After a long drive in the rain, we finally arrived at the Bay of Islands and headed to the small town of Russel. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rain, we couldn't fully enjoy the charming little port town. However, to keep our spirits up, we had fish & chips with a view of the bay. Russel was originally named Kororāreka by the local Māori and was one of the most important trading centers in the 19th century. It even became the capital of New Zealand for a short time in 1840, which is hard to imagine considering the size of the town. For the night, we had chosen a campsite near Russel. It belongs to a super nice couple who offered us one of their vacation rooms so that we don't have to sit in the rain. However, we spent the night in our car, which we parked next to a sheep meadow.
The next day, we were woken up by warm sunrays and had breakfast with a great view of the Bay of Islands. Then we continued to Paihia, a larger town in Northland. After checking into a hostel, we visited a crafts market on the promenade and the beach. A group of young Māoris performed some dances at the pier. The Haka is a ritual dance that was performed, among other things, to intimidate enemies. In the afternoon, we took a short walk up a hill, which offered a great view of the entire bay.
Māoris performing the HakaThe beach of PaihiaThe next day, we rented kayaks and wanted to go to the Haruru Waterfalls . After two other backpackers joined us, we headed to the beach. Unfortunately, it was very windy that day, and we had a 3-hour tour upstream ahead of us. After a great effort, we finally arrived and were a little disappointed, as we had expected more from the waterfalls. Nevertheless, I was glad to be able to get physically active and see the New Zealand nature from the water. In the evening, we met two Kiwis (I don't mean the bird, but the locals) on the beach, who shared some stories and tips about the area with us. Kayak tourHaruru Waterfalls
