http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , New Zealand , North Island , Bay of Islands , Russell en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:43:01 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:43:01 +0000 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 week http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-456395.html 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 Hellhole of the Pacific.Manganui lay further http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-451581.html 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 camp http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-450825.html One more cup of coffee for the roadOne more cup of coffee 'fore I goTo the valley below Bob DylanIt 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' http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-450789.html ca y est apres cette semaine de dingue au States et un vol de 13h au dessus du pacifique nous sommes finalement arrive en NouvelleZelande...Pays longuement attendu mais malheureusement l'acceuil de la meteo ne fut pas a la hauteur de nos attentes et la pluie nous attendait a la sortie de l'aeroport.Nous avons attendu en vain pendant trois jours que le soleil fasse sont apparition dans un petit http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-448791.html Today the banter started with the early rise. The last hour of last night was debating how early wersquod leave. Uncle Donald wanted 0500 as apparently unbeknown to me he has a habit of waking about 0400 even at weekends. Aunt Yvonne and Claire reckoned nearer 9 I opted for a general stance of the later the better. I surprised all being ready at 8am and luckily the bus was rolling out nor http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-439983.html Was super lazy this morning. Weather got a bit cooler and cloudy. I finally got my butt in gear and headed down to the wharf and caught the little ferry over to Russell. It's about a 15 minute ferry ride and only costs 10 return. Russell isn't a very big place. It's the sight where a maori activist brought down the flag about times. There is another town on the island that was the first capital c http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-435643.html We have done so much and seen so much we are having a hard time keeping up with ourselves. Was unable to add text to photos as I ran out of time but will fill you in when I get back. And yes I can hear you all say how much you are looking forward to that. LOL wish you were here.xxxx http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-428291.html This day was my actual birthdayWe spent this day at Russell and Bland Bay. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-402124.html April 9 14 Bay of Islands and North of AucklandWow I can't believe I am a month behind on this entry I don't know where the time goes....Left Timaru late afternoon on Thurs. April 9th. Spent the night at the Airport Gateway Motel in an awesome 3 bedroom 2 bath full kitchen room. We wished we had arrived earlier to enjoy it as we knew the next 9 nights in a camper van were going to be ti http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-395566.html Day 10 11Stopped at the Hururu falls and took 5km track across Mangrove swamp wooden walkway to the historic Waitangi treaty grounds where the original treaty between the British and the Mauris was signed.First night near Pahia then next morning across on the 10minute car ferry to Russell. Superb campsite position with view over town and bay.Went on fast catamaran cruise saw dolphins som http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-376064.html We will have another go at putting the photos up not sure what went wrong last time http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-369536.html Left Orewa on Friday 30th after driving round to sort out a mobile phone for NZ numbers Drove North towards our next destination Bay of Islands stopping en route at Whangarei Falls for lunch. Headed for Opua and caught the ferry to Russell. Russell was the first European settlement in NZ and is a beautiful little colonial town ideally based for exploring Bay of Islands. Campsite has all mod c http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-369338.html Hier koennt ihr euch das Video ansehen. Allerdings konnte ich nur einen kurzen Teil davon hochladen. http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-352905.html Hier findet ihr Fotos von meinem Segeltripp mit Delphinen die unser Boot ein Stueck begleitet haben. Das war sehr eindrucklich Das Video kann ich leider im Moment nicht hochladen http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-352883.html Nach Auckland habe ich mich fuer das kleine und gemuetliche Russel in den Bay of Islands entschieden. Ich war in einem kleinen Backpacker das eigentlich wie ein Privathaus mit ein paar Gaestebetten war. Die Besitzerin wohnte selbst auch dort und am Abend kochten wir gemeinsam. Es waren blos drei weitere Gaeste. 2 Tage war ich sogar alleine und hatte das ganze HAus fuer mich da auch die Besitzeri http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-352876.html 1st November 2008RussellHad an early flight up to Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands followed by a shuttle bus to Pahia and a fast ferry to Russell. I stayed at Arcadia Lodge which is a brilliant B B run by Brad and Dave. Brad used to be foreign affairs editor for Channel 4 news at the same time as Rory was working for them. He remembered Rory and actually liked him Just as well or I might h http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-347299.html We have to say that We have to say that our decision to travel to almost the top of NZ was certainly the correct decision. The beauty of this place is overwhelming. We had a prize position in the Holiday Park in Russell the view of the window of the van was fabulous. We looked out over the bay with yachts and boats drifting past in the clear blue water the sun was shining not a cloud in the sky http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-346788.html 18th September 2008In rained all night and disappointedly the dive was cancelled because of an unusually large ocean swell. It seems the whales donrsquot want to meet us.Oh well we set off again to the Bay of Islands via a visit to the lsquoLongest Foot Bridge in the Southern Hemispherersquo. To our surprise we were met half way across by a lady leading a beautiful horse. The horse was in th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-344575.html Hello againJust back to Arcadia Lodge after about 10 hours sightseeing and having our evening mealCaught the ferry from Okiato the old capital before it moved to Russell and then on to Aucklanddrove a few km to the Waitangi treaty grounds where the Maori and the English signed the treaty in 1840 agreeingf equal rights to the MaoriHad a great guided explanatory tour with Vern a full bloodied MaoriO http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Russell/blog-338801.html