Calm, in the Bay of Islands

After yesterdays large swells, calm waters and the porpoises, along with good swimming conditions have returned to the 'Bay'.

Heavy swells in the Bay of Islands

One of the joys of sailing in the Bay of Islands is the normally calm waters. With strong winds in the East the swells can build into very rough conditions. On this particular day a calm pass has 3.5 m. swells breaking at the entrance.

Left click to see the true picture of that days activities!

Traveling South

On Saturday Ken took the daylong bus trip to Cape Reanga and on Sunday we drove south to Matamata making as many side visits as time would allow. Overnight was spent in Matamata with Kath's Mum, and the following morning we were off to visit Rotorua with a guided tour of a Maori village situated on the boiling mud pools and geysers that Rotorua is so famous for. The four of us are pictured at the Hamilton Airport just before Ken flies out to Christchurch for his South Island tour.

Bay of Islands and Waitangi

After our 3 relaxing days out on the water where we visited the historic little town of Russell, we spent a day touring around the Bay area by car, visiting Paihia, Opua, and a walking visit of the Waitangi Treaty grounds where history was made in 1840 when the British and Maori signed the Treaty founding New Zealand.




Ken with the town of Russell in the back ground.







Kath met up with some ladies from the local Keirkeri Fibreholics group spinning wool in the courtyard of the Treaty House.




A view across the treaty ground of the flag pole and Treaty House.

Waka at Waitangi

We visited the Treaty Grounds 2 days before the 6th of Feb., which is the day the Treaty is celebrated. A number of beautifully prepared Maori waka/ canoes have been moved to the beach in preparation for the ceremonies. Note the extensive carving on these waka.

Bay of Islands with Ken

Ken arrived in the Bay of Islands after a rather long flight from Fredericton NB via Toronto, Shanghai, Sydney and Auckland on the 1 Feb. Ken and I go all the way back to High School...a rather long time ago. We have been looking forward to his visit for some time and soon cast off from the Kerikeri Cruising Club for a few days sailing out on the 'Bay'.

It wasn't all just relaxing, chatting and swimming as on our 2nd day out we climbed to one of the lookouts over Roberton Island, affording a beautiful view of most of the Bay.