Boating in the Bay of Islands

On Saturday, January 07, we arrived in Paihia in the morning, where we wanted to find a boat to take a tour of the Bay. We simply went to the i-Site and asked about afternoon excursions. Unfortunately, many tours were already fully booked, but in the end, they found 2 available spots on a boat that will take us on a 4-hour journey through the islands and the famous Hole in the Rock, and also allow some time for a walk and lunch on one of the islands. That sounded pretty good and with a 10% discount, the tour only cost us 121$ per person.

Once everything was settled, we looked for a free parking spot at the beach and then walked back to the pier to catch the next ferry to Russell. It is a historic place opposite Paihia and the ferry ride there was included in the price of our tour. Since we had some time before the boating started, we wanted to explore the town a bit and then board the tour boat in Russell. The ferry to Russell was quite cute, as it was very small and the captain was somehow quaint. Arriving in Russell, we walked through the streets and soaked in the atmosphere. The historical background of the town is that it was the first settlement of white settlers in New Zealand. There isn't much to see other than a few old villas, a small museum, and a lookout hill. We also climbed up the hill. From the top, we had a magnificent view of the bay and some of the islands. Coincidentally, a regatta had just started at that time, and there were quite a few people with binoculars and beer, watching the ships sail. It looked quite pretty, but we couldn't really join in the technical conversation :D

At 1 o'clock, we headed back down to the pier because the boat was scheduled to pick us up at 1:40. It was also quite punctual, not many people on board, and after a nice greeting and safety briefing, we set off at full speed. The wind on the deck was quite strong! At some point, we went inside or stood at the front of the deck with hoods on. I never stayed inside for long because the surroundings were just so beautiful and I had to take lots of photos. Andi gets cold quickly, so he also liked to be inside sometimes.

After cruising past some islands and receiving some information about them from a ship crew member (which we couldn't quite understand well due to the loudspeaker), we reached the end of the bay where the Hole in the Rock is located. It is a large hole in a small rock island that ships can pass through. I actually don't know why it's so special, but probably just because it looks cool. A few hundred meters before the rock island, the sister boat of ours, which was on a dolphin tour, informed us where dolphins could be found, and we went there as well. Suddenly, they were around the boat, playing in the waves and swimming in front of the ship. So cool!! I was standing at the front of the ship and got to experience them up close. They were different from the ones we saw in Australia, but just as playful and beautiful.

After a while, we continued our journey towards the Hole in the Rock and eventually went through it. It was quite impressive. After coming out on the other side, we saw some fish in the water and headed towards the largest island, Urupukapuka Island. There is a bay with beautiful clear water and green hills surrounding it. It was truly a picturesque landscape. On land, we had our BBQ lunch, which was quite delicious with various salads, bread, meat, and sausages! Afterwards, we wanted to walk up the nearby hill, which has a lookout and was recommended by the ship's crew because of the great view. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time left before the ship continued, so we had to hurry. Normally, you should plan 15 minutes for the uphill walk and 10 minutes for the downhill walk, but because we only had 25 minutes left until the ship would depart again, we ran up in 5 minutes, enjoyed the view and took photos, and then ran down in 5 minutes. Man, it was exhausting!! But it was definitely worth it for the view because we could really see the entire bay and the afternoon sun bathed the sea and hills in a golden light. If we had more time, we might have stayed on the island a bit longer and returned with one of the ferries, as it was also possible, but we wanted to cover some more kilometers towards the south in the evening, so we took the regular tour boat back to Paihia.

At 5:30 pm, we arrived back on the mainland after a beautiful tour. Then we got back in the car and drove south. As it slowly got dark, we passed through Auckland and shortly afterwards, we stopped at a gas station, ate some bread (we weren't very hungry after the BBQ at 4), brushed our teeth, and then drove a good distance in the dark. We wouldn't have dared to do that in Australia, but here there are no big animals that can run or hop onto the road, and if we drive at night, we have more time for activities during the day. We arrived at a free campground by a river around 10:30 or so, quickly set up our bed, and could go to sleep immediately. The next day, we wanted to explore the Coromandel Peninsula, and I'll write about the great experiences there in the next entry :)