Hey From Thames

  When we last left off we had stayed in Manganui. From there we headed south, we stopped in Kerikeri where Miles grabbed himself a bite to eat (McDonalds tastes the same here as at home btw) and we carried on to Paihia. We stopped very briefly in Paihia, which is kind of a shame as it was a neat little town, but the backpackers we tried were full and we had poor knights on our minds. So spur of the moment Bri called up a dive shop that did tours to Poor Knights and in the process of asking for info, booked two dives on the islands for the following morning- off we headed to Tutukaka. Tutukaka is possibly the only name we can actually pronounce here! On the drive to Tutukaka we passed this pretty beach called sandy bay. its a surfers paradise (judging by all the boards in the water) but it was raining buckets so we didn't spend too much time admiring. And on down the twisty roads  we continued to tutukaka. It is this tiny little town with like 4 dive shops, and just as many surf shops. And no wonder! Poor Knights Islands are one of the top diving sites in the world (Jaques Cousteau even said so). So excited to go and see the dive shop, we apparently drove past our accomadations for the night. After checking out the maraina down at the bay, and a quick drive through Tutukaka we still hadn't seen our reservations for the night. When i called to find out exactly where the campsite was, we were given directions to go up main street and look for a huge blue marlin. It seems quite funny that we drove right past a 20 foot long blue marlin mounted on the side of the main road, but one could say that it's impressive stature lures the eye from anything else. When we had checked in, we headed off to our cabin, and what a surprise, one truly doesn't appreciate a roof and a warm bed, or even a shower as much unless you have lived without for a while. Compound that appreciation after going through a few dives, and feeling the dry sticky salt residue. Diving the Poor Knights sure beats the hell out of the Dark Alberta waters, where both Brianna and I got our certifications. Visibility was well over 100 feet, and the life around us, and all the colours was something we both had never seen before. Throw in the fact that our dive crew and Skipper were some of the best host we have had, mix a dry british humour with laid back kiwis who love their jobs and just want to please, makes for a great day. For anyone interested in seeing all there is to see in one of the safest environments, Tutukaka has it all.