The native Maori people lived in these scattered islands of the Bay of Islands, fishing in the sheltered waters. Then Captain Cook arrived in 1769, followed by missionaries, and European whalers, sealers, and traders. In time, the Maoris ceded rights to the land over to the British, a move that is still questioned today. This signing of the Treaty of Waitangi took place with the British Crown in 1840.
And we have been lucky to have visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds to see the Meeting House, Treaty House, the world's largest war canoe, and the huge flagpole that marks the spot.
Various tours took the passengers to historical Kerikeri, where two of the oldest buildings are located. The Stone Store and the Kemp House were built in 1819 for the Missionary Society of London.
Also interesting was a ride to walk through the Puketi Forest where the ancient kauri trees exist in a subtropical rainforest. Some of these giants are over 1200 years old.
There were catamaran rides to Cape Brett, a drive to another glow-worm cave, or a chance to go fishing for blue cod, terakihi, trevally, and snapper. However, the catch would have to be left with the boat crew, and not allowed back onboard the ship.
For the adventurous ones among the guests, there was a parasail trip or kayaking to Haruru Falls. Tour prices ranged from $60 to $190, and ran from one to five hours.
The bad news was that it was raining shortly after the ship's anchor was dropped. The good news was that it was raining, and the locals were thrilled, since everything here also looked dried up. And even though we doubted it would clear up, the weather did improve by the time we left the ship around 10am. Just in case, we did pack the umbrellas, and this time it was a good thing we did.
It was a long ride from the ship to the pier at Waitangi, but there were shuttles buses running everyone to the town of Paihia, the resort destination of many New Zealanders. Since we enjoy walking, we took off to the road to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, a 15 minute walk uphill into the forest. We have toured the grounds on an organized tour, perhaps twice, so today we did not enter the facility. Making our way further up the hill, we were getting wet from the trees dripping from the recent rain. At the far end of the property, is the Waitangi golf course. We did see locals lugging their clubs over the crest, following the course. Our friend Sue loves to play golf in every port that has a course, but she figured the rain would have closed it for the day. Do we dare tell her it would have been fine?
Off of this road, is the hiking trail to the Haruru Falls, but the sign warned it would take 2 hours. With the last tender back to the ship at 3pm, there would not have been enough time. We have seen the falls while on a tour years ago. So we hiked back and across the narrow bridge to Paihia, the resort town filled with beaches, trendy cafes, arts and crafts, and plenty of ferries to take you to the other nearby islands.
We could have taken the shuttle bus, but it was so nice, despite the sticky humidity, a walk was better. Once across the bridge, we cut down to the beach, and srtolled among the oystercatchers and gulls that use this area for a feeding ground. Piles of small seashells littered the sand, and were a foot deep in some parts. We did see at least two people swimming in the bay, but it looked cold. One of them had one a wet/dry suit.
Towards the end of the beach, we made our way up to the road to walk over the crest and down into the city of Paihia. The waterfront was full of hotels and vacation properties. The population increases significantly during the summer months with the vacationing families and fun-seekers. We did hike up the main street and alleyways checking out the souvenirs. But when it began to rain, we decided it was a good time to find a place for lunch. The better pizza place up the street was not opened for lunch, so we ended up at Zane Grey's Bar and Restaurant, built right over the water. We ordered local draft beers and one cheeseburger, New Zealand style, to share. It came with plenty of hot steak fries. Hoping to update the Kindle further, we had trouble getting online with their free wifi. The waitress said that when it rained, it affected the connection. Since it was raining rather hard, it never did connect. With all of the passengers here, we probably crashed their internet.
When we left, the rain had stopped, and we definitely wanted to find some Hokey Pokey ice cream. Directly across the street was a gelato shop, and they had exactly what we wanted. One of us had a cone, while the other prefers a cup. Way better than yesterday's ice cream, this was the rich, creamy vanilla ice cream with the honeycomb bits of crunchy candy in it. Doesn't take much to make us happy.
The weather looks promising enough to walk back to the pier, instead of taking the bus. And besides, we still had NZ coins to spend. There was a 7-11 type of shop on the way back, so we bought two bags of chips. Then while we were heading back, the sky opened up, and we got big rain again. The umbrellas helped keep the upper half dry, but the rest was soaked. Actually felt good, cooling us off.
There was a tender boat waiting to leave, so that was good. One thing we did not like was when they closed the doors, and it became unbearably hot and steamy inside the boat. Made the ride even longer. We hung all of the wet stuff up in the bathroom to dry, then worked in or room until 4:30pm.
The sail away had been moved to the Crow's Nest, even though it did not rain anymore. Several folks did go out to watch the sail of the bay, and were treated to sightings of jumping dolphins. We now have two days to cross the Tasman Sea to reach Sydney, Australia. And they may be rough, according to the Captain who warned about some significant swells this evening.
Dinner was fun as everyone had stories to share about their day here. One thing we could share was the news we got from our travel agent this morning. We had asked her to check into a possible overnight trip from Hambantota to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The news sent to her from the tour company was not good. It seems that the health department of Sri Lanka has forbidden any passengers or crew from disembarking a ship in the entire country. We wonder when this is going to be announced? And we suspect there will be more countries with similar restrictions. Time will tell.
The show tonight was a fellow named William Caulfield, an award nominated top Irish comedian. Only the guys went, and the rest of us stayed behind to chat.
And speaking of time, the clocks went back one hour tonight…..very welcomed by all.
Bill & Mary Ann
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Report #118 Bay of Islands, New Zealand March 4, 2020 Wednesday Chance of rain & 76 degrees
