Queen Elizabeth Voyage: February 22, 2017, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

February 22, 2017, Wednesday, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

This entry may be a bit cryptic. My first effort got lost in the great void that is my hard drive.

We are anchored in the Bay of Islands, one of the places that the great Captain Cook visited during his South Seas explorations. We booked a small high speed catamaran
tour of some of the islands in the bay. The catamaran picked us up right at the ship. Our first stop was to Motuarohia Island (Cook’s Island). This was the spot where Captain Cook first set foot in this part of the world. There is even a plaque installed on the spot. We then passed by a number of very expensive summer homes on a number of private islands.

The highlight of this trip was a visit to the Hole in the Rock feature at the tip of Cape Brett Peninsula. There is a natural hole where the sea surges through the island. On a calm day, our catamaran could sail through this opening. However, there were no calm seas, and we did not sail through this opening. Still very dramatic and a thrill to get as close as we did.
At the end of Cape Brett, there are a lighthouse and one lighthouse keeper’s house. There used to be five houses at the location, with five families and at one time, there were 22 children living on the site. The light has since been automated leaving the site unmanned.

Our catamaran took us past some very nice beaches with a lot of day picnics in progress. A lot of sailboats were in the area. It all looked like a lot of fun. Rather than taking us back to the ship, the catamaran took us to the Yacht Club pier near the Waitangi meeting site. Waitangi was the place where the British signed a treaty with the local Maori tribes which created the modern country of New Zealand. The Yacht Club ladies sell sandwiches and such to the visiting tourists while the gentlemen keep the bar open. All profits go to keeping the Yacht Club facilities in good repair. We saw several notable improvements since our last visit four years ago.

From the Yacht Club, there was a shuttle bus to the small town of Paihia. There were two cruise ships anchored in the bay, our ship and “The World,” which is like a condo at sea. The passengers purchase their cabins. With so many people in town, the central square was filled with vendors selling a little bit of everything. Even the local N.Z. VFW was filled with vendors. Sandra also found a Post Office, and sent off several post cards. After several hours of wandering around, we took the bus back to the Yacht Club, boarded our ship’s tender and went back to the ship.

The evening shows a tribute group sings the songs of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. It was a great way to finish a great day.