Bay of Islands

The cyclone came so soon after the Auckland and Northland flooding event, that I think we had almost forgotten about the devastation caused by the Auckland flooding a week prior to the Cyclone. Auckland and Northlands has received one months rainfall in 24 hours.  As a result the Highway 1 (the main road of the North Island has been changed into a one way.  The evidence as we drove north on it was quite eye opening with parts of roads missing, sides of hills no longer there, avenues of trees reduced to piles and piles of timber and road signs snapped in two.

Paihia, our home for the next few days greeted us with a twinkle in her eye.  It is very very beautiful up here, the weather warm and everywhere you look it is very pretty.  Photos of Paihia below:

Out apartment is right on the water, we ate in after Carolyn and I had the most hilarious shopping experience.  It was an order of a cooked chook and salad.  Simple, there is a countdown (Woolies) 150m down the road.  Off we go, firstly the Countdown is about the same size as our apartment in Sydney and doesnt do cooked chickens, but there is a 4Square (IGA) across the road.  So Carolyn guards the few items we have chosen in the baskets and I quickly go across the road to get a cooked chicken.  The lady in front of me buys the last one.  Oh SIGH!   Back I go,  so we settle on chicken breasts.  No fresh bread, so across the road Carolyn goes.  Just a complete farse how a simple shopping trip turned into a massive pain in the arse.  After our home cooked meal we had a stroll along the bay, with a stop for a few wines.

Making the most of the good weather we decided to test Carolyn's new hip and play Kauri Cliffs (which would be her third game in a row, two of which were walking.  What a day we had.  Kauri Cliffs is a beautiful golf course, a challenging design set in a mesmerising location.  The only thing that sullied the day was the service.  Boys versus girls, we got our arses kicked.  Ross having another stunning round with 37 points.  He is on fire!

Photos below:

Now you have seen the photos and seen the beautiful location and great golf course, that is where the good experience ended.  We were an irritation when we rung the gate buzzer to let us in, then we carried our bags from car to golf shop and the golf porter guy came running up apologising that he had to pick some people up from the helicopter.  The guy in the golf shop insisted I was with the helicopter crew and kept getting confused and practically arguing with me on my identity.  Meanwhile i just want to get out of there and get on the course.  We wernet shown the first tee, got lost from the driving range.  Lunch service was a but iffy and the general vibe was who are you invading our holy sanctuary.  I think stay there next time - you may get treated better.

Today was a day of liesure, so a morning stroll exploring the avenues of Paihia, Ross and Carolyn went on a more adventurous rock climbing expedition and luckily we got there and heard their stories - so didn't venture that far.  Ferry across to Russell for a wander and some lunch, which was charming.  A short ferry ride from Paihia, Russell a charming seaside town steeped in early New Zealand history. The country’s first capital, Russell is home to the Duke of Marlborough bar & restaurant – which holds New Zealand’s first liquor license.  Here are some photos of Paihia, Russell and surrounds.

Tomorrow we set off to Auckland via Waipu, for the final leg of our trip.  Below is a small YouTube clip of our helicopter flight we did on our last trip tot he Bay of Islands 3 years ago.