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<\/a><\/p>\nFirst stop is Paihia!\u00a0Rich in culture, history and natural resources, Paihia is the place of friendly locals, happy cafes and people enjoying life whether it is swimming with dolphins, taking in a spot of retail therapy, bush walking or just lazing on the beach. Known as the jewel of the magnificent Bay of Islands, with shimmering safe waters and superb beaches, there are plenty of recreational activities in among the 144 islands: sail, fish, swim, dive, snorkel, charter a launch or paddle a sea kayak around the islands.<\/p>\n
I wanted to do all of it, but I only stayed there for four days. Walking around Paihia is incredibly quiet, no traffic lights, no crazy drunk bars, no nothing, just you and silence. When the first day went by, I said to myself “what the heck am I going to do here for four days?!”\u00a0As the days went by I saw the beauty in it, I could hear my thoughts and just enjoy the incredible calmness of this town.<\/p>\n I stayed at a very cute hostel called Mousetrap<\/strong>, which is a quiet hostel (no vomiting or singing drunk songs after 11pm). I liked that a lot! I didn’t come here to experience New Zealand dozing off, but to really feel it as it is.\u00a0The Mousetrap Backpackers<\/a> hostel is a three-level character house with wooden polished floors and native timbers. Its famous balcony, with sweeping views of the bay, opens into two large sunny lounges with open fires, perfect for those cold winter nights. Very clean, has free wifi and free bikes.\u00a0Being a small friendly hostel, it is a great place to meet fellow travellers.<\/p>\n At the hostel I’ve met a batch of truly amazing people. Almost all solo travellers from all over the world. I’ve met a German girl who wandered around New Zealand for almost a year hitchhiking, a American who is travelling around the globe for almost 5 years now, a Japanese girl who could barely speak English, but decided to see the world in two years and many more of courageous freebies. As a typical Slovenian I of course asked them “What about money?”, and each one of them is doing incredibly good with just working part-time care free jobs, one day cleaning in return for a free accommodation and the other picking kiwis, babysitting or milking cows. So big decision of going on a month backpacking trip sounded quite funny to them, but for me it is enough… for now \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Mousetrap backpackers hostel<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n