Bay of Islands, NZ

About an hour after my last post the weather started to show mild signs of improvements, so we took a chance and headed to Russell after all.  We first tried to go there by road (1H away from Paihia, our base) but do you think we could find the turning point?  Do you think that the most famous town in the area would be sign posted *anywhere*?  Even Janet's flair couldn't work that one out. She swears she's  never seen a country that so lacks vital signs to major attractions.  

So, in desperation and not to waste any more time since we only did have the ONE day in the Bay of Islands, we turned back and headed for the car ferry.  We got straight on it and it cost us NZ$10 one way for the driver and car and $1 per passenger. It only took about 5 mins so it was money well spent.  

Russell was quite quaint and as the weather was ranging from mild to heavy rain we just browsed a few shops and a beautiful art gallery called 'Just Imagine', way out of my price range, but nice to look at.  Photos not allowed though.  After a couple of hours, there seemed to be a silver lining in the clouds so Janet decided we should head up to Flagstaff car park, high up on a hill, and look down on the bay with its many islands.  

Again, the said car park was no where to be found on the road signs but Janet's flair saved the day. Her instinct guided her to the best spot and we took lots of photos from the top.  It did clear up a bit for about 30 mins so I felt we'd have a glimpse of how much more idyllic it looks in the sun.  It reminded me a little bit of the Caribbean's but not quite as striking.

We managed to make time for one last stroll up another hill to enjoy different view points and drive down some pretty shores and then we got the car ferry back.

The next morning was beautifully sunny and it was a bit gutting that we had to leave (our flight to Rotorura, via Auckland was at 10.40am).   We had to pass Hukuru Falls on the way to the (tiny) local airport so just parked the car, took a few shots and off we went.  The local airport is actually really convenient to save lots of time if you are on a tight schedule, as we are. Considering that it had taken us 3 hours longer than expected to drive from Auckland to the Bay of Islands, going all the way down to Rotorura would have probably taken us 11 hours and not the 7 predicted by the AA guides.  We switched to a tiny plane (10 seater) to go to Rotorura and it was very drizzly when we landed - oh, despair.