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My googvent calendar completed…I cheated on the last day, but happy Christmas everyone!

What would be more appropriate than a 5 pointed Christmas star?

Down here, sitting in sunshine (sometimes) beside the beach, it does not feel very Christmassy, however I’ve decided to get in the spirit and start my Christmas countdown. Every day, I will google the number of days to go, ie. first up is 25. Then create something on theme with whatever comes up first. Behold my Googvent Calander…

We rented a car and drove up to Paihia, a small town in the Bay of Islands, north of the North Island where we checked into Base hostel, which had nice rooms, a large kitchen and a good bar.

Christmas Eve we did a big shop and stocked up on all the essentials – a fry for the morning, loads of chocolate, sweets, crisps and dips. That evening we went to a carol service on the local green and then for a few drinks in the hostel bar.

Christmas was a bit strange being away from home but it was so different it didn’t really feel like Christmas anyway. In the morning we went down for a swim at the beach and to swap our Secret Santa presents. A group of Philipinos were there too and insisted on taking loads of photos with us – are we really still that white??? Home for the fry and afterwards we watched “In Bruges” and dug into the chocolate supplies. Mass was on that evening so we all went to that before coming back for the hostel dinner – mussels, ham, chicken, veg, salad followed by ice-cream. A few more drinks rounded up the day, finishing with the hostel owner and some locals doing the Haka!

I had arranged to meet a friend of mine from college, Siobhan on Stephen’s day. She was up in Tauranga Bay (further north) camping with her boyfriend, Lance and his family. They collected me that morning and I headed off to spend a few days with them at the beach. Lance’s dad has a small motor boat so we went out fishing alot, along with lots of swimming and walking. I caught my first snapper fish! During the week I got to try cray fish, paua, snapper, mussels, oysters and delicious cookies and cakes made by Lance’s mom. The weather was a bit mixed but camping right on the beach was great and I really enjoyed the few days.