We were picked up this morning for our short shuttle to Paihia harbour, where we boarded the ‘Dolphin Discovery V’ a modern high speed catamaran designed for close up marine mammal viewing.
As we left the harbour the sky was clear, the water still and the sun shining.
It was not even 10 minutes out of the harbour and setting off on our tour of the 144 islands that the skipper had a call through from a local fisherman confirming there was a pod of dolphins nearby, so a quick change of course and we were on our way to see them.
Thanks to the quick reactions of cameraman Ben we have some amazing shots…the best of which is above!
As we cruised past Cook’s Bay and Twin Lagoons Bay we began to get a sense of scale on the area these islands covered. The luxury holiday homes were out of this world; with 9 floors climbing hillsides, helipads and caretaker cottages, the part time inhabitants were in contrast to the former inhabitants, the Maori.
Next stop was Piercy Island, better known as the Hole in the Rock…which our skipper took us through with ease, even though the swell was quite large on this outer island.
Looking at Cape Brett lighthouse, across the water from Piercy Island, it was hard to imagine having the job of manning this remote outpost 100 years ago when 3 families took turns to run it.
On the return journey we stopped at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island, the largest of the 144 islands. We disembarked for a walk with a Maori guide up to the former Pa site (hill top fort), learning about the history and culture pre 1769 when Captain James Cook arrived. John, our guide was fascinating, giving a great insight into the Maori greeting of touching noses and shaking right hands, family relations, living off of the land to survive and culture.
Even when we boarded the boat for our journey back to the mainland John (above right picture, stood next to Nicola) was informing us of the history of each island, down to when the Maoris were evicted by the Government post WWI.
As our tour came to an end we caught our shuttle back to the campsite for a quick bite to eat before driving to Kerikeri to see the 2 oldest houses in NZ.
The Stone House (pictured above) was built in 1836, and is full of the same type of goods that used to be bartered at the store when it was functioning in the 1800s.
Kemp House, built in 1822 (pictured above) lays claim to being the oldest wooden house, and has been restored to be in the same state as when the missionaries inhabited it in the 1800s.
Next stop was our camp site, for our last night before moving across to the west coast of Northland tomorrow.
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