We drove a few hours north to the Bay of Islands area and stayed in Paihia. Captain Cook visited this bay in 1769. He counted 183 islands in the bay, but apparently he was counting rocks as well. The official count is 144. An island is defined as land that’s always above the water (i.e. not submerged at high tide) and has vegetation growing on it.
After checking in to our hostel, we did a short hike to a viewpoint of the Bay from above the town.
We took a drive to see Haruru Falls. Don’t step back any further!
A shot from the beach in town before we went for dinner.
In the morning, we took a 3-hour tour of the bay by boat. First up was a look for dolphins. The crew found a pod hanging around a couple of cruise ships anchored in the bay. Many came right up to the boat.
Others were swimming around in the water a few hundred feet in front of the boat. You’d see fins as they’d surface for a breath and I was quick enough on the reaction to get a few of those. I remember thinking about photos I’ve seen of dolphins in mid flight and wondering if we’d have any jump as they surfaced. Then, a pair did and I clicked away. Right after it happened I leaned over to Leena and said that I thought I got the shot. I did!
And thanks to the “live” photo feature on the iPhone and the Lively app, you can see the whole jump.
The boat then started heading for the Hole in the Rock. It’s a hole in the distant rock in the middle of this shot.
The lighthouse on the northern tip of the peninsula on the east side of the bay. It was manually operated until the early 1970s.
The Hole in the Rock.
The weather was calm, a requirement for the boat to make a passage through the Hole. This was their first passage in three weeks. Great timing for us!
A view back.
