NEW ZEALAND .... at last

After 6 days at sea, we finally got to New Zealand.  Fiji, where we were supposed to be, was being blasted by 300 km/h winds and huge storm surges.  It is much calmer weather here.

Our ship anchored in the Bay of Islands harbour and we tendered in to shore.  The Bay of Islands is at the northern most part of New Zealand.  This is a maritime mecca sprinkled with 150 islands, ranging from boulders extending above the waterline to populated islands of 50 acres or more. We tendered in to Paihaia, a small town that has been here since 1834.  

Interestingly enough, after 6 days at sea, the first thing we did was book an island cruise that would take us to the Hole in the Rock and dolphin sighting.  The cruise started in Russell, a quaint Victorian town across the harbour from Paihaia.  This town has attractive nineteenth century homes circling the small waterfront area.  There were some incredible flowers and huge trees that we found fascinating.  We spent about two hours wandering bout the town, having a local lunch, before boarding the tour boat.  During lunch, we sat beside an older gentleman from St. Catherines who lives here full-time.  His son and family from Niagara-on-the-Lake were visiting. 

This is a New Zealand Christmas Tree in bloom

John beside a big old fig tree

A Granny in a big old tree

 

The tour boat took us out into the bay to see a lot of the incredibly rugged islands. 

To get to the Hole in the Rock, a local tourist attraction, we had to go through open sea and the transition was very rough ... think of a roller coaster ride with no seat belts.  Once we got there, normally the boat would sail through the opening, but the seas were just too rough.  On the way back, we encountered a pod of dolphins.  They were pretty docile until the boat pulled away.  All of a sudden they decided to show off by jumping through the wake generated by the boat. Quite a spectacular sight!  We’ve seen dolphins perform these feats at Seaworld, but never in a natural environment.

 

The tour boat then stopped at an island with a sheltered beach and let us wander about for an hour. This island, Otehei, was the favourite place of an American author, Zane Grey (wrote western novels) who used to winter here and do his writing. 

Flat Stanley's at the beach

Gail picking up sea shells

 

We were returned to Paihaia and back to our ship.  Unfortunately, while the day was quite cloudy, John managed to get a nasty sunburn, mostly the face.  The problem with the tour was that, to get pictures, you sat on an open deck.  Because the boat moved so quickly, and it was so windy, it was impossible to wear a hat and still have it on your head instead of in the water. Thus the sunburn ... thank goodness for Aloe Vera.

Now, we are off for three days at Auckland, disembarking on Dec 20 (Dec 19^th for you).