Bay of Islands
Arrived in the evening intake to enjoy a meal of fish and chips on the pier |
Ready for our boat ride tour through the islands of the bay |
We enjoyed a pod of dolphins that followed our yellow boat |
This island held a lovely lighthouse where the lighthouse keeper and wife raised 13 children |
We headed for the world renowned Hole in the Rock which we were able to go through |
Yes, we took the perilous trip right through |
The water was such a beautiful hue |
The beach on an island where we would disembark for a lovely lunch ashore |
view of the island where we had our lunch |
the dock back to the boat |
Headed back |
We next stopped at Russell - a beautiful town that was once known as the Hellhole of the Pacific before the English law regulated the wild ways of the whalers and sealers who docked here |
We took a bus tour of the town and enjoyed the quaintness of the old town |
There are so many (114?) islands in the Bay of Islands |
Merv wanted a picture taken by this magnificent tree that was planted in 1820 the year of the first vision |
On the ferry ride back from Russell to Paihia we met the cutest family from Barcelona. |
Next morning we visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds Where New Zealand the nation was born |
Elder Thatcher was right when he said the name sounded Dutch |
We learned about Captain James Cook and other foreign visitors |
And how the first peoples came here |
The horn (conch shell) and the trumpet - back and forth between the Ship and the War Canoe |
Clara Jean, Elder Thatcher and Merv, Enjoying the informative tour |
Maori War Canoes |
Carvings on Canoe |
140 could ride in one canoe |
Beautiful Treaty Grounds |
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We entered The Carved Maori Meeting House where we were welcomed and entertained |
Beautiful music and song |
Maori dancing |
sticks |
One of the entertainers was a Mormon and excited to see us |
They could look fearsome and then immediately friendly and jovial |
The grounds have beautiful walkways through Bush. These two enjoyed every moment of their visiting together |
The moss covered rocks were beautiful |
ferns everywhere - easy to see why one of the symbols of New Zealand is the fern - the silver ferns glowed silver at night and helped the Maori find their way in the moonlight |
We also stopped at another little authentic Maori village just to see how they had really lived before the British came |
Pretty primitive and pretty apt to stay that way for a pretty long time |
Merv and Elder Thatcher solved all the worlds ills and discussed missionary methods for hours on end |
We made the 4 hour trip back to Auckland from up north safely. It is always fun to see Sky Tower and Aucklands harbor |
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