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<\/a><\/p>\nThat’s a keeper!\u00a0 I went into the restroom and changed into the t-shirt on the spot.\u00a0 This is Guinness’ version of the NZ fern leaf.<\/p>\n
The back side.<\/p>\n Wow….my hair has really turned grey in the back!\u00a0 Getting fricking old!<\/p>\n We checked into our hotel and then drove to a little spot in Paihia called Haruru Falls.\u00a0 This falls is normally more dramatic, but NZ is in the middle of one of their worst droughts in 60 years.<\/p>\n We saw about 50 chickens in the parking lot.\u00a0 Here was a mamma with her chicks.<\/p>\n The little town of Russell is a 15 minute ferry ride from Paihia.\u00a0 This little town is so beautiful!\u00a0 There is a cool and fairly short hike that takes you up to Flagstaff Hill.<\/p>\n Flagstaff Hill has quite the storied history.\u00a0 The hill became the focus of British and Maori relations after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 at nearby Waitangi.\u00a0 To commemorate the treaty, the British built the flagstaff and started flying the Union Jack.<\/p>\n As is usually the case when it comes to the natives, the British immediately started breaking the treaty, which caused dissent among the Maori.\u00a0 This flagstaff became the focal point.\u00a0 Between 1844 and 1846, the flagstaff was repeatedly cut down by the Maori (I think it was 5 times, but I lost count), and repeatedly rebuilt by the British.\u00a0 At one point the Brits sheathed it in iron and housed a contingent of troops on the site, so the Maori created a diversion in town, and when the troops rushed towards the diversion, the Maori just dug around the flagstaff and pushed it over.\u00a0 It became a rotating version of “My Daddy can beat up your Daddy”.\u00a0 It was last put back up by the Maori themselves in 1958, in a gesture of being at one with the Queen.\u00a0 They only fly the NZ flag from it once a year, to commemorate the signing of the original treaty in February 1840.<\/p>\n The view of Russell harbor from the hill.<\/p>\n Here is Kim taking a little break on the beach in Russell.\u00a0 If we had it to do over again, we would have stayed in Russell versus Paihia.\u00a0 A much quieter town and it has this very historic colonial feel to it, with a lot of original buildings from when the British first arrived.<\/p>\n One of the “must do”s” while in the Bay of Islands is to take a boat ride out to the “Hole in the Rock”.\u00a0 The first stop on the ride is Motuarohia, a little island where Capt Cook anchored the HMS Endeavour in 1769.<\/p>\n The Hole in the Rock is a long haul, but our ferry was moving at least 40 knots to get there.<\/p>\n They claim to take the ferry through the hole on calm days, but from the looks of it I don’t see how.<\/p>\n On the way back towards the dock, the crew searches relentlessly for dolphins.\u00a0 We followed this pod for about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n We also fit in a bit of wine tasting in nearby Kerikeri.\u00a0 The wines from Marsden were really quite good, but we are leaving shortly so we only picked up one bottle, which was quickly consumed.<\/p>\n We went back over to Russell for dinner on our final night.\u00a0 It really is quite pleasant taking the water taxi to dinner.\u00a0 Quite cheap as well, at just $13 NZ round trip per person (about $8\/person USD).\u00a0 Way cheaper than BART, and nobody begging for money!\u00a0 Here is the view from the dock on arrival in Russell.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n