Welcome to the Bay of Islands!  My flat mate Sariah and I went on a road trip to the far north of the north island.  We saw some incredible scenery.  The Bay of Islands has always been on my list of things I have to see, so it really was a dream come true.  This was the view near a town called Russell, not too shabby!  I'm so grateful to be here!!

I'm on top of the world, well at least New Zealand!  Sariah and I went on a tour up to Cape Reinga and ninety mile beach.  This is the view looking north on the northern tip of New Zealand.  It almost felt like we could jump off the edge of the world.  Here I am making an attempt but don't worry I'm still here.

Hanging loose at Cape Reinga!  

Here I am on 90 mile beach.  We drove up the normal highway on the way to the cape and on the way back we drove on the beach for over fifty miles!  It was so cool!!  Talk about an incredible view out the bus window!  Our tour guide was very funny, he told us that because the beach is classified as a highway the speed limit for buses is 90 kph, unless the tide starts to turn, in which case the speed limit is as fast as you can go.  He also said it was the cleanest highway in New Zealand because it is washed clean twice a day!  So fun!!

Guess where I spent the fourth of July?!  I've given you a series of clues so you can figure it out.  But my first clue is that it is much farther away from home than New Zealand!  I had a wonderful day even though there were no fireworks!

This photo should definitely help you figure it out, (if you have gone to the movies lately- hint, hint).  No it's not heaven, even though you might think it is by the photos.

Maybe this photo will help.  Yes I know I am goofy, in fact I have an entire series of these jumping photos, but it is super fun!  Yay for silliness!!

Narnia!!  What a fourth!!  So this is Cathedral Cove, where they filmed the new Narnia move Prince Caspian.  Specifically the scene where the kids are transported back to Narnia while waiting for the tube.  Sariah and I spent the afternoon playing on the beach.  What was truly remarkable was that we had the entire beach to ourselves for nearly an hour.  When we arrived there were a few people but they left and we had free reign to be crazy, as evidenced by the photos!  So happy fourth of July!  I hadn't seen the movie though I knew it was filmed there so we went to it the next day and yes it is even more beautiful in person than in the movie!

The drive from Hinakura to Hamilton was one of the most beautiful days ever!!  It had been cold and snowy/rainy for several days before but the day we drove home was clear and bright!  There was hardly a cloud in the sky all day.  What a day to see the mountains!  This picture is Mt. Ruapehu (Mordor for you LOTR fans).  I don't know how often you will see the mountain with a fresh dusting of snow and not a cloud in the sky, we couldn't believe it!  It was so incredibly beautiful!  Wow!

I spent the last week in June at a sheep/cattle farm at the very south end of the north island.  My flat mate Sariah and I went to visit her uncle and aunt.  We had so much fun relaxing, exploring the region and just hanging out with her family.  The farm is located in a very remote area called Hinakura that is rugged and beautiful.  While we were down there we went to Stonehenge!  No we didn't fly to England, they have built a working stone circle right in New Zealand!  Random!  We took a tour that was very informative and learned some of the ways early civilizations used stone circles, one, for instance was as a calendar.  So here I am at Stonehenge Aotearoa!