Bay of Islands (Paihia)

The ship sailed overnight to the Bay of Islands, a well known outdoor recreation area about 250 km north of Auckland. There  are lots of things to see and do. Eve and I chose a walk through a protected nature reserve. 

A 6 km long forest trail borders the bay from the tender dock near Paihia to Haruru Falls.

Tree ferns provide a thick canopy of shade along the way. This plant is a wonder. The “trunk” evolves, as the plant grows, from the fusing together of the individual stems of the fronds.

Strong measures to protect the rare kiwi birds are in place. We saw numerous stoat traps along the way. No dogs are allowed in the preserve. We saw no kiwis nor stoats. Kiwis are nocturnal. The traps are apparently effective. 

A wooden boardwalk led us across a mangrove swamp. These mangroves have “breathing roots”, special adaptations for living in salt water marshes. 

The tide was out on our first crossing of the marsh. The roots were exposed in the mud. Later in the day, on our return, the tide had risen, submerging the tree roots. Fish were swimming about. 

We approached the falls in the company of a Maori canoe paddled by some of our shipmates. Their strenuous excursion was made less so by the singing of boisterous Maori sea shanties. 

After a pause, we headed back. The only alternative to our trail was the road. We chose the trail. 

Despite early misgivings about repeating ourselves, we quickly determined that we were seeing the forest from an entirely different perspective. 

Tomorrow is a welcome sea day. After four days of tour, we look forward to putting our feet up.