Paihia and the Bay of Islands

A day sailing in the Bay of Islands

A day sailing in the Bay of Islands – Dolphins, blue penguins and the island where Captain Cook first set foot.

After a long drive along the North Island’s west coast I finally arrived in Paihia, a quaint little town on the Bay of Islands right next to Waitangi the place where the British and the Maori signed the Treaty of Waitangi on 5 February 1840 establishing a British governor for the islands of New Zealand and recognising Maori ownership of their lands. As happened most of the time in those days, the English and Maori versions were quite different in their meaning so no one really agreed on what was signed!!!!

Paihia is one of the gateways to the Bay of Islands, a playground for many Kiwis with many water and thrill seeking sports on offer. There is a lot of history in the region as well to be discovered helped by the incredible I-Site tourist centres available throughout New Zealand. I’ll speak more about them later.

I needed to get out into fresh air after a long drive, so decided to go on a dolphin cruise throughout the bay, with a slight chance of swimming with them…..

I decided to go with Carino a family run business that looked a lot less commercial than the other operators. Vanessa, and her Dad Bruce, provided us with a fantastic day out at sea. Her enthusiasm and caring about dolphins really carried through all of her words, and her excitement at finding them was amazing, especially after having been her for more than 19 years!

It was a great day, with a great bunch of people, the weather going from gray and miserable to sunny and beautiful! And yes we did see the dolphins (it’s nearly guaranteed) and Vanessa’s favourite, the blue penguin! (Not easy to spot, on the photo or in real life!)