Bay of Islands

One station on our list, was the wonderful Bay of Islands. We drove to the nice city of Pahia, where we stayed in the cute backpacker called mousetrap. It was very cosy, with friendly staff and also pretty cheap. We had clean rooms with sea view and the hostel kept up to our expectations based on the telling’s of other backpackers, who stayed here before. Here, we finally got really into the summer feeling. The weather was always good, the sun was shining, the temperature was climbing up every day and we had the calm sea and long beaches close to the door. We started our discovering tour in Kerikeri and went to the Parrot Place. It was funny to see the many colourful birds play with each other, sitting on our shoulders, eating nuts from our hands or just blabbering ununderstandable words. They were kept in big aviaries, had enough space and were separated depending on races and who gets along with who. Afterwards, we went for a stroll in the city centre for a bit of shopping and then tasted chocolate in the chocolate factory. When I see something about chocolate, we can never pass it, without having a look, if there is something to try. And I had already become addicted to the Cudbery chocolate sorts, especially the rocky road one with the gummy bears, nuts and marshmallows, yummy. Of course, we went on a little hike to the Hararua Falls, we haven’t seen enough waterfalls yet. But all of them are different and I really like waterfalls. In the evening, we had a drink in the bar opposite our hostel. There weren’t many people, but at this time of the year, there was in general not many people any were. So, we could enjoy the very tasty cocktails in a calm atmosphere.

The next morning, we have been waiting in the port of Pahia for our boat. We had booked a three-hour boat tour for dolphin watching and seeing Hole in the rock. The tour went around the whole Bay of Islands and we learnt a lot about the history. Captain Cook, who was still Lieutenant at that time, arrived on the island Moturohia, climbed the highest point of the island and said he is going to name this bay Bay of Islands, because there are so many of them. He counted 129 islands at that time, which is not the true amount. He might have counted some rocks, because it is less. The big ones are seven. We met a swarm of dolphins, but weren’t allowed to go swimming with them as they had babies with them. For their protection, it is then prohibited. But it is already enough seeing them to swim alongside the boat and playing with the waves. Our tour continued around the many beautiful islands and the famous Hole in the Rock, which is the biggest Hole in a rock in the southern hemisphere, where you can even cross with a boat. Some thoughts to this: How much more is there in the southern hemisphere to make it so impressive? On the other side of the rock, from a special perspective, you can see the face of a women, who is said to be the protector of the region.

After the tour, they left us with a returning ticket on the peninsula of Russel, where we could walk around and see the shops and the beaches. It was a very nice and fulfilling day. In the evening, we went again for some drinks with people of our age.

The third day in Pahia started with a regional market, where you could buy all kinds of beautiful things. I really had to put my hands into my pockets and use a lot of effort to not buy everything. If I would buy everything I liked, I could return after a week, because I have no money left. That day, we tried to enjoy the sun at the beach, which is not so easy as the strong winds take away the heat very fast. You really have to find a save spot, protected from the wind and lay flat on the sand. In the afternoon, we decided spontaneously to go on a one hour Jetski tour. It was my boyfriend and me on one Jetski and the Guide on another one and it was really nice to get such a personal tour. Once again, we saw the beautiful islands and heard some stories about the region. Sometimes we changed driver, because it is always more fun to drive yourself. When the water was calm, we could accelerate up to 80hm/h. It was really fun and not as cold as expected - we were wearing jackets to protect us from wind and water – until my boyfriend thought to test the limits of the Jetski, as he called it, and of course we both landed in the water. At this time of the year, the water temperature is about 14 degrees! Both of us completely wet – in this case, the jackets didn’t help anything – and me very angry, because I was freezing, we climbed back on the Jetski, me in the front of course! The guide was laughing and said: “At least, you didn’t lose your sunglasses”. The whole way back, we didn’t change places any more, just to be sure.

The next days, we spent with some German friends playing tennis and going to the beach. They even offered us, to take their working place, as they don’t have any chance to get there. This would be perfect for us, as still we haven’t got any positive answer. We would have to change our plans slightly, but that’s not a problem. So, next story you will hear, will be about our time in Hokianga Bay in the Waiora Gardens Community.

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