Iceland Day 1. Reykjavik

After some drama with my bank - yes I know, again. 

I paid for my accommodation, stored my luggage and set out to wander about the city. 

Although it's summer it was pretty drizzly, but I guess I should get used to that before coming back to the UK!

 This is the hostel cat who was dozing in reception when I checked in - complete cutie and just loved getting paid attention! :)

Reykjavik shopping was really fun, there were lots of touristy shops offering tax and cut free bits and pieces, as well as quite a few selling souvenirs. 

 But what I loved most was the great blend between modern european sleek designate that was really reflective of nordic style (think norway, sweden and finland), with traditional elements of Icelandic tradition 

There were quite a few of these big polar bears outside a couple of shops in town!

 I loved these graphic, almost boutique, shops - the downside was I wanted to buy everything!

These are a well known 'landmark' for Reykjavik!

 After wandering the streets for a bit I decided to treat myself to brunch in the oldest cafe in Reykjavik!

 Since I'd been awake ridiculously long I ordered the 'Hangover Sandwich' as I was feeling a bit hungover from lack of sleep! 

 Reykjavik is ridiculously expensive, so I'm not going to mention how much this cost, but it was a lovely treat to read my book (pride and prejudice) in the warmth before venturing out into the rain!

 I really, really liked Reykjavik with all the different restaurants and shops - it just had such a unique character and feel to it!

 This cafe had an interesting board outside!

 I think the Iclandic accent adds to me liking the city so much - it's just hilarious!

 After spending some time at the city I headed to the Marina and to the view point out over the bay

 There was this particular view point with a lovely feature, I think it's really appropriate to the Iceland's history as I thought it was a great mix of a viking boat, the nordic history as well as the reliance on fishing to survive!

 The view out over the bay was really lovely from this spot too

 random tie mural!

 All the streets in Reykjavik are just adorable as the majority of houses are painted such lovely pretty colours that they brighten the place up regardless of the weather!

 after spending quite a lot of time in Reykjavik I headed back to the hostel to the lovely hostel garden where I sampled some Icelandic sweets which were… interesting!

 I finally got into my room and was pleasantly surprised to find my 'dorm' only had one other person! Makes me feel a bit better about how much I'm paying! 

Day 13 The Mount

For the first time, the weather forecast was actually right - sadly.

I hopped on the bus over to the mount anyway and decided to give the base walking track a whirl, as i figured that was a good way to test out my ankle. The sea was pretty impressive in the wind, and all I can say is I'm very glad I wasn't out there on the water!

 Look at this random sheep along the walk!

 a random statue!

 It quickly became clear the track to the summit was bad, a few of the paths leading up there were closed off as the strong wind, and persistent rain were set to last the day

 (just after i took this photo they put a sign up advising people not to go up)

By the time I finished the first path there was a sign telling people not to attempt the summit. Which was bittersweet, on the one hand it saved me from having to make the decision of whether or not my ankle was up to it, but on the other I really wanted to go up!

It was surprisingly busy around Mt Maunganui – there were tons of people braving the blustery weather to walk along the beach. And there were even some people surfboarding!

(I thought this was cool!)

I didn’t spend too much time on the beach since I’d sunbathed there before with the Girls on a weekend trip and it was damn cold - instead I headed to the tiny shopping street!

Its almost entirely privately owned businesses, most of the selling a bizarre assortment of knick-knacks. 

(this is typical NZ btw, a house selling grapefruit from the gate and just trusting people to pay)

That’s it for today, I caught the bus back when it was starting to get dark and now I’m in my room typing this up while new people move in! 

Day 11 Loft 109

A day of rest of rest has done my ankle the world of good, I managed to hobble down to breakfast, and make my way over to the library, with all my stuff, without too much hassle!

After catching the bus to Ngatea (however you think that’s pronounced, you’re probably wrong! Nar-Tee-Ah) where I chatted to a Canadian whose family is from Glasgow. Then I caught another bus to Tauranga (which is where I am right now). We got here a fair bit later than planned because the bus wasn’t feeling too happy. The air-con was playing up so the windows were majorly steamed up, but the worrying bit was where we had to pull over to the side of the road a few times because we ‘lost’ a gear. First it was 5^th gear, 20 minutes later 7^th went, then it was 3^rd… now I don't really know what that means, but basically we couldn’t go very fast. But we did make it in one piece!

One of the many little balconies dotted around the hostel 

I walked straight past the hostel as it’s one of those situated above shops, so on the ground level there's just a doorway leading to some stairs. It’s also a lot closer to the centre than I originally thought (which is always nice). And it’s next to a Japanese restaurant that’s really good – I’ve just got back from treating myself to Tofu Teriyaki Don!

Oh and as the hostel's name suggests, my room is up 3 flights of stairs - which my ankle is just loving

Day 10. Hobbled

So today has simply been the day of the swollen ankle. Luckily I had nothing major booked or planned, but even so, spending the day sat down with my leg propped up, unable to walk was a pain.

Getting to the shower was a marathon and don’t even mention the stairs down to the kitchen! My Kindle has been a life safer today, as I’ve mainly just sat around and read, trying to not feel sorry for myself, since I’ve also picked up a cold!

Also, just met a guy from Preston in the hostel! 

Day 7 Shakespeare Cliff

So I pay have taken a lot of photos today, that’s only because I ended up doing a lot more than planned, I walked to Buffalo Beach, crossed to ‘Ferry Landing’, Walked to Front Beach, Flaxmill Beach, up to Shakespeare Cliff, then down to Lonely Bay, onto Cook’s Bay and finally hiked up to Whitianga Rock!

Turtle Cove (the hostel I’m staying at right now) offers breakfast, just the usual cornflakes and toast, but there’s just something nice about getting a surprise free breakfast!  So after breakfast I headed to Lyon’s Park and walked along the marina up to Buffalo Beach 

 The Marina

 Walking along Buffalo Beach in the Morning was so pretty!

It was pretty early but there were lots of older ladies wandering around (apparently they walk along the beach every morning as their daily exercise in groups)

This sign made me laugh though!

After pottering about on the beach I caught the ferry (which lasted a grand total of 40seconds) and from there head up the road

This was the only shop at Ferry Landing!

I pottered along to Front Beach and over to Flaxmill Bay before I attempted the Cliff Trek

 Such a pretty walk!

Although these signs weren't fun to see!

Getting up to the top was pretty steep but it was incredibly well signposted for NZ – as in there were actually 3 signs along the 2hr path!

 Lots of photos of me!

After having lunch with this amazing view I headed down to Lonely Bay. This area (despite it’s name) is usually packed but since it’s off season I had the place to myself to wander about

Another hour and crossing a stream I got to Cooks bay, but by the time I got there the weather was turning, so I had to take shelter under a tree (hiding under trees is becoming something I’ve been doing too often at the moment!)

 It really was as grey as this picture looks!

On the way back to the Ferry I decided I might as well do the walk up to Whitianga Rock since I had time, the weather was holding again and with the luck I’ve been having I didn’t want to hold off doing the walk until tomorrow

 I'm pretty sure this is a Kingfisher? Maybe?

The walk was… interesting. I should have known, it started off by going through private land and that’s never a good sign if the DOC don’t opt to buy the entire path.

It was doing pretty smoothly, a few muddy slopes but nothing major, that was until I got further up and got to some weirdly cut stone stairs – which wouldn’t have been too bad but they were full of slippery wet leaves.

But that was OK but then I had to walk along a bit that was around 20cm wide with a steep drop on both sides… that wasn’t fun in the rain.

Oh and there was a blown down tree

Roughly every half an hour you find one of these little plastic triangles on a tree or on the floor, and it's so reassuring as then you know you're actually on the right path and haven't wandered off!

The run really started when I got to this. It looked like the path had just ended but then I saw there was something that looked like foot holes in the rock… so obviously I climbed up!

The view was incredible!

And I finished off the day with a spiced apple muffin! Not a bad day!