Today marks day one of my six-week tour with hop-on, hop-off bus service Stray Travel.

I selected Stray for two reasons:

– The average age of their customers is mid-twenties and I like the idea of traveling with people who are closer to my age (I recently turned 29).

– It’s more focused on seeing the sights than partying (unlike Kiwi Experience, one of the other major bus tour options which has a reputation as the party bus).

I’m excited to see how my travel with Stray turns out. I’ll write an update at the conclusion of my experience.

After departing from Auckland, we stop at an ancient, giant Kauri tree. It’s 800 years old! These trees have been over-harvested in the past so now they are treated as national treasures and it’s illegal to cut one down, even if it’s on your property. The wood is strong and durable; it even holds up well underwater for decades.

Stop #2 for the day is a glass-bottomed boat tour of Goat Island, which is north of Auckland (we’re headed way up north several hours to the Bay of Islands).

On the way from the bus to the boat, I cross paths with a bunch of fluffy white guys.

That’s Goat Island in the distance. There’s a university nearby that conducts marine research around this area.

“I’m on a boat…” Goat Island edition.

There are several caves on the perimeter of the island.

Stop #3 is Whangarei Falls. We’re only there for around 20 minutes but it’s an impressive sight.

Stop #4 is our destination, Paihia — the gateway to the Bay of Islands. We’ll be here for three nights to properly explore the area.

After getting settled at the hostel, I venture out for a shoreline stroll.

File under random: funny road signs in New Zealand (this is one of many promoting safe driving).

Another random shot: the public restrooms in Paihia. The colored lights change every few seconds and keep you entertained while using the loo.

The clouds put on a little show around sunset time —

I’ll leave you with a sampling of my meals in Paihia. Don’t worry, these were all consumed over three days.

This is a hostel group dinner; I think it was $7:

Hokey Pokey is made in New Zealand. It reminds me of a toffee crunch chocolate bar and it’s delicious.

I didn’t actually eat this sushi. But I’ve never seen sushi sold by the slice before so I snapped a photo.

A pumpkin veggie pizza:

Next up: we drive to the very tip top of New Zealand on a Cape Reigna day trip. Stay tuned on Monday!