Sunday 7th December
Another beautiful day on the water. How could we resist. We woke to a warm, calm, fine day. So decided to make the most of it and hopped on board an Explore boat and headed out to explore the Bay of Islands. There are 144 islands, mostly uninhabited. The definition of an island – it is surrounded by water and has vegetation growing on it. We also spent some time checking out the sea life. The dolphins are plentiful. We spotted a penguin however missed out on seeing any whales. Maybe next time. The Bay also has its own Hole in the Rock, so we had to motor through it. We left the boat at Russell on the other side of the Bay from Paihia and enjoyed lunch at the Gables on the waterfront before catching the Happy Ferry back to Paihia.
Walked up to the lookout above the town before dining in. We cooked a BBQ dinner on our huge balcony overlooking the Bay, once again enjoying the fresh produce of the area.
