Raglan

We left our WOOFing hosts and headed off towards Raglan, on our way we stopped off at Cambridge to look at camping equipment. Lloyd and I plan on doing a bit of camping between WOOFing as we work  a bit of camping on 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111our way down the north island. I’ve never really been bothered about camping but it will be good to give it a go plus the equipment we’re buying is on sale so in the long run it will be cheaper than staying in hostels.

Raglan is a really nice town, very small but very chilled out. There are a few licensed cafes so if you want a coffee or beer there is a good choice of places to choose from there are also lots of independent shops. There are lots of activities to do that are mainly water based like surfing or kite surfing. The majority of people in Raglan are surfer types apparently Raglan is one of the surfing hot spots so I can understand why.

Lloyd and I have checked into a Back Packers hostel it’s really nice and the other people in the hostel are really nice and laid back, check out the view from the hostel balcony!

On Saturday Lloyd and I signed up for surfing lessons, I was quite nervous to start with but the instructors made sure everyone was at ease and relaxed before we got in the water. The first part of the lesson was on land where we were given instructions on how to get onto the board and how to stand once you caught a wave. The second part was where we got in the water and gave what we had learnt into practice. The hardest part for me was getting out deep enough; the waves absolutely batter you as you try to get out deep enough. Once you get out deep enough and you see a wave coming you have to lay on your board and when the wave is close start paddling, you really feel the speed when the wave starts to push you along. Depending on your balance you then have to try to get to your feet, it does feel amazing when you manage to stand and balance for quite some distance. Lloyd and I did plan on going out again on Sunday but I am aching all over from the previous days efforts so we decided to give it a miss, I will give it a go again if the opportunity comes along.


We spent our last night in Raglan drinking with a bunch of people we met in our hostel, like I've said before it's all about the people you meet that make travelling fun. I've posted a few pictures below from my time in Raglan, if you ever make it over to New Zealand this place is definitely worth visiting. 


Just a quick note too, I've finally updated my travel pictures, just click the travel pictures tab at the top of the page!