Most of day 12 was spent cleaning up our stuff, doing a little e-mailing and getting ready to head back to Auckland from Pahei. Our bus was full and we had to get back to Auckland so we got a ride with a friend we met in Pahia from a friend of a friend who met a guy who was going back to Auckland. It was a quick trip back and we had some nice chats with our friends from Ireland and England. It has been a treat to meet people from all over the world.
Once back in Auckland we had some food and went to meet our friends at the bar at the Base Hostel. There are a few Base hostels throughout the country and they are known for young travelers that like to party. It was an "interesting" place to have a few drinks, especially since it was bikini night or something.
Day 13 was spent getting some rest, doing a little shopping and doing a bunch of planning for our up coming travels. It was a highly productive day.
Day 14 we took off from Auckland on the Stray bus heading south. We liked the name of our bus!
The day was very overcast and rainy, so we didn't make too many stops on the way to Hahei. We made a quick stop at a square kauri tree. This tree is 41 meters tall and 9 meters around at the trunk. It was amazing to see and the natives cherish the Kauri trees! They did a lot of harvesting many years ago and there are not many old trees left. This tree was square and spared as it was thought to be sacred due to its shape.
Then we made a stop at Hot Water Beach before we made it to town and got checked into our hostel (a.k.a backpacker).
Day 15 started with a visit to Hot Water Beach to reap the benefits of the beach.
The previous day was too stormy. The couple that owned our hostel were nice enough to give us a ride to the beach so we could dig our pools. The hot water is only accesible the couple of hours around low tide and when the seas are calm. We dug our pool and did a little relaxing in our own homemade hot tub. It got a little crowed, but was still fun. 
Next we had a little lunch at cafe near the beach and got a ride back to the backpacker from the owner. She was so sweet, thanks Anne!
Later that afternoon we did a little relaxing on the beach before a little dinner. That evening we did a hike out to Cathedral Cove. It was a beautiful evening and the colors in the sky were amazing. It was a nice 1 hour hike out to the cove and there were only 5 other people out there the whole time we were there. Andrea took a bunch of great photos. Here is a small sampling.
Day 16 we boarded the Stray bus again and headed toward Raglan. Raglan is known for having the longest left hand break in the Southern Hemisphere. That means it is a sweet surfing spot! On the way to Raglan we made a few stops, one at the place where L&P was created. It is a lemon flavored soda that's slogan is "World Famous in New Zealand".
As soon as we arrived at the lodge in Raglan we got on our togs (swimsuits) and headed off for a surf lesson. We had an awesome time and both were surfing by the end of the lesson. It was fun and incredibly tiring. We didn't get any photos during the lesson, but have some from our next surfing adventure.
Day 17 we took it easy. We went into town to see what was there and had a quick bite to eat. Once back at the lodge we went and checked out the "Flying Fox" (a zip line)
and went for a little hike in the bush around the lodge.
That evening we walked down to "Inspiration Point" to see the sunset and get a little inspiration. It was a little cloudy, but still a beautiful sunset.
Day 18 in New Zealand...
After our relaxing day around Raglan we were ready to head to the beach to go surfing again. We rented a wet suit and board and headed into the Tasman Sea. We both stood up again today and cruised in on some waves. The sea was a bit rough today, but we had so much fun playing in the water and attempting to catch waves.
We were hoping to head into town in the afternoon but ended up just relaxing around the Lodge and watching a movie. The Karioi Lodge we stayed at was out in the bush a bit, making it difficult to get into town. That evening we had some dinner and packed our things to get ready to head out in the morning.
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