Bay of Islands

---

Our stay at Mussel Bed B&B was one of the high spots of this amazing holiday. It is a wonderful place to stay and Paul and Chris are the most generous of hosts. We had our breakfast, freshly cooked , sitting in their beautiful garden in the sunshine....what a way to start a day. Our only regret is that we only had one night here, we could easily have spent the whole of our time exploring The Coromandel Peninsula. Today we had a long journey to the Bay of Islands passing through Auckland where we encountered our first heavy traffic on their duel carriage " motorway." At one point we hit a traffic jam of slow moving traffic for about 20 minutes, it was like being at home on the M6 at junction 10 !!!!!!!!. We arrived at our next stop, The Chalet Romantica, Paihia ( on Valentines Day) which turns out to be another amazing place to stay. The views from our balcony across the bay are breathtaking. If you are ever in this area you must stay here.

We started our day having another superb breakfast, freshly made by Inge who is Swiss, sitting in the sun room overlooking the bay at Paihia. We didn't think Mussel Bed could be topped but this certainly has. A short drive up the road took us to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the treaty between the Maori Chiefs and the British Crown was signed in 1840. Our guide brought the story of the treaty signing to life and gave us an insight into the history surrounding the signing as well as telling us about the main characters. We then had another cultural performance in the Whare Runanga ( carved meeting house) and then walked around the site and saw the large flagstaff that marks the place where the treaty was signed, and the worlds largest Waka which is a Maori war canoe. This is 35 metres long and needs 80 paddlers to handle it safely on the water. We returned to Paihia and caught the ferry across the bay to a pretty town called Russell. This whole area is so picturesque, you could again spend you whole time here exploring the beautiful islands, coves and beaches.

Sunday. We went on a boat trip around the Bay of Islands called "The Cream trip". In days gone by the route was used to transport supplies, coal and the post to the islands and pick up milk and cream. These days it still delivers and collects the post three days a week but is better known as a tourist trip. We were out all day going around this huge bay, visiting some of the islands and stopping for lunch at Urupukapuka island. We sailed up to the tip of the bay at Cape Brett to the famous "hole in the rock" and sailed through it which was quite an experience. On our journey we came across dolphins that swam by the side of the boat, small penguins, flocks of Australasian gannets that were diving into the sea from about 20 to 30 feet taking fish from the shoals that had come to the surface and snapper. The most impressive encounter was with two pods of orca whale, one with a baby, that suddenly appeared and seemed quite content swimming around us until suddenly they disappeared, as quick as they came, another wonderful day. Tomorrow we leave this beautiful part of the world and make our way to Auckland for the last two days of our holiday in New Zealand.

---

Photos

View from our balcony over Paihia

The world's longest waka (war canoe)

Dolphins

The Hole in the Rock

Breakfast at Mussel Bed

Flagstaff marking the spot where the treaty of Waitangi was signed

On the Bay of Islands

A pod of three Orca Whale

A cruising we will go. !!!

Comments

[Helen and Dave]

OMG!
This is the best yet! What a brilliant time you're having. We are re-living every step with you. Enjoy Auckland. Xxx

[Ken Bruce]

Very colonial as you would expect
I think you are having a fantastic holiday, it will not be long before you can swap the yacht club for the Arboretum lake.

[Anthony Jevons]

Bay of Islands
Sorry you couldn't stay longer in Napier and environs,much wine growing there, which my cousin and I explored very fully! You are now in the part I did not have time to get to and I am sitting here a very green colour! Glad you enjoyed Rotorua and the volcanic scenes,spectacular aren't they? Well the sun came out here today and it did not rain and there was a slight breeze,I think you will be shocked when you fly in next week at our liquid landscape! It has been absolutely horrendous! If you can get a week longer then take it,it looks fabulous where you are! The people are fabulous aren't they,so friendly! Tony.

[Ruth]

Wow
What an amazing boat trip! You're so lucky to have seen whales and dolphins! It sounds like an amazing day. I like the pictures of the two of you - looking very relaxed! - Make the most of it!!! ;-) xxxxxx