Auckland to Paihia (Pie Here)
I caught the Magic Bus early in the morning which was going to Paihia and the Bay of Islands. There was only a few of us on the bus so everyone was chatting quite quickly.
We stopped off at Waipoua forest which is highly populated with the protected Kauri tree. We followed a short walk through the forest to see one of the largest trees in the world. 51m. high, with a girth of over 13m. The Maori call this tree Tāne Mahuta (God of the Forest).
We made another stop at Hokianga Harbour before we arrived at Paihia a small town which acts as a gateway to the Bay of Islands. I stayed in the strangely named Pipi Patch Hostal. It was a really nice place with a lively bar and nightly BBQ.
Next day I took a fast boat trip around the Bay of Islands on the Excitor. The boat had 2 x 800hp Turbo Intercooled CAT 3406E engines and a top speed of 45 Knots. After taking my travel sickness tablets (very extreme!!) I sat in the Extreme Seats at the front of the boat - these seat are the bumpiest.
It was a good trip the driver was playing tunes while we raced along, but he was also giving a comentary so we knew what we were seeing. We hit some really big waves which slammed us back into the water and down onto our seats - it got pretty rough and some people moved further back in the boat. We went out to Cape Brett and the landmark 'Hole in the Rock'. Well we didn't just pass through the hole the driver span the boat around in it. Next we stopped outside a small cave called 'Cathedral Cave' which looked really small the driver was then joking that he had a bet with the driver of the cruise boats that he could drive the boat into the cave and started moving the boat towards it playing the Mission Impossible music - he was able to get the boat right inside before reversing out. We also went passed Urupukapuka Island where you can camp in the summer before heading back to Russell (one of the first English settlements and New Zealand capital for one day) before arriving back at Paihia.
In the afternoon I went to check out the Waitangi National Reserve. On the reserve is the Treaty House built in 1832 as the four room residence of James Busby it was then the setting for the Treaty of Waitangi. From the British point of view, The Treaty, as New Zealanders often call it, justified making New Zealand a British colony. Next to the treaty house is a Maori Whare Runanga (Meeting House) built and carved in wood. You had to take your shoes off (Maori Custom) before going in and looking at the carvings inside. In the grounds of the reserve there was also a 35m war canoe "Ngatokimatawhaorua" named after the canoe in which the legendary Polynesian navigator Kupe discovered New Zealand. The canoe was made from giagantic Kauri logs.
After looking around the reserve and grounds I did a walk to Hararu falls through Mangrove forest over a boardwalk and around Hutia Creek.
We stopped off at Waipoua forest which is highly populated with the protected Kauri tree. We followed a short walk through the forest to see one of the largest trees in the world. 51m. high, with a girth of over 13m. The Maori call this tree Tāne Mahuta (God of the Forest).
We made another stop at Hokianga Harbour before we arrived at Paihia a small town which acts as a gateway to the Bay of Islands. I stayed in the strangely named Pipi Patch Hostal. It was a really nice place with a lively bar and nightly BBQ.
Next day I took a fast boat trip around the Bay of Islands on the Excitor. The boat had 2 x 800hp Turbo Intercooled CAT 3406E engines and a top speed of 45 Knots. After taking my travel sickness tablets (very extreme!!) I sat in the Extreme Seats at the front of the boat - these seat are the bumpiest.
It was a good trip the driver was playing tunes while we raced along, but he was also giving a comentary so we knew what we were seeing. We hit some really big waves which slammed us back into the water and down onto our seats - it got pretty rough and some people moved further back in the boat. We went out to Cape Brett and the landmark 'Hole in the Rock'. Well we didn't just pass through the hole the driver span the boat around in it. Next we stopped outside a small cave called 'Cathedral Cave' which looked really small the driver was then joking that he had a bet with the driver of the cruise boats that he could drive the boat into the cave and started moving the boat towards it playing the Mission Impossible music - he was able to get the boat right inside before reversing out. We also went passed Urupukapuka Island where you can camp in the summer before heading back to Russell (one of the first English settlements and New Zealand capital for one day) before arriving back at Paihia.
In the afternoon I went to check out the Waitangi National Reserve. On the reserve is the Treaty House built in 1832 as the four room residence of James Busby it was then the setting for the Treaty of Waitangi. From the British point of view, The Treaty, as New Zealanders often call it, justified making New Zealand a British colony. Next to the treaty house is a Maori Whare Runanga (Meeting House) built and carved in wood. You had to take your shoes off (Maori Custom) before going in and looking at the carvings inside. In the grounds of the reserve there was also a 35m war canoe "Ngatokimatawhaorua" named after the canoe in which the legendary Polynesian navigator Kupe discovered New Zealand. The canoe was made from giagantic Kauri logs.
After looking around the reserve and grounds I did a walk to Hararu falls through Mangrove forest over a boardwalk and around Hutia Creek.
posted by Phil at 6:49 AM
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