Hole in the Rock with Dolphin

The weather has been a bit disappointing lately in Paihia - just clouds again. But at least the wind has calmed down, the sea was almost mirror smooth in the harbor.

At 9 o'clock we started with the boat, out into the Bay of Islands. I chose a seat on the upper deck, which may not have been the best idea. The wind was incredibly strong and cold, and from below we also had good views. Well.

So we sat there wrapped up in our chairs, the ship rocked quite a bit despite the lack of waves - imagine what it would have been like with 25 knots of wind speed.

Let's be honest - no one on the ship was particularly interested in all the islands in the Bay, we all just wanted to see the Hole in the Rock and dolphins. At first, we were introduced to different islands and some historical facts were added, and we all nodded and took photos. We sailed through the Bay like this for a good 1.5 hours, without even a hint of a fin. But we were getting closer to the Hole, so it would be exciting.

At the Cape there are beautiful views of the lighthouse and the keeper's house, but no one has lived in it for nearly 100 years. The tower is powered by diesel and only a few crazy hikers visit the house.

And then, finally, the ship headed for the Hole. There's not much to tell, it's just a hole in a rock (Cook called the rocks "Pierced Island"). Due to the good conditions, the ship was able to sail through the Hole, and I even shot a video for you. I wasn't the only one...

So, what was still missing on the trip? Right, dolphins. We still hadn't seen any dolphins and the tourists were getting restless. So the skipper drove to a spot where a dolphin had been sighted.

He was there too, and suddenly it got crowded at the railing. Everyone stood there with their cell phones, squinting their eyes, looking out at the sea, and ready to take photos with their phones. It looked so funny. I would have taken a photo, but I was standing at the railing, looking out at the sea, and holding my phone in my hand.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos when the dolphin jumped out of the water twice - it was really cool.

At some point, however, the dolphin didn't feel like it anymore (I can somehow understand that) and didn't show up again.

That's it. No more dolphins.

Well, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. We just had bad luck that day. But now I'm really looking forward to doing another tour somewhere. We'll see.

On the way back, we stopped at a few more islands, but then went straight back to Paihia. I got off a little earlier in Russell to take a closer look at the city.

I had already been to Russell on the weekend, so you also have some impressions. Today I tried every hiking trail in this town, but the weather didn't get much better (rather worse), so I took the ferry back to Paihia at 3 p.m.

There, Duncan picked me up to make a short detour to Kerikeri in the north. He showed me a really awesome bookstore first - thank God I don't have room for books, otherwise I would have stocked up there. Our actual destination, however, were the Rainbow Falls, a waterfall without a rainbow. We might have seen one if the sun had been shining, but it started to rain... So we got back in the car and went home.

Back home, we first lit the fire and then started the movie night with a snack platter and pizza. I'm annoyed with bureaucracy because the authorities couldn't assign a tax number for me because something went wrong. Why me!?

But my travel itinerary for the coming week is set and the weekend is almost fully planned. I'll keep you updated!