Eye Pod

The weather was gorgeous. The sea calm. It was time to act like a proper tourist. So I joined a tour round the islands in search of dolphins. I said yesterday that this Bay of Islands is supposed to have the second bluest sky in the world so it follows that the colour of the sea must be the second best in the world. It could well be as I’ve never seen sea colour like it.

But it wasn’t just one colour of blue. There were azures, sapphires, aquamarines and turquoises wherever you looked.

We stopped at a small island

where a short walk up a hill and the colour changed yet again.

Back on board it was time to play ‘hunt the dolphins’. I always thought a group of dolphins was called a school. Apparently, the more correct name is a ‘pod’. Either way, we got lucky.

There were dozens of them all seemingly completely unnerved by the proximity of quite a large boat.

In fact, quite the reverse. These magnificent creatures seemed to enjoy playing and showing off in front of a crowd.

Not to be outdone, this fellow’s mate went one better

and nearly ended up in the boat!

What a magnificent sight to see such mammals in completely natural surroundings. Fabulous.

Time to move on, though, so we continued to what is, apparently, the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’ on Piercy Island or, to give it it’s Maori name (as it’s owned by the Maoris and has some cultural and religious significance for them), Moto Kokako

where our skipper had to prove her seamanship skills and take us right through it.

Legend has it that if a drop of water falls on you when you are on your way through, you will have enormous good luck. Sadly, I remained dry!

On our way back to Paihia, I stopped off at the delightful ‘town’ of Russell on the other side of the bay. I use the term ‘town’ loosely as the last census showed the population to be less than 900! So it is surprising to learn that this place was, very briefly, the capital of New Zealand based largely on the fact that it was the first European settlement in the country.

It’s a sweet little place that has been at pains to maintain its historical links and cultural identity and thus appears to be a kind of living museum.