Last night was our first night in the camper van. Lots of getting used to, especially for me. Like don't try and climb out of a sleeping berth facing forward. I woke everyone up as I fell onto the table smashing it off the wall. Today Gary said to me that I needed a safety harness. Only problem was that he said just as Jean took a mouthful of apple cider which was immediately expelled through her nose and all over me as she started laughing. We were up at 6am to get ready for our trip to Russell and the Hole in the Wall. Great time to wake up as the New Zealand birds were in full chorus. For me, that meant we had truly arrived in NZ. Just the most magnificent sounds! We showered, had breakfast and were picked up by the tour company at 8am. We picked up 1 other person along the way who was from Vancouver and has relatives living in Salmon Arm! The tour boat went over to Russell to pick up some more passengers and then we were treated to a pod of dolphins cavorting all around the boat. It even included a dolphin calf which was wonderful to watch. We travelled around several of the islands eventually arriving at the Hole in the Wall. (See pictures.) It was a nice enough day that we were able to go through the hole with the boat. We eventually ended up back at Russell where we spent a couple of hours exploring the town. It is here that the British and the Maori had a few battles but is also adjacent to Whaitangi where the Treaty of Whaitangi was signed, ending much of the warfare that was happening at the time. We returned to Pahia to get some groceries and then returned to our campground. All in all a most beautiful day. Everyone is tired and resting while I type the blog.