Australia & New Zealand

Australia & New Zealand
Part I - Australia, Part II - New Zealand

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

26.Oct.2016 Bay of Islands

Today was a fun day in the local area. We were awoken by a friendly call from mommy. Yet another wonderful breakfast at our B'n'B (The Decks of Paihia). Next thing you know, we jumped in the car, went down the hill, and caught the passenger ferry over to Russell. The Bay of Islands really is beautiful.
Victoria was not supportive of the "sitting on a shark" option










Russell is an interesting little town - we took a one-hour tour that was absolutely fascinating. Most are perfunctory and worth it primarily for the views, this was worth it for the narration alone. Russell used to be a nasty whaling town called Kororareka, known as the "Hell Hole of the Pacific" (now a bagel shop is called the Hell Hole). So they rebranded as Russell and it's an upscale little town with loads of million dollar houses and a resort that costs $17,000/ night. By nasty, I mean that in addition to the fine tavern, brothel, and brawling amenities that a sailor might reasonably expect to find on shore leave in various ports in the 1800s, there was still a little mild cannibalism going on. Apparently Charles Darwin was afraid he would become part of the food chain when he visited on the HMS Beagle. We very much enjoyed our tour and were pleased to see that "Human" was not on the menu for lunch.

This seems like a good time to point out that - yet again - as a child under 5, Victoria was free for everything (except food). Free on the ferry to Russell and free on the tour bus in Russell. Sound familiar? It should. She was free on the tour bus of Auckland, free in the harbour cruise of Auckland, free on 2-hour Hobbiton tour, free in the Haka performance & dinner, free on the boat ride/ sheep shearing in Queenstown, free at the Antarctic Experience in Christchurch, free at the Valleys of the Moon in Lake Taupo, and probably some other things I am missing. Being a tourist in New Zealand with a child of Victoria's age is fantastic.

After the ferry back to Paihia, we wrapped up the pre-nap afternoon with a little playground action, which was boring as the local kids were all in school.











On the sundial








Pitt Street, but not exactly Pittsburgh on the Pacific









As she napped, I got a bit of a sunburn sitting by the pool and typing things to this point.

Sunshine on the Decks of Paihia

She awoke, ready to enjoy the pool and get on with the day. We hit the pool, then a different playground near the one we saw above. The school next to the playground has looks sort of like a Maori meeting house (I haven't seen "Whale Rider" for at least a decade, but it looks the part. Attached to it was a little artistic rendering, like a mini Parc Guell (Gaudi in Barcelona). If you blow up the picture below you can see it even has a title ("the Corner of Dreams") in Maori, English, and Spanish. Maybe I have not visited enough remote elementary schools in the South Pacific, but it was certainly unexpected.






Lastly, we got dinner at a restaurant located on the pier, over the water, with an aquarium. Yet again, we went quiet and low key - all good.  Funny thing is that every restaurant costs the same no matter if it is a loud ribs joint or a nicer one with great views.



Tomorrow is our last full day. We'll say goodbye to the good folks running the Decks of Paihia - Phil and Wendy - and return to Auckland.

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