Massive update, part II (up North)

Part I-Part III

Taking advantage of a free bus trip to Paihia, we headed to the Bay of Islands for a weekend. The area is a common tourist destination, and there is no shortage of ways to spend your money in exchange for a new experience or different scenery. On the bus ride up, we were given the opportunity to sign up for a few. We settled on an afternoon sea kayak trip (with a free bike rental thrown in) and swimming with the dolphins the next morning, followed by taking advantage of the free bikes.
We arrived in Piahia at about noon Saturday and would be leaving at 4 p.m. Sunday. Those two partial days were the source of most of the memorable moments of our time in New Zealand so far.
The sea kayak excursion was enjoyable - we were in a group of about 10 people on the guided tour, which paddled around several of the volcanic islands: small, steep chunks of rock covered in trees. On the trip were an American girl and English guy that joined us later in the hostel bar to watch the All Blacks play Australia for the Tri-Nations title.
The hostel bar was packed. There were a few backpackers (us) but the majority of the crowd seemed to be locals, or at least Kiwis working in Piahia's tourist industry. The crowd wasn't as loud as I'd expected. They were all watching the game, but watching intently, rather than yelling at the action in the manner of most sporting crowds I've been a part of.
I, having no knowledge at all about the rugby, picked up some knowledge of the game while watching it, and more afterward when I asked questions to try and piece together why things happened the way they did. (There's apparently no blocking in rugby, although you can do just about anything to someone with the ball).
The 7 a.m. wakeup call for the dolphins came way too early, and there was still far too much chill in the air, but we headed out to the boat just the same. It was a brand-new experience for me, both the actual swimming and doing it so close to these large, fast and powerful animals. After some time in the water, the boat took us to an island with a small cafe and hot showers, along with a number of odd-looking birds.

In the afternoon we rode the bikes a few kilometers up the road from Piahia, to the grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed. The treaty was between the European colonizers and the native Maori, and has been a source of contention since.


The grounds were beautiful, however. There was a large Maori canoe on display, carved to the celebration of (I think) the 100th anniversary of the treaty. The colonial governor's house and its lawn (above), where the treaty was actually signed, have been restored and now serve as a museum about the treaty and the history of the area.
All weekend, the weather was beautiful. Sunny, warm, a faint breeze, blue sky, blue water. The weather help up most of our early time in New Zealand - at least until I tried to go skiing.

Part I-Part III