Bay of Islands New Zealand In many ways the cradle of modern New Zealand. It was here in 1840 that the British and the Maori chieftains made a pact which changed the course of the country's history. This made for harmonious relations between the British and the Maori. But this cradle status goes back even further when James Cook in 1769 sailed into Bay of Islands, landed, and claimed the area for Britain. It was Cook who named the large bay which is dotted with 150 islands. The area was quite densely populated with Maori.
We made landfall early in the morning at the Bay of Islands. Once safely anchored the ship commenced its tender service. There is no big dock for ocean liners so the boat is docked deep in the harbor and small tender boats take us to shore. Once ashore we took a shuttle to the center of town called Piahia,
We rented a car, it was called rent a wreck! with a few friends and went exploring the island. Our first stop was the Haruru Falls.This is a waterfall in a horseshoe shape- very rare and quite spectacular. We then proceeded to the Puketi Kauri Forest where an artificially created boardwalk allowed us to marvel at the massive Kauri trees. We then proceeded on a scenic drive to explore the various bays, Matauri Bay and Tauranga Bay on a scenic loop. We then went down to Kerikeri a charming town inland and had a lunch of fish and chips with New Zealand beer. The New Zealand people are all extremely friendly and laid back, one of their favorite phrases is "No worries". After lunch we headed back to Paihia where we dropped off our car and visited a local craft fair. We then proceeded back to our ship.
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