Day 16 - Bay of Islands, New Zealand
We had a leisurely room service breakfast and then went to the Cellar Masters to pick up a tender ticket. So many people still waiting to leave the ship. We sat and waited for our number to be called.
We took the tender into Waitangi and
then the bus to Piahia. We have been here before, so knew our way
around. Bay of Islands is made up of 144
islands, some of which are just rocky outcrops, to large inhabited
islands.We have visited the Waitangi Treaty House, where the treaty
was signed by the British representative and a Maori Chief, in
February 1840, for the British to take a role in policing the
Europeans. Peter hadn't been to Russell, but I had walked around
Russell years before with my Mum. So we decided to spend the day at
Russell. At Piahia we got $12NZ return ferry tickets to Russell.
Russell was the first capital of New
Zealand, and was originally located some miles away from the present
location closer to Okiato. Where Russell is today was originally
named Kororaeka and was a bawdy sea faring town, known as the hell
hole of the Pacific (another one). Few would go to the new town of
Russell, so the government moved to Kororaeka and renamed it Russell.
The street names date back to 1843.
We walked down The Strand, past old
buildings towards Pompallier House. One of the old buildings, The
Gables, was built in 1847 and is listed with the Historic Trust. It
has been a house of ill repute, a bakery, a shop, a boys home, and a
hiding place for deserters from ships.
Today it is a restaurant.
Today it is a restaurant.
Pompallier House, the oldest European
house in New Zealand, was built in 1841 and was originally a Roman
Catholic Mission and printery.
We stopped at the old town hall at a
craft market, and Russell Museum before walking up to the oldest
Church in New Zealand, Christ Church, an Anglican Church built in
1835. One can still see musket ball holes in the side of the church,
from the Battle of Kororareka in 1845.
Inside the church, the pews all had cushions that were embroidered or cross-stitched - beautiful.
We walked down York St looking at the shops.
Then along the
other end of The Strand to the original Customs House, that later
became a Police Station for the New South Wales Police and is now the
police residence. The old Customs House was built in 1870 in the
Gothic style. The Moreton Bay Fig was planted later in the 1870's.
Ferry back to Piahia, where we had a
walk through the markets, where Peter spent a lot of time talking to the vendors LOL, and then we went to the Library for the free
wifi – didn't work.
So walked around a little and then went back to
the ship.
The show in the evening was The Boy
Bands, and were from Australia and very good.
Days 17 & 18 were at sea and very, very
rough. Some of the waves even reached up to us on deck 10. I spent a
lot of time in the Baccia Cafe on Deck 5 as it wasn't moving so much.
Peter is feeling better, and I'm on the mend also.
Day 19 We arrived in Sydney and spent a
few days at Bondi with my sister and her family.
This is the view from our cabin at 6.45am.
This is the view from our cabin at 6.45am.
No comments:
Post a Comment