Welcome Home to the Mousetrap

In an effort to get out of Auckland and do two things I came to New Zealand for (lay on the beach, learn how to sail) I've moved up to Northland, to a small beach town called Paihia. Now, lots of people will talk up Paihia, and its a cute little town reminiscent of small beach towns all over the world. But there is  nothing to do here if the weather is crappy. And it's been crappy since I got here on Tuesday.

Currently, I'm living in a quaint hostel called The Mousetrap Backpackers:



There are about 15 rooms, and almost 50 people could stay here a night. I'm in a room with a nice Irish girl Caroline, Holly from Wales and Janine from Canada. Janine and I have fun teasing the Brits about how they say things wrong (a shirt does not have to have a collar).

There are two huge lounges which really remind me of my grandpa's house in Maine, and my friend Rich says it reminds him of back home in England with the big open fires. More often than not the television is turned on to the Simpsons or Friends, and I don't miss home one bit.

The cool thing is the awesome view of the harbor from the deck. We also have a handful of grills and lots of outdoor seating, so once the weather eases into summer it'll be absolutely lovely. It's a quiet, homey place to spend a few weeks relaxing and making a little money waitressing in town. Once Rich comes up next week, I'll have a nice explorer buddy to go traipsing around the bush with. If you want to come rent a sailboat, mid-December would be a great time! Here's to Thanksgiving on the beach!