On our last day in Auckland, we started to think “Hmm, maybe we should figure out where the heck we’re going from here and how we should get ourselves there.” We researched all the New Zealand-owned car rental companies, which are pretty damn cheap but use really old, high-mileage cars (one company said the Nissan we rented might be from 1998!). Having just finished months of being in logistics mode at home getting ready for a wedding and a year-long trip, we weren’t exactly excited about having to sort out mobile phone cards, booking lodging for ourselves every night, finding our way in a rental car, and deciding what to do and see everyday. Quite the intrepid travelers, no?
So, after a little more research, we decided to hop on the bus with Stray Travel, a hop on/hop off backpacker bus with flexible routes that cover the Northland (north of Auckland), a big chunk of the north island, and pretty much the entire south island (including Stewart Island at the far south end). It’s a backpacker-oriented company, and they guarantee you one night in a hostel (dorm style) at each overnight stop (although you’re free to book your own room elsewhere or try for a private room). They claim to take riders “off the beaten path” and show you things that the other big bus companies (Kiwi Experience, Magic Bus) don’t.
Our first day took us from rainy Auckland to a sunny town up north called Paihia (“Pie-ee-ah”) on the Bay of Islands, a gorgeous spot that both Laura and I missed the last time we were each here, and one that was highly recommended by many people we talked to. We arrived at the Pickled Parrot hostel to find that we’d be assigned to the Morepork room, which Laura was really excited about until she found out that a morepork is actually a type of owl here in New Zealand, not a special room full of bacon. Our private double room (that’s a double bed, folks, not two rooms) was TINY and didn’t have an en suite bathroom, and we contemplated moving to another place (and looked at a few options, actually). But in the end we stuck it out, and it turned out just fine. The backpacker (as they call hostels here) was clean, super friendly with a very “chill” vibe, had a good size common kitchen and living room, and was relatively quiet (especially compared to many of the other party-oriented hostels). Plus, the parrot (Rocky) was a riot – he loved to imitate the meows of the resident cat, digital camera clicks, cell phone rings, and the occasional trekker phrase. He also really liked to eat buttons and zipper pulls off of just about everything.
As Laura mentioned, she was sick with a bad cold up here, and that turned out to be just one of many challenges we faced over the next couple of days. But we also had wonderful weather and a great day sailing on the Bay of Islands. More on all of that in my next post…