Bay of Islands - Paihia, waitangi and Russell - Day 2

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As I type this, at 11:50 on Thursday morning I should really be on “the Rock” and overnight hostel boat, but right now I’m in my hostel - the same one I’ve been in for the last 3 nights. “The Rock” was cancelled due to inclement weather. I was really looking forward to it though, for only $100 US I would be exploring the islands, hiking, snorkeling, kayaking, and fishing all in a 22 hour period. I may come back here again just do go on the Rock, but it’s rather doubtful since it’s out of the way from the rest of the country. But, maybe if I have the time and the money I will later during the summer.
Nothing has gone has planned since my arrival on the Bay of Islands. Besides the cancellation of the Rock yesterday, I was supposed to go up to Cape Reinga on Tuesday; however the bus never stopped at my hostel. This might be good though, since it rained horribly early that day. I have rescheduled my trip up for this upcoming Saturday. This time the bus driver knows to stop at my hostel (hopefully), and I pray that it isn’t rainy since part of the trip is stopping along the “90 mile beach” for some dune surfing.
So what have I done with my time instead? Well, on Tuesday I took a 10 minute ferry across the bay to Russell, a small town where the Europeans first settled in NZ. Did a bit of uphill walking, but found some amazing views and photo ops up there. On Wednesday I crossed the bridge over the Waitangi River to the town of Waitangi. Waitangi is considered the birthplace of New Zealand. It is here where the treaty was signed in 1840 to make New Zealand a sovereign colony of Great Britain. I visited the treaty house where the treaty was signed. On the same grounds was a Maori Meeting house, this is the only meeting house in the entire country which was used by all Maoris regardless of tribe affiliation.
If it stops raining today or tomorrow, I may take a short hike to a nearby waterfall or take a bus to the town of KeriKeri - known for its oranges and farmland. Other than that, there’s not much more to do in this area that I haven’t already done. If the weather stays at it is, I’ll be at the library looking for jobs and planning the next leg of my trip.

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