Cruising through the islands

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We headed up to the north of Auckland towards the Bay of Islands, not quite sure what we were going to do there apart from a cruise of some sort. Despite high hopes of waking up early to check out what we could do, we arrived in the centre at 9.30am to find we had 2 options. A commercialised cruise would take us up to the top of the islands to see - and pehaps take us through - a hole in the rock (yes, just a hole in the rock). The 2nd option was a day sailing through the islands with free snorkeling, kayaking and lunch! Free lunch?? Count us in!

It was by far the better option- much more exciting than what we had thought! There were only about 10 of us on the 65ft boat and Mike (our captain) let everyone help him out with the sailing. We cruised peacefully through the islands until Eric spotted some dolphins so we headed in their direction. They were amazing, and some of them were so friendly that they came over to say hello, jumping, splashing and darting around our boat as we cruised along with them!

Next stop was a beautiful bay on an isolated island. Mike parked up the boat and then we had a choice to swim, kayak or take the dinghy to the island. We took a walk up to the top to get a good look round (trust me it was a good view) before heading back down to go kayaking. Eric also went snorkeling and saw a sting-ray gliding at the bottom of the sea bed, with a small fish catching a ride on his back! Have you seen Finding Nemo?! Meanwhile I took the time to speak to some other people!

Lunch was delicious! Fresh sandwich with Vicount mint biscuits - yummy! After that we slowly sailed back to the mainland, even catching sight of a penguin as it swam gently past our boat. Everyone chilled on the front, either sleeping or chatting - it had been a hard day... :P

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Comments

[mum and dad]

Lazy days!
Well - a lovely peaceful end to the tour. It looks glorious. I love the blue and green!! And to top it all - FREE LUNCH!!!!!! What more could you ask for. Congrats to both of you for entertaining us with your wonderful tour of NZ. Look forward to the next installment. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[maman]

Sensations et paysages
Photos ravissantes et commentaires plein d'humour, recherche de sensations fortes et paysages de reve, oui, tout cela nous fait rever aussi ! Merci de les partager avec nous. Vous finissez votre tour de Nouvelle -Zelande en beaute (accent sur le e). Bonne continuation ! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Maman]

Merci pour les belles photos !
Que de belles photos pour votre album ! Cela fait penser aux vacances ! Quels paysages merveilleux ! Cela donne envie d'y etre ! Merci de nous faire rever ! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx