Bay of Islands

I had two others in my room last night, a guy from Belgium and a guy from Italy (no, not an old, weird guy).

Up about 8:15, decided to do a 9:15 Hole in the Rock tour with King's tour company, so packed a few things, paid the room for another night and went to teh wharf. $54 for the tour, with a backpacker card ($60 regular). It's an extra $20 if we find dolphins and I want to swim with them.

We crossed the harbour and picked up more passengers at Russel, then cruised around some of the islands (they all have some history behind them), then on our way to the Hole in the Rock. It's at the end of the bay, and the captain informed us before we left that because of the storm the night before, the seas could be very rough, so we might not be able to get to the Hole. We headed out into the open water with another tour boat from another company (Fullers), and we both headed for the rock. The seas were VERY rough, some swells were 20 feet (no lie), the boats crashing down, going up and down, up and down. It was insane, but a lot of fun. About half way to the hole, the Fullers boat gave up, and turned towards the safety of the islands, the seas jut too rough for her. We had a bigger catamaran than Fullers catamaran, and our captain isn't a scaredycat, so we kept going it alone. We made it. In calm seas, the boat would even go through the hole, but today, as the captian eloquently put it, one would have to be either "brave or silly" to try to go through it today. Huge waves crashed through the hole, making some incredible picture opportunities. Lots and lots of people getting sick all around the boat too. One guy beside me hurled for about 15 minutes straight, into a barf bag, from the sway of the boat in the huge waves. He couldn't stop hurling, it was funny. I'm sooo glad I'm not prone to sea sickness. Anyway, we all took pictures then headed for the calm of the islands, in search of dolphins. We found none.

Got back to Paihia about 12:15, went back to the hostel and showered. Then went to the supermarket, got some bacon and made bacon and eggs for lunch. Yummm!!

About 3:10, drove to Waitangi National Reserve, where, on Feb. 6, 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, bringing Maori and European peoples together "as one people". The treaty put most of NZ under British rule, in exchange, the Maori people became full British citizens with all the rights associated with it. Very interesting. The worlds largest war canoe, Ngatokimatawhaorua, can be seen here as well. It's 35m in length.

After that, drove up to Mt. Bledisloe, named after a former governor general (?) who bequethed the land the Waitangi National Reserve is located on, to the people of NZ. Then drove to Haruru Falls, a fairly nice waterfall.

On the way back to Paihia, found out that Paihia/Waitangi has a Woolworth, so stopped in there and bought a few more supplies, then back to the hostel.

Made supper, 3-cheese pasta with carbonara sauce. It served three people, but I ate it all myself. I can't stop eating, I eat all day, it's like I'm never full.

AFter supper, I got my maps, Lonely Planet and Let's Go, and planned my day for tomorrow. Going to leave Northlands and head to the Coramandel Peninsula. Used the internet for a while, then went to bed.