Day 17 • Whitianga (Coromandel) - Paihia (Bay of Islands)

... Dolphins love good weather and weekends. After today, I'm pretty sure that dolphins can have really good moods too. But let's start from the beginning. We left Whitianga at 6:30 a.m. We had a distance of about 430 kilometers ahead of us. On German roads without traffic, it is usually easy to do. But here it takes a bit longer. For one thing, we drove a lot through the mountains today, which means hundreds of curves and speed limits, and in addition, there was a road closure for the direct route. It didn't matter much, but it took time. On the highways, the speed limit is also max. 100 km/h. After just under 6 hours, we arrived in Paihia. Paihia is an old fishing village right by the sea and is now completely geared towards tourism. There are hotels in all price ranges, restaurants, bars, and cafes. In addition, Paihia is known for being the location of New Zealand's first cricket match and the first church. Russell was the first capital of New Zealand between 1840-1841. In Waitangi, the 'Treaty of Waitangi' was signed by 45 Maori chiefs and William Hobson, representing the British Crown. It is the oldest constitutional document of New Zealand. After our arrival, we first picked up the tickets for our excursion to the 'Bay of Islands' and strolled along the harbor and through a few narrow alleys. We found many white-haired people ;-), Maori performances at the harbor, well-filled restaurants, and an arts and crafts market. A short time later, the 3-hour tour started with the catamaran right here in the harbor. The boat was filled to the last seat with tourists. The weather was really perfect. The tour takes you through the 'Bay of Islands' and rightfully so. There are 144 islands and one has a hole. It is actually called Piercy Island but everywhere it is described as 'The Hole in the Rock'. Another highlight should be the dolphins. We haven't seen any in the wild yet and hoped for at least one. And what can we say, the dolphins were in a great mood and showed themselves with jumps and pirouettes. Really cool! Taking pictures is, of course, a challenge. But you can see something in a few pictures. :-) 'The Hole of the Rock' is always the last stop. We were even able to sail through it with the boat because the water level and waves were right. It looks really impressive. However, I could have done without the rocking through the rock. That was really intense. Fortunately, the rest of the journey was calm. Tomorrow, we have a lot planned at Cape Reinga, including the northernmost point of New Zealand.