Bay of Islands (Paihia)

Bay of Islands is so tropical! The view out of our room is filled with ocean and palm trees. This morning Brian was fending off hungry ducks and other birds--kind of reminiscent of our dog friends when we were in France in 2001.

Today we went into Pahia after disappointing room service breakfast (I think my decaf was instant)--albeit fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. We took a ferry to Russell--a 15-minute trip--and explored the formerly wild whaling stop. It used to be full of drunken debauchery. We had fish and chips at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel, strolled around, and visited an old church (oldest in NZ?) and cemetery.

We took a ferry back to Pahia for more exploration--it's really touristy--then went to the Treaty Grounds adjacent to our hotel. The treaty grounds were beautiful and extremely tropical. We went through the old treaty house and read more about NZ history. We decided to book tickets for an interactive theater experience later that nights so we could learn even more about Maori history in NZ. It was held in the Meeting House on the grounds--sort of a South Pacific log cabin!