Day 40 - Paihia

Set off from Auckland at 7.30 and our first little stop was in Warkworth a really small little stop with the largest tree I have ever seen, we all hugged the tree as maurea tradition says it gives you good luck on travels as they believe when there ancestors go to heaven they travel up to heaven through the tallest living thing which here are these kauri trees. The one we hugged was 800 years  old! The oldest one recorded in New Zealand is 3500 years old!
It was park of parry kauri park and there was also a walk around outside museum which had all war base stations there from where the USA base was in 1941 there was even a jail it was really eery as it hadnt been touched since then. Further down the road we stopped off at a little beach at uretiti camp over looking 3 off islands it was really nice. Just before we got to paihia we stopped off in a small town to visit New Zealand's more famous.... public toilets! Haha designed by a famous German designer hundertwasser they were pretty cool made from broken tiles and coloured glass bottles. When we got to Paihia i stocked up on crisp and bread for crisp buttys for the next few day haha then went for a walk along the water front, millions and millions of shells it was so pretty. I'm staying at the base hostel pipi patch it's really cute and even has a swimming pool and hot tub yay. Chilled night with the jacket potatoes the man at the national park gave me and tv! Ready for another early departure!