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Once again, after packing up we headed North. We had pre booked to stay in the Bay of Islands for a couple of days, so hit the road with a final destination in mind! The journey was much shorter than most of the other trips, but it was pouring down with rain, constantly! So That made the drive a little tiring and longer than we expected! We pulled in for a coffee fairly early, and tried to use the internet, but it was just long winded, so we hit the road.
W stopped for refuelling in Whangerea, both Luke and I, and a fella opposite, were baffled with how to get the petrol out of the pump.... A short while later, the attendant came out to tell us we had to pay before they would allow petrol to the pump... ?!? The other guy said "Maybe this is how you do it in Bangladesh, but thats not how we do it here!" ......... That made me laugh, as this is obviously how they did it 'here'!! Anyway, with a rough guess of how much it would cost to refill, We paid, and then were given the petrol, we were soon on our way again! Whangerai was going to be a stop off for us, to visit the Zion Wildlife Gardens, where the "Lion man" Craig Busch worked, but whilst we were in Australia ( I think) Something happened at the Lion park, and Craig Busch no longer works there... something about his mum got too greedy and wanted more from him... so we boycotted the Zoo!! Anyway we drove, and drove and drove, and soon reached out destination.... We had to get on a car ferry to get us over to Russell... Russell is a tiny little seaside town in the Bay of Islands, and was previously the Capital of New Zealand, Many years ago... Its not an island, it is accessible by car, but they don't signpost it so you have to use the ferry - therefore they make more money out of us travellers!!
We reached out campsite, and we're on high ground, so have really brilliant views of the Bay from our camper, but if there is any flood, due to the horrendous rain, then i'm guessing we will just be fine!!
We had a quick look around the campsite and at its facilities before we jetted back to our camper, which had decided to start leaking.... I forfeited a couple of towels and we stayed pretty much dry, but it was a long boring evening!!
Luckily the next morning we awoke to sunshine, blue skies, and heat.... So both Luke & I had to dig into the bottom of our bags to find our 'summer clothes' which we thought wouldn't be wearable here!! A wonderful suprise!!! So we hit the town of Russell, and caught the passenger ferry over to neighbouring town Paihia. Paihia is also another small town on the coast of the Bay of islands, but its more populated, and I guess, more suited to Luke and me!! Ah well!! We followed the main road about 2km out of town to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
Waitangi Treaty ground, is where the Waitangi Treaty was signed.
The Treaty established a British Governor of New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and gave the Māori the same rights as us British.
When we arrived we decided to have a coffee and a muffin, which was the cafe special! So we ordered, and when we went to get the muffins, there was 1 Blueberry Muffin, and 6 Mushroom, Asparagus and Feta Muffins... I asked if there were anymore Sweet muffins, and the guy just said "No, its first come, first serve - the savoury ones aren't as bad as they sound!" So I took him up on his offer, and I went with the terrible sounding Muffin, and let me kid you not, it was as disgusting as it sounds!!!!! I even poured sweetener over it, in attempt to make it edible. Nope!
With our coffee break over, we hit the grounds, we first came to a huge canoe in the treaty grounds. AKA Maori Waka. It is that big you need a MINIMUM of 76 paddlers to handle it on water!! Its name is, wait for it: Ngatokimatawhaorua. It was launched as part of the Centenary celebrations in 1940. And it was made from three Kauri trees from the Puketi forest. FACT!
From here we walked up to the Treaty house, and in it, its just a small house where a guy names James Busby lived during back in the day. All of the furniture inside was what they "thought" the originals would have looked like.... Then across the field from the Treaty house, is 'Te Whare Runanga' Its just a meeting house for Maori tribes, and looks like a real life gingerbread house!! It was built in 1940 symbolising the Maori involvement in the signing of the Treaty. Its all wooden and has polished floors, and you have to take your shoes off to enter... Easy for me, I wear thongs everyday, Luke wore his trainers today, so moaned a little!! Anyway at a glance the inside decor looks like wooden planks on the wall with patterned wallpaper in the middle. Well close up, each wooden slab has different Maori tribe art. All different faces!
Anyway thats probably it, it was a nice day out, very cultural, and was nice to get out and see things! Rather than being a few steps away from the van for a change! We headed home on the ferry again, and this was a blooming frightening experience!! We got on and sat at the front, by the doorway to where the captain sailed the boat. Even before the boat had lifted up the anchor, a Dutch family asked the captain if their 3 children could 'skipper' the boat... the old Captain said Yes, pulled away from the pier and gave full control to 3 little kids!! No lie!
We made it home, but not before breaking the nautical speed limit, with 3 near misses, which the Dutch mum just laughed saying "they're on a collision course today!" We were the first off the boat, and made our way down the jetty to dry / safe land!
En-route home we were swayed by the smell of fish and chips, so picked up a portion each for lunch.. Mmmmm!!! Ate them on the picnic table by our camper, and enjoyed the afternoon in the sun!
The next day was a blustering day, and being on the top of the hill, we felt the whole gust, it was like being in a cradle being rocked!! So due to the weather, we decided to do our errands, we washed the van, our clothes and see whether we have to pay for the stone chip which has appeared along the route.. So got all our bits and pieces sorted, and just prepared for our final destination before home, the grand US of A.
The Bay of Islands has been a nice part of our trip, but it doesn't compare to the Whitsundays im afraid! We had a glorious day yesterday, where the sun shone and it was really pretty, but to be honest, If I was to come to New Zealand I would definatley consider leaving out the North Island completely!! I have only included in our trip mainly, so I can see my old friend Gemma, and her humble surroundings. We will be visiting her tomorrow, but apart from her, there isn't much else happening here. And I imagine not many of you have a Gemma to visit, so I would say... Just visit the south!!
I may change my mind when we get to explore Auckland, but right now my mind is decided!
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