We set off from Paihia on our boat trip round the Bay of Islands and soon came across a pod of dolphins swimming back and forwards, in and out of the water. We had seen dolphins in Jervis Bay, but seeing them again here was a delight, especially as they seemed more playful, although just as hard to photograph!
We continued across the bay as far as the Hole in Rock, which the skipper passed through to the delight of the passengers.
On our return, we stopped at Urupukapuka Island, where we climbed up above the wharf to a couple of viewpoints looking out over the bay, which apparently contains some 144 islands, although if it doesn’t have vegetation it’s just a rock!
We left the boat at Russell so we could stop for a look round. When Cook arrived this was the Maori settlement of Kororareka, but by 1830 had developed into a swashbuckling town of whalers and traders with a reputation for being “The Hell Hole of the Pacific”. It was renamed Russell and made the first capital in 1840 when the Treaty of Waitanga was signed, but once the capital moved to Auckland it became something of a sleepy backwater. In the 1920s, American Western writer Zane Grey came to fish for marlin, and Russell is still a game fishing centre today.
We saw the pretty Russell Church, claiming to the the oldest in NZ …
… and also the Pompallier Mission founded as a Marist printery where 40,000 religious books, many in Maori were made.
We returned to Paihia on the ferry and spotted The Treaty House at Waitangi on the way which is the most symbolic place for New Zealanders.
Waitangi was already a traditional meeting ground for Maori, so when a British Resident was appointed, his house was built here and in due course, the Treaty was signed here in 1840. The Waitangi Treaty is still New Zealand’s most important document, although with versions in both English and Maori which don’t quite mean the same thing to everyone, the interpretation continues to be challenged to this day. In 1940, the Meeting House was added to symbolise the partnership between Maori and the British Crown. There is also the largest ceremonial war canoe – at 35m long it needs 76 paddlers and is launched every 6 February to celebrate Waitangi Day.
The campsite was pretty, on the water edge overlooking Haruru Falls.
Further northwards tomorrow!
Off Travelling Together 