Day 33: Bay of Islands, New Zealand

What a long day!

We landed at 4am in Auckland New Zealand and got our rental car at 5am (we are now 16 hours ahead of NY time). We had a 3 hour drive ahead of us to our first destination north of Auckland in the Bay of Islands. We started out in the dark and the sun rose as we drove along. We stopped at some scenic overlooks, beaches, and a waterfall along our way north. Including a stop for breakfast it took us about 8 hours to make it to our motel.


(Waterfalls at Whangarei; WH is pronounced as F)



(Random beach along the way; Richard at the bottom of the path)

I have to admit that New Zealand is a beautiful country. The coast and the rolling countryside is picturesque. I've heard from most people that South Island is more beautiful than the North Island (unfortunately we only have time for North Island). If that's true then South Island has to be something special since North Island is amazing itself.

Here is the view from our room.



After checking in we went for some food and toured the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. This historic site is where the Maori Chiefs and British forces signed a treaty back in 1840, a pivotal moment in New Zealand history. Even though we had a overcast day with sporadic rain we still walked around the grounds and enjoyed the stunning sea views from the Treaty Grounds facing the Bay of Islands.






(Maori war canoe)

(Maori ceremony hall)

For those thirsty for more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_islands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitangi,_Northland

I'm glad to have left the packs of roaming wild dogs back in South America. We did see a rabbit, some birds, and there are cats at the motel. We are keeping an eye out for the endangered Kiwi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwi

And lastly, this is our trusty rental car (Suzuki Swift). I'm breaking all kinds of land speed records with this baby!



FJ