The Bay of Islands is made up of around 150 islands and I saw many of them during a full-day cruise on Tuesday, February 21. We started at Paihia and picked up some more passengers from Russell.
When a pod of bottlenose dolphins was spotted, many of us donned snorkels and flippers and swam out to see them. A couple of dolphins swam right past me but were quickly gone. It was a great experience.
The weather conditions were good enough for the boat to squeeze through the Hole in the Rock of Motukokako island. In fact the weather conditions were perhaps too good; I got the worst sunburn of my life that day and I’m still suffering.
We pulled into Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka island for an hour, and I decided this was one of my favourite places on Earth. I walked up to the lookout point to see the view but then spent the rest of the time swimming in the clear waters, which were 21 degrees.
I got off the boat at Russell and spent a couple of hours wandering around the town and enjoying a drink on the waterfront before getting the ferry back to Paihia.