The first thing I did on that day was to rent a bike and cycled around the Bay before I went on a ferry to Russel – the first European settlement and the place where mighty James Cook first set his foot on. It’s a very relaxed spot and I got the feeling to step back in time, not the wild time when the early settlers arrived, but at least some 10 or 15 years ago. I hiked up some hills and took a close look at the church to check out the bullet holes that early settlers left there. After my trip to the very beginning of white settlement in New Zealand I took a Stray-express-bus back to Auckland with Spike, by far the most wicked driver of Stay, not just because of his trendy hairstyle (probably the source to his nickname). There is an ongoing “fight” between Stray drivers – nothing serious, just poking fun at each once in a while, and Spike must have overdone it one time, when he, driving the bus, stood up, pulled down his pants and presented the “Big Green Fuck Truck” travelers his Willie. Unfortunately a old lady was driving right behind the Kiwi-bus and called the cops, which almost arrested poor Spike.
