Our first proper full day in New Zealand had arrived for which we had planned to go see the Waipu Caves as we were in the area and the write up on caves in New Zealand had been pretty good. We found the caves without too much trouble, but on route discovered this was another country that liked to leave half the roads as gravel tracks instead of finishing the job properly, so it was a bit of a bumpy ride. We decided on walking boots for this trip for obvious reasons and definitely needed them on the path we took as it was mostly uphill through bouldered woodland. Quite a while after setting off and reaching the top of something resembling the Yorkshire dales we still hadn't found the caves, after some debate we decided to turn back as we must have gone wrong. Well we had gone so wrong, the caves were hidden behind some trees about 40feet from the map we allegedly read prior to setting off, which is quite a concern seen as we are navigating the world!!!! MUPPETS. Now at the correct cave spot a school group was about to enter, the overalls covered in old mud gave a clue this was gonna be wet and messy. As we had wasted a good couple of hours going the wrong way we abandoned the trip in favour of driving North to our next stop, plus we knew we could see caves later as New Zealand has loads.
Having had a bite to eat we were on the road again and headed for Whangarei in search of Whangarei waterfalls. Throughout the drive through various places it was easy to think we were driving around England, as that's really what the inland areas of New Zealand resemble so far. Having arrived at the falls we were a little more careful with the details on the information board, and again the place we wanted to be was just around the corner. The falls were ok for a quick view but nothing spectacular, or maybe we just expect too much knowing we are going the Niagra falls so nothing much stands up to that idea.
Our base for the night was set to be the Bay of Islands as we had extra time as the falls visit was shorter than we expected. The drive had some good costal views and some nice beaches but still looked very much like home! Very confusing. On arrival at the Bay of Islands we searched a few campsites and decided on one with a waterfront and it was just a few minute's drive to the main front which meant we could get there early the next day for a look around.

The next day we were checking the boat trips for swimming with dolphins in the sea, the trips were morning and afternoon and depended not only on weather but also if the dolphins had babies no swimming was allowed. We held off booking a trip as Carina wasn't feeling too well and it would be a rush to get ready for the next departing trip, so instead we headed for the Treaty Grounds. Now for anyone who hasn't heard of this area it is where the treaty was signed in the 1800's by the Maouri and the English. The basic history lesson here is the British were the first to discover the Maouri tribes in New Zealand, they gave them tools and taught them the skills to use these. The French closely followed but tried to take over the land instead of just have a port to restock their ships at. The Maouri asked the British to protect them from the French, after several years of conflict from all sides the British agreed but had no law to do this. Therefore the Treaty was written and signed by the Maouri and British to give them the power to protect the people and the country, aswell as inhabit it along with the Maouri tribes. The meeting house and Treaty house are all within the grounds that we visited, the meeting house is decorated with wooden carvings of strange figures and paintings and no shoes can be worn inside. The Treaty house is an old wood house and was the Busby residence, this was the first British family to live among the Maouri and represent the British. A war Canoe or Maori Waka was the main feature housed in a shed near the beach, this particular one called Ngatokimawhaorua. These are huge things and carved as one from a tree called Kauri which believe us is one hell of a big tree, again the decoration in the form of carvings are around the outer of the canoe.

Nearby to the treaty grounds was another water fall called Hururu falls, but this was smaller than the previous falls so again no match for our expectations of the Canadian giant. The best option for the night stop seemed to be the campsite we had stayed on the previous night, this would make it easier to do the dolphin trip the next day. We asked the lady at the campsite about the trips as she worked for a company that did them, she said the chance of getting to swim or see the dolphins was only around 25% at best. The tour company would still charge for the boat trip but give you a return voucher to swim with dolphins another time, but this meant paying for a further boat trip as it is only a revisit ticket for the swim which you would have paid for upfront. She told us the south Island would be a better option as the dolphins and orca are more common there, so we didn't book the trip but stayed the night anyway as it was too late to drive anywhere else that day.