Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Bay of Islands

We went on the Cream Tour today, a full day Bay of Islands tour through the Fullers company which followed the route of a cream and mail delivery boat took in the olden times. We actually had some groceries and mail on board to deliver to a couple islands!

The day started off dreary and cool, and we wondered if we were just spoiled from sunshine and islands of French Polynesia that any cruise we did now would just pale in comparison. NZ isn't exactly a cheap country either, and what we like are cheap warm places...

Anyhow, the Bay of Islands very much resembled Halong Bay in Vietnam. There we did an overnight cruise in a bay dotted with green covered hills that poked out over the water. It was similar here with NZ's own unique plant flora. Interestingly, even the weather was somewhat similar: overcast, a weak threat of rain, jacket weather.

We cruised around different bays, saw the rare volcanic "Black Rocks" and had a stop at one of the islands for lunch. There was even a Hole in the Rock that Billy our skipper amazingly took our boat through. Halong Bay also had a similar hole, but we were taken through by human driven canoes.

The highlight of the trip were the dolphins for sure. We had two sightings, the first being a large pod of 15-20 dolphins with young calves. Then at the end of the trip, we came across a smaller pod and some passengers jumped in to swim with them in the wild. They were so playful, breaching the water, swimming so fast alongside the boat and getting up close. This was the first time either of us have seen dolphins like this and it was pretty amazing. I think the next time when it's warmer, we'd have to try the swim as well.

I wondered at first if the sound of the boat motor would scare the dolphins away, but they didn't seem put off and came around and under our boat. Having watched The Cove, I think this is a way more humane way to interact with the dolphins being out in the wild.

We were pretty tired by the end of the trip. We checked in to Paihia Pacific Resort across the street from the hostel. For the same price, the place was awesome. Nice big clean room with ensuite and hotel amenities. It was a little quiet which was probably why we could negotiate. I bet this whole town completely books up during the high season, but right now we're still in shoulder season, and this is apparent by the weather. I'm actually ok with that having had a lot of water and beach time before NZ, and looking forward to more in Asia.

Dinner was at the same restaurant as last night. We were craving the three course dinner menu, and now with a 5% discount for returning, we couldn't resist. Unfortunately, I could only say that the meal was "good." I had lamb shank and Shannon had the fish of the day, blue nose, and we both found the meal left us wanting more. Yesterday's pizza at a little more than a third the price was more satisfying.

Pooped, we returned to our hotel, threw our smelly sandals in the washing machine, and turned in for an early night as we have big plans to head up to Cape Reinga, the northern point of North Island, tomorrow.

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