After overnighting in Auckland the drive north to the Bay of Islands in ever changing weather conditions was interesting! One minute it was pouring down and the next it was quite pleasant. We did manage to get a couple of lovely scenic photos in-between showers.
We stayed two nights in the Bay of Islands but unfortunately didn’t get a chance to head out and see the best of the scenery. Nevertheless it was a lovely stay and we enjoyed a drive up to Mount Bledisloe Lookout and a ferry trip over to Russell on the other side of the bay.
From our accommodation we had a pleasant view across the bay.
The views from Mount Bledisloe gave us a glimpse of the beautiful coastline.
The historical township of Russell, on the opposite side of the inlet, is one of the oldest settlements in NZ. Originally a whaling and major trading port it has many buildings pre-dating 1850.
Back down the coast in Whangarei the 26 metre high Whangarei Falls, on the Hatea River, cascade down and when we visited it was drizzling with rain but quite warm. The loop walk offered great views from either side of the waterfall and down at the lower level where mist cooled the area.
About 5 minutes away in the AH Reed Memorial Park 500-year-old Kauri forest trees are best seen from the canopy boardwalk through the forest. Here we also saw the Silver fern, a national symbol of NZ, and it was obviously a description for the underside of the leaves.
We are leaving here tomorrow and heading down to the south east of the North Island to the Coromandel Coast. Watching the weather we note that there is a cyclone coming toward the North Island which may arrive on Monday. Latest images from WeatherWatch.nz below show the current system and expected path of Cyclone Hola. We will let you know what happens.
…………..Current set up as of Friday AM…………………..Latest tracking show NZ in path….
Margaret River & Beyond 
Looks amazing.
If you are heading to Coromandel Town, before you get there on the right hand side is a mussell place.
You have got to try the chilli mussells…bloody amazing.
We are just back from Hawaii and had a ball.
cheers
Julie and Ron
Thanks for the tip….we will let you know how they are.
Shame about the weather but probably better than what Carley is getting in Broome. New Zealand is an amazing place so much to see. Kerry let me know if you have a spare day to catch up with a Lesley & Ian. They go to their beach house a lot on weekends which is in Bowentown but their main house is 10 min out of Cambridge. Let me know if you would like Lesley’s mob no. Keep having fun. 😘xx
Yes we will Jill. Hope to get to Cambridge, just waiting to see what the cyclone does. We would love to catch up with them. Be in touch.
Great photos. It is a beautiful country to go touring in. Plus the food and wine is fantastic and so are the people. If your next post is from the Cook Islands I will know you did not evade the storm.
Thankfully no problems with the cyclone….just some rain.
As always great photos. Bay of islands a spectacular part of the world. New Zealand is great all over. Ian and I hope to visit in 2019. It has been many years since I visited. Travel safely. Enjoy.
You will love it…so beautiful.
The tree Top Walk looks a lot like the one near you!
Yes it was good but not quite as high up as ours.