Bay of Islands

After the city lights of Auckland we headed up for a few days in the Bay of Islands (BoI), at the top of north island to undertake some more 'beach time' and spend some time around the islands.

Favourite activity No. 1 - Swimming with dolphins

Ok so I know its cliched but we all want to do it, right? When we saw this trip advertised it was a no brainer. A morning on the water watching and swimming with wild bottlenose dolphins in their natural habitat.

Very excited we headed off on the boat at 8am with our fingers crossed that we would find a pod. Luckily enough we came across one group straight away. We weren't allowed to swim with these dolphins though as they had two babies with them and were feeding. We followed them for about half an hour and as they finished off their breakfast they became more interested in us and started speeding and cris-crossing alongside the boat which was fantastic. Mike and I were on the front deck so got to some amazing views of the adult and baby dolphins as they swam below.

We left this pod in search of another group without babies that we could swim with. We found some shortly after but unfortunately they didn't seem to interested in us and kept swiming away from the boat. We persevered and eventually they seemed in a better mood for us getting into the water. We had three 'drops' (time in the water). It was hard work trying to keep up with the dolphins but I was rewarded on the second 'drop' as two of them swam underneath me, face upwards looking at me. An amazing experience. Unfortunately Mike had missed this 'drop' - which means we get to do it again another time so he can experience it too - yeah!

Favourite activity No.2 - Crewing an 80ft racing yacht around the bay

After our morning encounter with the dolphins we transferred onto the Lion New Zealand, an 80ft racing yacht previously sailed by Sir Peter Blake who came second place in the Whitbread Around the World race in it.

We boarded at lunchtime when the boat was moored in one of the bay's islands and had an hour to snorkel, swim and explore the island before heading back onto the boat for a cold platter lunch.

The afternoon was spent working alongside the crew as we picked up speed and hoisted the sails. Much grinding, tacking and even steering (Mike was skipper for 10 minutes) was undertaken. It was great fun as well as a workout.

Favourite activity No.3 - Day trip to Russell

On the recommendation of my mum and dad and aunt Jan, we took a day trip from Pahia where we were staying across to Russell for the day.

Russell was for a very short time the capital of New Zealand and one of the first European settlements, with the first church and licensed hotel in the country. We arrived mid morning and had a mooch around the town and historic sites before heading over to Long Beach to have a swim and a sunbathe.