A Peaceful Spot

After the beauty of the Bay of Islands we moved on to the Coromandel Peninsula which was was equally spectacular in many ways. We spent several nights a Whitianga, which has good access to many of the peninsula's attraction - more of which in later posts. All the following pictures were taken near where we staying. Nice, eh!?

AS

Bay of Islands

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.

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

Treaty Grounds

Although we were staying in some very nice accommodation at Kerikeri, our first foray into the Bay of Islands region - a name  bestowed by captain Cook if I remember correctly - took us to the treaty grounds at Waitangi where, in the middle of the !9 th century, European settlers and the Maori tribes made a peace treaty. This historical site proved exceptionally interesting as the pictures show. The flag pole marks the spot where the treaty was signed - a beautiful setting.

Nearby was the home of the James Busby, an early settler and proponent of the treaty to prevent fighting between Europeans and the Maori peoples. The tour of the house gave a great impression of the culture of the time.

And in the Waitangi grounds there were many buildings and artefacts to reminds us of the Maori culture. The canoes on display were both huge and exquisitely ornate.

There was a replica of a Maori village.

And here's the meeting house, whose interior was again ornate and even lavish.

And we were privileged to witness a typical welcoming ceremony: Later on our trip in the Rotorua district I was appointed leader of a 'tribe' - actually representing my fellow passengers on our bus - to take part in such a ceremony.

And, after these proceedings, Bec and Max hired a kayak to paddle around the waters adjacent to Waitangi. They were especially interested in inspecting nearby mangroves.

AS

Some Public Toilet

Then our trip north to our holiday pad at Kerikeri took us through the little township of Kawakawa. I presume that, like in Australia's Aboriginal languages, the repetition of a phrase means the plural of the original word - whatever Keri and Kawa actually mean. At first sight the township appears unremarkable:

But on closer inspection Kawakawa has some amazing architecture and street furniture. Have a look at the public loo:

Have you ever seen anything quite as remarkable? Then there's a grand public seat - fortunately not occupied as I took this photo.

And what about this entrance to a children's play area just peaking our behind the wall?

Not bad, eh!?

AS

Kauri Coast

We set off on our epic journey across New Zealand's North Island three weeks ago and the following Blogs - many of them - will recount our pleasant experiences. After a night in Auckland, Dot, I, our daughter Rebecca and our lively Grandson Max, now aged 10, set our for Northland. The western coast is famous for its large, and now well protected, Kauri forests with their massive trees. The road to the coast snaked through rolling hills, but gave little premonition of the spectacular forests we were about to witness.

On first seeing the Kauri trees, Max seemed less than impressed - even when looking at a stand of 4 trees like the ones shown! However, I seemed much more  impressed. The fourth image in this cluster shows Dot, Max and Bec walking along a special path designed to protect the fragile root systems of these stately trees.

 Then we came to the Lord of the Forest, one of the largest Kauri trees whose impressive dimensions are provided on the notice-board. Bec and Max spent quite a while in awe of this monster, while Dot and I posed in front of the monarch of the forest and Max was inspired to take a photo.

The final picture shows some of the impressive west coast of Northland - destination that has much to recommend it.

AS