The Far North

 The Far North

 Kahoe Farms Hostel 

A lovely place, so far removed 

from Auckland, up the winding

roads to the Far North, where

hostel owners Stefano and 

Lydnsey keep a 1889 farmhouse-

turned hostel/hotel.  With cows

mooing at dawn, roosters crowing,

and guests gathering around the 

kitchen table to swap stories of 

their daily travels, this place was

a fabulous entryway to another 

world.  And all this before we 

tasted the food....as italian as its

owner Stefano, who hails from 

Northern Italy's Lago Maggiore.  Here we are with our homemade fettucine carbonera.  Yum.

Best of all, though its quite hard to claim a best of anything here, as everything seemed better than the next, was perhaps the conversations with fellow travelers from all over the world.  Holland, England, Germany, Switzerland, and even a few folks from the US.  We learned by swapping stories and exchanging cultural norms, and delighted in the tales and perspectives of faraway lands.