Bay-of-Islands

14th November 2009 A beautiful morning for a walk! Although we haven’t rushed things as we’ve travelled, sometimes it’s nice to abandon the car and have a relaxing day exploring by foot. We booked in at Hahei for 3 nights to give ourselves some time to explore the beautiful Cormorandel Region and today we discovered just how idyllic it is here. We started at Hahei Beach and followed the winding path up and down around to the lookout at the top of the hill. From here there are stunning views of all the volcanic islands out in the bay, a truly wonderful sight and not as commercial as the Bay of Islands. ...

2nd November 2009 Apparently the best way to see and experience the Bay of Islands is from the water, so this morning we were up early to catch a 50 foot catamaran from Paihia for a days sailing and dolphin spotting. The weather this morning was quite chilly and overcast when we reached Paihia, so we were wrapped up warmly for the first part of our sail. ...