Woke up early in order to catch the bus to take us to the cruise terminal where we picked led up our boat. A huge coincidence was that the lady I was sitting next to came from Tollesbury in Essex where my mother spend her childhood!
A beautiful, warm day with blue skies and little or no wind, perfect for our cruise.
We set of to Russell, just across the bay where we picked up more passengers.
The Bay of Islands contains 144 islands mapped by Captain Cook in 17??
The captain kept us well informed. We cruised between the Islands, the sea was very calm. We saw a pod of bottle nosed dolphins with young, these we sunbathing in shallow water near to where Captain Cook moored for 10 days, getting fresh food and water. A little further out we saw a large pod of common Dolphins. These played along side the boat for several miles.
We continued on to the Hole in the Rock. The sea was calm enough to allow the captain to take the boat through the hole. On the way back we disembarked on one of the larger islands. Dave and I walked up a steep hill to the look out. The views were magnificent. Mary and Chris relaxed by the shore. I paddled in the southern Pacific. The scenery was breathtaking as there was a regatta also taking place.

On our return to Paihia we had lunch and drove to Kerikeri. An old town where the missionaries first came to to bring Christianity to the Maoris. We visited several old buildings. The gardens were well kept. We also visited the church. There was a touching memorial to the Anzac forces who did notreturn from Gallipoli.
In the evening we returned to Paihia where we had a lovely meal in a restaurant called 35 degrees south.
Another fantastic day.