Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands Travel Blogs

Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

New Zealand

Map of New Zealand

New Zealand's Flag

Hostels in New-Zealand
Latest Bay of Islands Blog Entries
Bay of Islands Photos

By McHearns
December 1st 2009

Visit to Paihia and Russell : 30/11 - 1/12 Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

Pohutukawa Tree

On Monday 30th we travelled to Paihia and booked into the Bay Sands motel for just one night. We thought about staying two nights but the traffic was so noisy at night we settled for just the one! We walked the beaches and generally had a very lazy day, The weather was quite good, although not very sunny. The threatened rain did not eventuate fortunately. We watched the activities on the beach from our deck at the motel including the para-sailing by one very clever man who managed to sail both with the wind and against it - up and down [View Full Entry]

By CharMcF
November 27th 2009

Moving into Russell, Bay of Islands Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell

My New House

Hey, first I appologise for the awful wave at the end of the video, awful! Anyway, this is where I'm living for the next few months hopefully. It's a small town called Russell in the north of NZ, a few hundered km north of Auckland. Not got a massive population but once the summer hits there will be a big boom. I decided to take the job at the Thai restaurant, I feel like for the last few weeks all I have done is spend money and I reallised that I really needed to start making some money if I'm going [View Full Entry]

By CharMcF
November 20th 2009

Bay of Islands - Paihia and Russell Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

On the beach in Paihia

Hey! So we took our first Kiwi Experience bus yesterday (Thursday). Had to be up really early to get the bus at 7 so pretty much slept on the bus all the way up because Amie and myself had been to see the preview of New Moon at midnight, so missed a lot of the beautiful countryside but it's cool cause this was just a straight up bus, not really stopping off to see anything anyway because they want you to get up to the bay of islands cause it's so beautiful. Which it is really, it's this big bay with [View Full Entry]

By Golden Years
November 8th 2009

Whaling in The Bay of Islands Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell

Russell

Russell in the Bay Of Islands is now a nice little town but at the turn of the 19th century it was a shore station for whalers. Whaling was a greasy, smelly and dangerous occupation and when members of the crew got to shore they liked to drink, fight, and generally let off steam so Russell, or Kororareka as it was known then, gained a reputation as the Hell-hole of the Pacific. Manganui lay further north. Captain Butler had run away to sea when he was 14, preferring a life at sea to following his reverend father's and grandfather's footsteps, and [View Full Entry]

By Feral Mike
November 5th 2009

CYCLE TOUR - THE COFFEE SAGA CONTINUES Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell

Trevor Scrub Cutter

The search for a real latte ended in failure. But the day was not ruined. By late afternoon I reached a stunning DoC campground at a place called Mimiwhangata. The last few kilometres were along a gravel road with a steep climb and final descent. Best Kept Secret Mimiwhangata has to be one of the best kept secrets. It's a beautiful, sheltered spot with bush and farmland behind it. The campsite is a five minute walk from the carpark, up, over and down a steep path. And the facilities are limited, just toilets and cold water. The main beach is [View Full Entry]

By BenandCharmaine
November 4th 2009

Cruising it Up Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands

Few Orca Whales

This morning we were all set to go. I think I forgot to mention that Charmaine kindly made us sandwiches and we sorted out some little bits to eat for the whole day out at sea. We set off at 9.30 and by about 10am we encountered something…An orca whale. Infact it was a whole group of them, there must have been 10+. Now the guy that was the captain had been doing it 26years and he said he had only ever seen something like this 3 or 4 times. INCREDIBLE! I found this thing on my camera which did quick [View Full Entry]

By Feral Mike
November 4th 2009

CYCLE TOUR - ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell

Pies but No Coffee

One more cup of coffee for the road One more cup of coffee 'fore I go To the valley below Bob Dylan It was a perfect morning and I was in the perfect mood to enjoy it. The sun was shining but the day was still cool, and with no overnight dew my tent was dry when I packed it up. I was fed and watered and the road lay before me - full of promise. What more could a person want? Coffee! Even before I'd reached the 100 kph sign on the outskirts of Russell the thought had flashed through [View Full Entry]

By BenandCharmaine
November 3rd 2009

Last Minute Madness Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

The TICKET

Today after having a mammoth 12 hour sleep we wanted to do something today…something…like an activity or just something so we aren’t wasting the day. We got up around 11ish and went to make some breakfast. We spoke on skype and then decided to walk to Paihia’s little town to book a trip. We decided that instead of just going to dolphins and doing the half day trip for $89 we were going to the full day trip for $99 which included all of the bay of islands and took the whole day. Bargain. This would also involve supply drops to [View Full Entry]

By BenandCharmaine
November 2nd 2009

Paihia - Bay of Islands Oceania

groupie

This morning we set off early, 7.20 we were picked up by the bus to be precise. The kiwi experience which we are just starting is a bus pass which we can travel down the country on, we hop on and off when and where we like, as long as we go south. Except this part as its an extension so we are allowed to travel up to the bay of islands then travel back down to Auckland. The bus journey took about 4hours and we arrived at about 12pm. We travelled with our buddy Jenny who was doing the same [View Full Entry]

By Ibbus
November 1st 2009

Paihia uge 2 Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

Cape Reinga

Endnu en uge er gaaet og noejs tiden gaar staerkt! 2. uge i Paihia var ugen hvor vi havde de sidste engelsktimer, dykning blev afsluttet og vi var paa heldagstur til det nordligste af New Zealand :) Mandag var vi til engelsk om morgenen og aftenen stod paa dykkerlaesning hele dagen. Saa vi laa bare inde i faellesstuen og laeste. Kedeligt Kedeligt! Tirsdag stod den paa dykkertest efter skolen. Det var bare 3 gange nemmere end vi havde regnet med, saa har ikke roert den dumme bog resten af ugen, selvom jeg ikke har faet laest den faerdig. Onsdag skulle vi [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands