New Zealand - North - Bay of Islands


Advertisement
New Zealand's flag
Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell
April 2nd 2015
Published: April 2nd 2015
Edit Blog Post

Evening everyone, this morning we went on a boat to The Bay of Islands in the Pacific Ocean and it was just stunning. It was a little chilly first thing, but when the sun came out it was hot. The water was calm, we saw some dolphins and there were people in the sea trying to swim with them, but they did'nt have much luck when we were there. The skipper then went full pelt ahead with the boat passing by islands on either side of us, telling us there are 144 islands scattered around, most of the islands are classified as recreation reserves, camping is allowed on some of them. We passed through Cape Brett Peninsula and saw Cape Brett lighthouse. We reached the main place we were aiming for and that was The Hole in the Rock, (Motukokako), he was able to drive the boat through it because it was so calm, truly amazing, the scenery was just spectacular. There were fishermen out there catching large fish even though the crew said they were small, not to us they weren't !! We saw schools of fish swimming around, loads of them. We then got off at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island where we had lunch and then watched and joined in making Balm using traditional natural remedies, the Maori guy who was demonstrating, had such a dry sense of humour, he and a Maori lady also did a song for us welcoming us to their island, it's called a Powhiri, he asked if anyone was from the UK, me and Stu put our hand up and he said we were the worst singers !! I totally agreed with him. Crikey I thought he was going to get us to stand up and sing !! except we all had to sing a Maori song together, which was fine, I just moved my lips, Stu seemed to be getting into it though !!! It was such a lovely trip, just wished we had seen whales, there was a slight possibility, but nevertheless it was just gorgeous. If there are stronger words than stunning, magnificent, spectacular then that was it. We then got off the boat at a place called Paihia and had a look around and got a ferry back to Russell where we went to the church called Christ Church, which is the oldest working one in New Zealand, reminded me of a church in Little House on the Prairie !! The bullet holes were still in the Church walls, hit by musket balls from the 1845 fighting. From there we walked across the road to the museum, watched a film on the history of Russell, which used to be the capital of NZ, and used to known as the 'Hell Hole', because it was a whaling town and attracted the un-desirables, (mmmm, I know a few places like that !!! ) Now, you wouldn't believe that could be the case, it is somewhere, where you would desire to live.


Additional photos below
Photos: 56, Displayed: 23


Advertisement



2nd April 2015

Hey Karol. Spectacular views and history. You look pretty good considering the amount of travelling and sleeping in may I say "cheaper" establishments! You may need a haircut when you get back. Although it rather suits you longer. Hope Stu ok and enjoying the trop. Look forward to reading more tomorrow. Love to you both x
2nd April 2015

Hi d
Yep the hair is wild, growing out rather than down !

Tot: 0.082s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 34; dbt: 0.0533s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1mb