the ones in Whangerei. There was one tree that you would easily need 10 people joining hands to reach all the way around the trunk. I can't get over how beautiful the forests are here. I've wandered through some great urban forested parks in Europe, but those ones always feel very influenced by civilization – carved stone steps here, a perfectly straight line of trees there.. In New Zealand you really get back to the rugged design of mother nature. I suppose it's the same in Canada, but the forests are greener on the other side (literally actually, New Zealand is mainly rainforest).

From Manginangina, we continued north to our next stop at the sand dunes. The bus drove through a stream and right onto the hard sand at the base of the dunes, and then our driver Spike opened up the bus luggage area to reveal 30 body boards for us to run up the hill with, and then zoom down on again. I had been on sand dunes in September when I went to the Oregon Coast with Trish, Jill, Patrice, and John. So I had fresh memories of how annoying it is to climb a mountain made of sand. As usual, taking the slow and steady method helped me make it up to the top of the hill eventually. Spike explained the technique we were supposed to be using, and he helped by giving everyone a good push as they took off. Rachel, my bus seat buddy, was a bit nervous. I tried calming her down by saying “It's just like toboganning!” But the poor English girl had never been tobogganning. Eventually, it was my turn. No one had crashed yet, but I felt I would be the one since I am incredibly uncoordinated with things like this (read: skateboard = broken ankle, toboggan + tree = destroyed knee, etc) and was mentally preparing for the worst. As Spike pushed me down, 20 odd years of tobogganning experience took over and I made it down the hill without a problem – I even slid all the way down to the stream! After my first walk up, I was positive that it would be my last. I could not be bothered to climb the damn hill again. But the first ride down was so exhilarating that I quickly scurried up the hill again – this time with my camera, and Spike followed me down on his own board, recording me the whole way down. If I could find decent internet, I might even be able to post it.

The sand dunes were gorgeous, but Spike managed to one up them by bringing us to our lunch stop at Taputaputa Bay. This is a small beach on the Pacific Ocean with golden sand, crystal clear water, and waves high enough to make body surfing fun. I jumped right in for a lunch time swim, wishing I could just live there.

Sadly, we had to continue on, and took the final stretch of highway north to Cape Reinga. The car park is about a 20 minute walk from the top of the country, but the scenery along the way is so gorgeous that I didn't even notice. When I signed up for this tour, the brochure boasted that I would be able to see “the clash of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean as they cross over”. This sounds like a load of poetic bull shit. Oceans are human concepts, water doesn't care where an imaginary line is drawn, it's just water. Right? Wrong. There was an area of the sea that was quite choppy, and on a closer look, I could see two distinct sides with waves crashing in opposite directions. It was so cool. Brochure, you keep up that beautiful poetic bullshit. Show me more. Other than that, the Cape had a cool lighthouse and a signpost showing the directions and distances to various famous cities around the world. True to the Maori culture steeped in the land, the area was peaceful and calm, and felt very sacred. I could have stayed much longer.

But we needed to get back to Paihia for the night, so we started the long trek back down south. This was made shorter by driving along 90 Mile Beach. Yup, we drove right on the sand. At low tide, the sand is hard enough that any vehicle can drive down it. Apparently it's recognized as a New Zealand highway, so you can even get a ticket on the beach if you're driving like an idiot or going over the 100km/h speed limit. We stopped for pictures at one point and I ran into the water, just so I can say I've swam in two oceans in one day. Check!

The day was closed out by a trip to the Ancient Kauri kingdom, which is a gift shop and showroom made of Kauri tree objects. The only thing worth mentioning is that the store is built around a Kauri tree trunk that has been turned into a staircase. As in you walk up inside the tree. The trunk is so thick that they literally just carved out a spiral staircase into it. I felt a bit childish as my only thought was “I want one”. Our last stop was in Mangonui for some fish and chips, which was a perfect way to end the day. After the sun, sand, and climbing, I'm exhausted and ready for a solid sleep. In sum: perfect day.

The internet for tourists in this country really does not lend itself to uploading pictures – check back and I'll see if I can add some photographs to my entries when I have some solid bandwidth!

Abbey Caves

The Abbey Caves just outside of Whangerei are open for the public to explore as they wish – and they're free. If you want to go, you need solid close-toed shoes, a torch (in North America we call these flashlights), and it is highly recommended that you wear a helmet. So naturally, I went in without head gear in my bare feet sharing the 'flashlight app' on my phone with two other people. You go girl.

The Waitomo Caves are the popular ones in New Zealand, you may remember when I went there. That adventure cost around $100, but we got two tour guides, a wet suit, and an inner tube – not to mention the whole amazing tour. Basically, well worth the price of admission. There are a few other glow worm caves throughout New Zealand, including the ones here in Whangerei. The Abbey Caves are about 9km away from my backpackers, and with the current open wound on the bottom of my foot, I expected to miss them. Considering I've been to the world famous Waitomo Caves, I didn't really care. But when the guy at the carpark offered to drive us there, I really couldn't turn down the offer.

To get to the cave entrance, we walked through a beautiful farmers field, and then paused to re-assess. Do we really wanted to crawl into this dark, wet hole with inadequate gear? Well, we've made it this far already. So we hid our bags and shoes behind a rock, and slid down the first set of stones into the cave. The glow worms were not far from the entrance. I wish I could do these little phosphorescent bugs more justice than to simply describe them as little points of light above you. Even saying that to look up at them is like staring up at the milky way doesn't feel like it's enough. You really need to go into these caves yourselves. We walked in to the caves for about half an hour, splashing in shallow water, climbing over boulders, and wading through pools of water that were higher than my waist. We climbed up mini waterfalls and walked through some kind of grassy weeds that I don't want to think about for too long. I don't want to think about it because other than the glow worms, there is no light in the caves – so how are these plants be growing?! I also tried not thinking about the other things I had heard about, like the cave eels or weta bugs. Luckily, I didn't encounter either.

On the entire way in, I had my phone in my hand, trying to shine the light so everyone could use it. Minna and Elsa didn't complain at all. On the way back, Minna held the light for a while and I was able to fully appreciate how well these girls stumbled through the caves in the dark. You just have to trust that your foot will land where it is supposed to. The cave walk probably would have been a lot easier if I hadn't have brought my expensive, non-waterproof camera in with me. But I did get a cool picture of the glowworms!

My Day in Whangerei

I woke up this morning to overcast skies and a forecast for rain, so I curled up on the porch with a cup of tea and my book.  Sure enough, it started to rain so I spent the morning with my book.  By afternoon, I was restless and ready for action.  My roommates, Minna and Elsa, were also up for adventure so we headed out together to hike to the Whangerei Falls.  It was overcast when we left, but as soon as we got on the trail the clouds disappeared and the sun came out.  Probably should have worn sun screen. Whoops. 

The trail to the falls led us along the Hatea River Walk and through a canopy walk with Kauri trees. The Kauri is one of the most famous of New Zealand trees, and I was excited to finally see one.  We were told that these trees were only 500 year old babies, but considering how that's older than the European discovery of my country, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around how these trees could be young.  When we got to the Kauri part of the hike, we saw trees as thick as the biggest ones in British Columbia.  This is why they're just 'babies'.  There is a Kauri tree elsewhere in the Northland called Tane Mahuta that is 2000 years old and has a 13 metre girth.  I cannot picture this, but I will be seeing Tane in about a week, so I guess I can try to put it into words then.

Further along the trail was the Whangerei Falls.  Now I've seen a lot of waterfalls, but these ones were gorgeous - they're about 26 metres high.  We all just sat down and looked at the water rushing down for a good ten minutes before heading up to the car park area.  While we met a few people along the trail, that was nothing compared to how busy it was up at the park above the falls.  The river gets quite deep right before the waterfall, so kids were running and jumping into the water, swinging from ropes on trees, and even climbing high into this one tree beside the riverbank, creeping down the branches, and jumping down into the water.  This was right next to a sign that said "Danger: shallow rocks".
All that was nothing compared to the guy who started wading through the river to the edge of the waterfall.  Was he going to jump? Yes!  My morbid curiosity was about as strong as everyone else's in the park as we all ran to the viewing platform to watch him jump.  Everyone waited with baited breath as he leaned over to look down to the water below.  Remember me saying the falls are 26 metres high?  And then he jumped. 

I couldn't take my eyes off the water until he surfaced, alive and well.  I heard a lady saying she had watched him do it yesterday too.  I later found out that 3 people have died in the past from jumping off the falls.  Scary.

When we left the backpackers, Elsa had plans to walk to the waterfall and then hitchhike to the Abbey Caves or back to the hostel since it was a good 9 km each way.  I didn't have a lot of confidence in that plan, so I was ready for the walk back.  When we got up the the carpark for the falls, we started chatting with some volunteers who spend the day there, offering information, water, and sunscreen.  I asked the man how hard it was to walk to the caves, and he disappeared into his car to find a map.  While he was there, his wife convinced him to give us a ride to the caves.  Score!  The caves are a whole other adventure though, which you can read about here.

When we got out of the caves, we prepared ourselves for the 9 km walk back to the hostel.  After what felt like a long ten minute walk, Elsa's thumb proved useful and a wonderful local guy picked us up and drove us downtown.  The ten minute drive easily cut an hour off our walking time.  Yay for first hitchhike!  I finished the day off with leftovers from my Swiss friends and a glass of wine from Elsa and Minna. I don't think I've ever had such an inexpensive travelling day.  I only paid for my bed!

The Friendly Traveller

Apart from napping, I spent first day in Whangerei with three new friends I met in the backpackers: Katie, Matt, and Johnny.  We played boardgames, discussed school, and they taught me how to feed birds by throwing seeds at them.

My new friends were 10, 8, and 6 - the grandkids of the owners who came to visit for the weekend from Auckland.  My willingness to jump around the sitting area playing Hulabaloo made me a fast favourite, so when evening came I was invited along to a dark walk through the forest to see glow worms.  Noell, the owner/grandma, was a great guide for us.  She pointed out a bunch of things to look at, including the Weta bug that lives in the caves.  Apparently these things can jump up to five metres.  It was only a baby, but still disgusting.

My new friends weren't quite as adventurous as I was though, and got a bit unnerved in the dark so we had to head back early.  This was okay with me since I was still running low on sleep after Big Day Out, and was ready to curl up in bed for a solid 10 hours (or forever).

When we got back, I headed into the kitchen where a group of Swiss travellers were finishing dinner.  They made too much, and asked if
I wanted a plate.  Free pasta and schnitzel? Yes please!  When I finished, they still had leftovers, but not enough to feed all four of them the next day so they insisted I take the food for tomorrow. 

Free night walk to see glowworms and two free dinners. I love travelling.