Relaxing at the Bay of Islands
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2007
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56
60
Trip End
Ongoing
Paihia,
New Zealand
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The glorious Bay of Islands with its 140 odd islands and their secluded coves, dotted around the crystalline waters that ranges in hue from turquoise to deep blue. This is frequently used in footage promoting New Zealand so don't be surprised to find Paihia and nearby Russell buzzing with tourists in the summer months. Despite Paihia only having an 8,000 population there is enough to keep you here for at least 3 or 4 days.
RANDOM ISLAND PIC
A rocky outcrop can only be called an island if it has some kind of vegetation growing on it
A hole in the Rock
.In my few days here I managed to get myself booked on a cruise around the bay and would recommend the Kings' trip 'A Day in the Bay' which costs 85 NZ Dollars for a six hour cruise. For this price I get to see numerous bottlenose dolphins swimming beside our boat where for 30 Dollars more you can get the chance to swim with theses dolphins. Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky as every pod had a baby dolphin in making swimming with them prohibited as it is dangerous for the curious youngsters, disrupting their frequent meals where they need to be fed every 20 minutes from the mother so they can build up their fat supply and avoid falling into hypothermia and resultantly death. On this trip you also get a chance to sail through the hole in the rock, a crack that has been expanded from the destructive waves, where erosion has created 15 metre high hole in the middle of Piercy Island. Otherwise there is a lunch stop on an uninhabited island where you get the chance to do some snorkelling and finally there is a chance to try out the bizarre activity of boom netting. Where a dozen people are told to hold on to tightly to a rope net that is attached to the side of the boat which is then dragged at a reasonable speed where the power of the water is forcing the body to move in all directions as everybody tries to hold on for their life as they are constantly battered in the face by the passing waves displaced by the moving boat. After 10 minutes I am glad that the boat grinds to a halt as my arms are now aching from keeping my head above the water, recover my short situations which are dangerously low to exposing everything as well as getting my legs to return to the right position after spending the last five minutes crushing a middle aged lady next to me.
And to top off a great trip I also got see a few blue penguins, only 30cm tall swimming idly through the crystalline water
dolphin 02
. That evening I managed to catch up with a fellow Brit I met in Auckland 6 weeks earlier but the night life isn't too much to rave about in Paihia with only 1 nightclub available. Although for a town of such a small population I am not surprised.Despite the Bay of Islands magnificent scenery it is also of enormous historical significance. As the site of the first permanent English settlement, it is the birthplace of European colonisation. It was here that the treaty of Waitangi was drawn up in 1840 where 46 Maori chiefs signed up but even now days this can cause tension between the Maoris and the descendants of the early European settlers. This treaty may have initially appealed to the Maoris as they valued the profit and prestige the local Europeans brought especially the muskets and accepting nominal British authority was the way to get it, while the British government was profit in the Maoris' land. However the British had a cunning plan and created discrepancies between the British and Maori versions. The English version promised Maoris full equality as British subjects in return for complete rights of government. The Maori version also promised that Maoris would retain their chieftainship, which implied local rights of government. By the time the Maori realised they were not getting their side of the deal as they were swindled out of their land, thus creating five separate major conflicts that are now known as the New Zealand Wars
Dolphin bay of islands
.A more in depth history of the Waitangi treaty and Maori culture can be found at the Waitangi National Reserve. Here you can see plays depicting early the Maori legends, the colourful, detailed meeting house with its carvings of the major Maori tribes, a 35m war canoe and the treaty house, the restored home of James Busby where the treaty was signed on the garden lawn.
My last day here was spent walking through Opua Forest, just behind Paihia. With its kauri trees and lookout points providing yet more great views of the Bay of Islands. If I had a few more days here I would have visited Russell again and done some sea kayaking but for now I have a short tip with two German siblings to see the west coast of the Northland before finally heading further south to start working again and top up my lowly coffers.
