A couple of days after arriving in New Zealand, we took a magical tour through the Bay of Islands from Paihia near Waitangi. Please bear with me for the length of this post, but I think you'll be stunned by the beauty of it all! By the way, you're only seeing 20% of all the pictures I took of this stunning place.
Let's start with Bec and Max raring to go ... well sort of! Paihia, like many places around New Zealand's coast is a Mecca for people with boats - and that seems to be half the population ... we;; not quite.
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So here we are departing the wharf en route to Russell across the bay to pick up more passengers. And Russell, like Paihia, is also swamped with pleasure craft!
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As we headed out to sea, we were told to watch out for pods of dolphins which inhabit the local waters. And sure enough we saw heaps of them inquisitively sussing us and our boat.
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Then it was on to some rocky shores with layers of black rocks - presumably some kind of basalt - and our captain sailed us close to shore to examine them.
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These outcrops were in turn nurseries for gulls and other sea-birds and we saw a lot of young preparing for their first flight.
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The Bay of Islands is no idle name - there are dozens of them somewhat sheltered from Pacific swell.
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And here's the location of the first Christian service in NZ.
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And Bec preparing for a swim in the sea to collect mussels from a rocky shore.
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Some columnar basalt of the same kind making the Giants Causeway in Ireland or the famous Fingal's Cave in Scotland's Inner Hebrides.
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Bec collecting mussels, while a training ship for young people coasted by.
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Other lazing in the sum.
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Bec and me having climbed the slopes of one of the islands ... note yet more of them in background. Captain Cook must have thought himself in Paradise as he sailed through!
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Max preparing to jump into the sea. It was not as dangerous as it might seem, because our boat had a large net over the side into which people could jump. And that's Bec in the net being dragged along.
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The famous hole in the tock through which our vessel actually sailed ... though the fit was tight and the sea had more of a swell.
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And towards the end a few of the passengers jumped overboard for a mass swim!
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Don't worry/ All survived.
AS
Let's start with Bec and Max raring to go ... well sort of! Paihia, like many places around New Zealand's coast is a Mecca for people with boats - and that seems to be half the population ... we;; not quite.
So here we are departing the wharf en route to Russell across the bay to pick up more passengers. And Russell, like Paihia, is also swamped with pleasure craft!
As we headed out to sea, we were told to watch out for pods of dolphins which inhabit the local waters. And sure enough we saw heaps of them inquisitively sussing us and our boat.
Then it was on to some rocky shores with layers of black rocks - presumably some kind of basalt - and our captain sailed us close to shore to examine them.
These outcrops were in turn nurseries for gulls and other sea-birds and we saw a lot of young preparing for their first flight.
The Bay of Islands is no idle name - there are dozens of them somewhat sheltered from Pacific swell.
And here's the location of the first Christian service in NZ.
And Bec preparing for a swim in the sea to collect mussels from a rocky shore.
Some columnar basalt of the same kind making the Giants Causeway in Ireland or the famous Fingal's Cave in Scotland's Inner Hebrides.
Bec collecting mussels, while a training ship for young people coasted by.
Other lazing in the sum.
Bec and me having climbed the slopes of one of the islands ... note yet more of them in background. Captain Cook must have thought himself in Paradise as he sailed through!
Max preparing to jump into the sea. It was not as dangerous as it might seem, because our boat had a large net over the side into which people could jump. And that's Bec in the net being dragged along.
The famous hole in the tock through which our vessel actually sailed ... though the fit was tight and the sea had more of a swell.
And towards the end a few of the passengers jumped overboard for a mass swim!
Don't worry/ All survived.
AS
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