Jan 11th (Wed) 2012

We left 'Breaker's Motel' at 9.05am. We were so sorry to leave -this accommodation really suited us. We got straight onto the road as we had a long journey ahead of us today. Farmland and fruit growing at first. Kiwi fruit grown in this area. It never occurred to us before that Kiwi fruit had originated in NZ. Never made the connection. We drove off the road to go onto the coast to have our picnic at Bream Bay.

The weather appeared a lot better today. The black clouds were away leaving patchy white clouds & a fair bit of blue sky. The landscape changed now to forested mountains - -v scenic. We still had a fair way to go & arrived here (Paihia) at around 4pm. We were not impressed with our accommodation - -typical 'motel' with an extra small double/ large single taking up all the floor space. Bathroom's nice tho' & recently refurbed. Almost as soon as we arrived ---- guess what--- YES -- it started raining!!!!! We drove down to the town/ village to see about taking a cruise because we are now in the 'Bay of Islands'.The weather forcast for tomorrow is better for the morning than the afternoon so we decided to go for the 9am cruise. We found a lovely restaurant for a meal. I had salmon in a mango salsa & Pete had ravioli & chips of course!! Don't know what I can do to nurture a more sophisticated palate in him!!

Jan 12th (Thurs) 2012

Up with the lark to catch the 9am cruise out to see the islands & the 'Hole in the Rock'. We were on a large yellow catamaran and managed to get some seats out on th rear deck. After 5 minutes we stopped at Russel which is in fact our next destination. Almost as soon as we got going we came across a pod of bottlenose dolphins that wanted to play! I love dolphins & tho' we've seen lots now they never fail to entertain. One came out of the water 4 times doing a complete backflip right in front of where I was standing! We cruised about looking at the islands & came to the 'Hole in the Rock' an archway weathered into a rock island. Too rough today for the boat to 'sail' through the arch unfortunately. (We are both so lucky not to suffer sea sickness). We then turned back & had an hour or so at Otehei Bay on the island of Urupukapuka. We had a nice relaxed coffee in this lovely bay--- Having been too slow on the uptake to get our names down for the cultural walk over the hills - - -PHEW!!!!!!!!!!! Then it was time to get back onto the boat & head for 'home' via Russell.

On the way back up the road to our apt we were hungry, cold & damp & picked up some pies for lunch - -- v wicked but v tasty!!

In the afternoon we went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Waitangi Treaty was signed(where else would they have signed it?) in 1840 by British Crown representatives and 43 Maori Chiefs. In essence the Treaty gave sovereignty of New Zealand to the Crown and governership of the land to the Maoris. Needless to say the British interpretation of the Treaty was not favourable to the Maori people and much of their land was 'bought' at ridiculously cheap prices by British entrepreneurs who chopped down all the forests and converted the land to a great big farm! However the Maori have reasserted their rights to benefit from the natural resources of the country and now the spirit of cooperation envisaged in the Treaty is more apparent. Kia-Ora!!

We parked the car and headed for the visitor centre and were duly issued with guide books and maps and then, the heavens opened & the rain bucketed down!!! Thank goodness we did the cruise in the morning. The presentations in the centre were v interesting and described the events that led up to the signing of the Treaty. In 1940 there was a big gathering of Maori and European New Zealanders to celebrate the centenery of the signing of the Treaty. As part of this a large war canoe (waka) was built in the traditional manner from 3 giant Kauri trees(actually all Kauri trees are giants), anyhow we went to have alook at this canoe - it is huge, 115 feet long and needs 80 warriors paddling to be handled safely! Makes the Oxford and Cambridge boat race look a bit tame!(or is that Thame!?!?). e then went to see the British residence(a nice little bungalow) and the Maori meeting house. The Maori carvings are all so beautiful - there were carvings from different schools with varying characteristics all telling a 'story'. We had a nice coffee in the cafe & were befriended by a duck with an injured webbed foot. It bit the toe of a guy on the next table 'cos he didn't give it a titbit!!

On our way out we saw some Californian quail. BTW we have now come to the conclusion that the mystery birds we came across on two separate occasions on South Island were not quails 'cos they never got established on South Island but Skylarks. These have a v small crest. Their chicks don't fly until 10 days after they leave the nest so it makes sense that they would have been walking along with their brood. BTW Ben & Annie the binoculars you bought Pete some years ago have been invaluable on this trip as they are light & have fantastic magnification.

We went back to the same restaurant tonight & I had lamb shank - - -YUM & Pete had smoked chicken fettucinni (& chips of course!). The owner served us tonight & knocked 10% off the bill!! We are such nice people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 13th (Fri) 2012

We hope Beth gets on OK today with the steroid injection for bursitis in her hip joint. We move on today to Russell.