Hitchhiking to Whangarei

I have to say, Hitch Hiking is one of the Best forms of transportation. Throughout the trip Barbara and I got around 15 rides, and I covered over 2000 km. It didn't cost us a dime in fuel too! The best part is that being two girls, we were picked up by nice, mostly "normal" people, and usually we would wait 5-10 minutes for a ride!

The strangest ride we had was from a "christian" woman, around 25 years old, who was on her way to resurrect a dead baby... No really, we got a 2 hour sermon along the drive about how much she loved us and how she could save us from hell. Poor Barbara was afraid that we might be kidnapped and taken to her cult, though I didn't get the same feeling, it was certainly an interesting ride!

The best ride was from the horse whisperer! He is a therapeutic masseuse who was on his way to work on race horses for the Olympics! He also works on humans, and bases his practice on energy flow within the body. Very interesting stuff! Well I got a card, and I was sad to have to get out of the car.

Everyone was SO nice though! We were regularly offered places to stay, given extra food, and people simply went way out of there way to help us!

Our first night in the Northland, we camped at a hostile in Whangarei. The location was supurb! and the option of a hot-tub, trampoline, and hair dryers was too good of an offer to pass up!

   

A short hike away, we followed a path beside a wonderous waterfall, and followed along this bridge through the forrest.

This little river is about to make a huge leap down the rocks!

Hard to believe that was the same river huh? The water below is just perfect to swim in!

Do a little dance! We almost set the tent up right there.

Many fruits grow naturally in New Zealand. This here is an Orange tree. We also packed with us tangerines and lemons that we found. Other things that are easy to find are blackberries, kiwi fruit, grapes, and FEIJOAS!!

We also discovered a cool new fruit called tamirollos. They are deep red like an apple and are shaped like an oval tomato. They're sweet and similar to eat as a kiwi fruit.  ;  )

This is a tamarillo.

Here is the beautiful pool and spa we got to lounge in for the evening!! Oooohh so good.