The following images were taken from the sliding door of our stateroom. A fantastic sunrise as we approached the Bay of Islands in northern New Zealand. It was terrific to see land again after so many consecutive days at sea.
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in the Bay of Islands in 1841. This was a significant event in New Zealand’s modern history as it ended the conflict between the UK and most Māori tribes. Late in the day, we walked to the treaty signing museum, but for time and cost reasons, we chose not to enter. Waitangi was the first capital city of New Zealand. More on this topic on the Wellington post.
Our first activity was a bus tour with three stops. During the tour, we learned that Kia Ora means welcome.
We visited the city of Kawakawa, which contains the Hundertwasser Toilets. They were interesting and kind of cool. Apparently, the architect lived near Kawakawa for the last 25 years of his life, and they were built as a memorial to him. A strange set of buildings to encounter while visiting a rural New Zealand town with a population less than 1500 people.
Cheryl and I walked the main street of the town, which has the only single-track rail running through Main Street (the red center stripe). The second image shows how some of the bathroom architecture is used in other parts of the city. Cheryl asked me to pose next to an empty flatbed(why?). I proudly represented Black Butte Ranch that day.
We visited the Kerikeri Basin Lookout, which has great views of the oldest stone house standing in New Zealand and a cool Māori canoe.
Some random photos from the bus trip
We visited Rainbow Falls and the Kerikeri River Track. The Kiwi warning sign is seen everywhere. Apparently, dogs will hunt Kiwi birds. Not good.
In the afternoon, we had a great burger and fries lunch in Paihia and then took the Ferry to Russel New Zealand, where we toured the city.
We then hiked to Flagstaff Hill. A fairly long and hot trek that was well worth the effort.
Up and down the hill, there was a lot of really interesting vegetation and great views.
We noticed two very cool homes with terrific views of the harbor. We might consider renting them one day.
Laura Lovelock gave a presentation on country rivalries on the World stage. It covered many different countries but focused mainly on New Zealand and Australia. A very lighthearted discussion.
To end the day, we attended the second performance by violinist Roy Theaker. He was again very energetic, moving all over the stage and exuding joy throughout his entire performance.
Unlike the first event, he had the Viking house band for backing. Made for a more dynamic show vs playing to recorded background music.
We had a great dinner at “The Restaurant” this evening. We were able to thank astronaut Mike for all of his great talks and wish him and his wife well. A great guy.
To end the evening, along with fellow cruisers Susan, Rick, Suzy, and Karl, we listened to the last set by guitarist Jobie. Tonight was his last performance on this cruise, and we really enjoyed listening to him sing and play. For more about Jobie: click click click. We had gotten to know him a bit and really enjoyed his guitar playing, singing, and personality. He covered two songs for us. We will miss him. He is off for a couple of months before performing on a Scandinavian cruise.
Many of the performers, speakers, and crew are leaving the ship in Auckland, and new people will be joining us. This will be true at every major port along our journey. We will particularly miss both Sue Stockdale and Julian Dowdeswell. One of the people helping with our room, Felica, is also leaving, and we will miss her.
Bob: A lot more photos from the day can be found here.
The images within this posting are likely best viewed from the web page.