Far North

Hey everyone!

I am writing from Auckland, where we will spend the last few days of our trip.

After hanging out in the Bay of Islands, we drove farther north to Ahipara, a tiny town on the coast. There was a really nice hostel there, so we decided to stay for four days. Unfortunately, on the first night, our car was broken into and a lot of our stuff was stolen, including Jay's camera gear and a lot of our hiking equipment. Luckily, all of our photos had been downloaded from the camera to the computer so we didn't lose any of those. Our travel insurance (and possibly our renter's insurance) will cover some of the stolen items, so we are really glad we got insurance on our baggage. I definitely would recommend it to anyone who is travelling!

We spent a few days hanging out, going surfing and swimming, and making friends at the hostel. The hostel itself was an old house built in the 1880s and had beautiful high ceilings and wood floors. The hostel was also quite small, so we got to know a few people and had a good time hanging out. It was a pretty difficult place to leave this morning!

Now we are in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. We have returned the rental car and we plan on checking out the museum, zoo, and park. It is hard to believe that we only have 3 days left here!

We will probably post again with some stories from Auckland and a wrap-up post, including our picks and pans.

Erin