Living with the Kiwis: Cruising the Bay and Waitangi

Today we boarded our dolphin discovery vessel at about 8:45 and departed to pick up some more passengers in Russell before taking a guided tour of the Bay of Islands (not quite all 144 of them luckily). On the way out we saw a couple of bottle-nose dolphins and then later a larger group of common dolphins. We went about 20 miles out to sea to see the hole in the rock, an actual hole through an island. There were quite a few passengers starting to feel seasick and apparently someone was sick on one of the sets of stairs so the driver decided to head to our stopping place on Urupukapuka, the largest of the islands. We had one hour to spend there so we took the scenic walk up the hill to get the 360 degree view of the bay. We went down to the beach to feel the water before hopping back on the boat and cruising back to Russell and Paihia. We got a quick bite for lunch and then went to Waitangi, where the treaty was signed between the British settlers and the native Maori people. We watched a cultural performance to learn a little bit about Maori culture. The male members of the audience got to learn some haka basics (a welcome greeting or battle intimidation) and the female audience members got to learn how to use the poi (a ball on a string). Mom got a little carried away with her swinging and smacked her poi into mine and knocked it right out of my hand! We then had a guided tour of the treaty grounds, seeing the giant waka (war canoe) and the treaty house and meeting house decorated with all different types of Maori cavings from all across New Zealand. Now that I’ve learned a little about New Zealand’s history, I can better understand Waitangi Day, coming up on the 6th of February, a bit like our 4th of July! After Waitangi we went to find Haruru falls in the daylight...only to find it wasn’t that impressive and we were RIGHT at it the night before. And then we continued our drive farther north to Doubtless Bay were we at fish and chips for dinner at the famous Mangonui fish shop and stayed at a motel-like Bed and Breakfast with yet more excellent hosts!