Dec 21 to Dec 23 - The Bay of Islands, Vol. 3

Our tour boat

Overcast skies and heavy swells on the seas greeted us for our 9 am boat tour of the Bay of Islands. The four hour boat trip included close drive-bys of the various islands, viewing a very large pod of dolphins (NZ has very strict rules about viewing dolphins, whales, etc), and a trip to and through Hole in the Rock. What a thrill.

We returned to the Russell dock and shared a tarakihi fish and chips at the Duke then drove back to Auckland.  The sun came back out south of Whangarei so it was a pleasant trip.  We stopped at the grocery store and then started back to the condo.  Di let her guard down and the brain went back to trying to drive on the right - she did the screaming then, but corrected her mistake without causing any issues.  Thank heaven there weren't many people out and about at the time.   Took awhile for her nerves to calm.

Dinner was steaks (scotch fillets as they are called here) on the grill with fabulous NZ blue cheese and a salad. All in all it was an excellent trip to the north.