Bay of Islands/New Zealand

5.3.2024 Bay of Islands

We left the ship via tender and then boarded our tour bus. Our driver introduced himself as "Holger", which confirmed my suspicions based on his English accent: a German. More precisely, a Berliner. who emigrated to New Zealand twenty years ago, as he revealed to me in conversation.

First we drove to a glowworm cave, where unfortunately taking pictures was forbidden. We wandered into the cave in the dim glow of a few LED lanterns and saw a few points of light along the way. When we reached our destination, the lanterns were extinguished and we were left in the dark - apart from countless points of light, especially on the cave ceiling. It felt like you were looking at the night sky on a clear day. Impressive.

This time the pee break was one of the main attractions because it took place in the "Hundertwasser toilet" in Kawakawa. I had never looked into the life of Friedensreich Hundertwasser and so it was new to me that he had spent a lot of time in New Zealand and made his home there a tourist attraction. Next to the toilet is the Hundertwasser Center, where you can find out more about his life and his works.

Afterwards, in the "Manginangina Scenic Reserve" we were able to admire the last remaining remnants of the rainforest that once covered the entire island, with its huge kauri trees.

Holger drove us to a small town by the sea where there were a few shops. Here we said goodbye to our tour guide and driver.

There was an artist's market there where I looked around and found a stall with high quality Manuka honey at reasonable prices. During the trip, Holger showed us the Manuka trees, which provide the honey with health-promoting ingredients.

A shuttle bus took us to the tender dock, where we had to join the long line of people waiting. I waited side by side with Daniele, one of our onboard singers, with whom I had an interesting conversation.