Day 66 – Across the bay

Bit off a rough nights sleep as someone came into our dorm fairly late and decided to crash out on the top of my bunk instead of one of the free ones. I nearly got up to throw his phone in the toilet to stop him from texting but thankfully sleep got the better of me.

We checkout of the hostel fairly early and headed over to Russell on the ferry, a very pleasant journey across the bay. Pandering to my groaning stomach we found a convenience store and a bakery. The lady inside served me one of the best beef pies I’ve ever tasted, so good in fact I made sure to get another later in the day. We got chatting to her about our travels and she offered us some advice on what to see in Russell.

Following the baking ladies advice we headed round the corner to see the oldest church in New Zealand. I don’t usually like churches but the outside of this one was particularly quaint. Inside you could see bullet holes from past skirmishes.

Leaving town we headed up a steep hill to see the Flagstaff; the place where the British first flew the Union Jack. What stands now is the last in a long line of staffs that were destroyed by the Maoris. The vantage point provided a stunning 360 of the bay of Islands. From Paihia you can’t really see the extent of the bay so its well worth getting over to Russell to see beyond the headland. Until this point I don’t think I’d really grasped how beautiful this area is and I started to feel the disappointment of having to leave.

Heading down the hill we meandered down the road to Tapeka Point in search of a path back round the headland. I instantly fell in love with Tapeka Point; the sea crashing against rugged rocks set against stunning homes made me wish I could call this place home. We explored the rocky bay for a while, taking in the sculpted and often tunnelled rock formations.

Getting weary of time we turned back and tried to find a path back round the peninsular. We thought we found one after skirting round a small headland but it soon became apparent that it didn’t exist. Being short on time walking back up the hill, the sensible option, was passed over for what turned out to be another Rob and Tom walkabout. The tide seemed favourable so we opted to try and skirt round the headland via the beaches. We lucked out and bar a few climbing sections we walked stunning untouched beaches, waving to the moored boats as we went.

We took the slow ferry back to Paihia as it gave us time to sit back and enjoy the view whilst munching on supplies from another visit to the bakery. The lady there was pleased to see us again and laughed at our little adventure.

We relaxed in town before getting the bus back to Auckland. Having touched the islands I hope one day to come back and embrace them with the time they deserve.

On the bus back I found myself gazing out at the green rolling hills and felt close to home. It was only the odd alien structure or scene that made reality of the half a world of distance.

Arriving in the city we used our return ticket to get the bus back to the airport. From there we were picked up by Scott, from the Skyway lodge. The hostel was superb and it felt like we were being invited into his home. I’m really warming to the people of New Zealand.

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