Bay of Islands and Waitangi

Monday 5 July 2010

We got up, checked out, and walked down to the wharf. We put our luggage in storage and waited to board the boat. We were doing the Bay of Islands tour with a view of the Hole in the Rock. As we were going down to board the boat, a lady was taking pictures of families. It was raining a bit. The camera wasn't working for us, so we were waiting and standing in the rain hoping it would work soon. She finally gave up and told us to move on. I guess we broke the camera, but it started working as soon as we left.

We sat inside since it was raining. We first stopped at Russell, which is the oldest town in New Zealand. We were not able to leave the boat though. So we looked at it from afar. We stopped at several islands, but we could not get off the boat. The tour guide told us a little bit of the history of the islands. It was actually interesting, because the boat seemed to be primarily used for delivering mail to people who live on the islands. The tour seemed to be more of an afterthought. Many times we would come up to the dock and a dog would be waiting there. Then the driver would blow the horn, and the dog would race to get the owner to pick up the parcel.

We started to head out to open water to go to the Hole in the Rock, but the swells were too big. So we had to turn around. It was kind of disappointing to miss the Hole in the Rock. We actually were able to see it vaguely. I think they said something about this rock being used in Lord of the Rings, although I am not entirely sure.

Two times during our trip, we encountered dolphins. They were swimming around in the water, but not very active. A dolphin expert was on our boat, and was able to identify two of the dolphins immediately. She said they were acting as if they were asleep. Apparently dolphins aren't able to do things, like breathing, automatically. So when dolphins sleep, they shut off half of their brain, so they are not completely unconscious. I thought that was pretty interesting. Also, amoung the dolphins was a dark fin that was bobbing up and down. Apparently, it was a shark. We could only see the very small tip of the fin, but it was exciting knowing we were seeing a shark! I guess dolphins don't fear sharks too much.

At one of the stops, we were able to get off the boat for 40 minutes. The driver mentioned something about a lookout point, so we decided to look for that. The area we had to go through was completely flooded, so we tried crossing. We did make it, but it was interesting trying to go through.

After the flooded areas, we went over a huge grassy hill to overlook two bays. It was quite beautiful. Going down the hill was a bit tricky. We were slipping all over the place in the mud. We were able to make it down without too many catastrophes.

Then we went back to the boat, went to Russell, and back to Paihia. We decided to walk around. We started off in one direction and ended up in a place with poles and Maori carvings. We couldn't read anything as it was not in English, but it did say Treaty of Waitangi. So we were on the treaty signing grounds. That was pretty exciting. This treaty is a major document in New Zealand. It basically an agreement between the Maori and the British people saying the Maori will give the Crown sovereignty, and the Maori people will have possession over the land, but only sell land to the Crown. This is very simply put. It is a major day in New Zealand, so it was kind of fun to be in the town it was signed in. There was a visitor's centre that we could actually view the original treaty, but it would cost $18, so we didn't think it worth the money.

Instead, we took a walk part way to a falls. We did not have enough time to go all the way. It was a really foresty area. We went through a gate and immediately, the sun seemed to disappear and the density of the trees were increased. We spent a little time in that area, then walked back. We had to board a bus that took us back to Auckland. This bus ride seemed longer than all the other bus rides. It was treacherous. We were glad to see the skyscrapers and head to our last hostel on the North Island.