Bay of Islands - Jet Boat and Hole in the Rock, Grand Cathedral Cave & Russell Island

Well the day just gets better and better. We left Waitangi Treaty Grounds and headed over to Paihia to catch our 'Mac Attack' Jet Boat out to the Hole in the Rock. Dan has had this overwhelming desire to get on one of these high speed boats so finally he gets the opportunity to get it out of his system. So life jackets on and off we go.

Note... really advisable to wear a pair of sunnies as the wind really gets in your eyes when at full speed.

Now we were told we might come across some dolphins, and there I was expecting them to be wee specks in the distance, zoom lens on waiting and ready. How wrong was I? Yes we did get to see dolphins but they came right up to the boat, at which point the boat slowed down and we were told we could get up and walk around the boat.

All I can say is "wow", what a truly magical moment! I've never seen dolphins out in the wild and they were so beautiful gliding along side the boat. It even brought a tear or two to my eyes... looked across at Dan who gave me 'the look'... here go the hormones again... tut! Cruising right along side the boat some of the dolphins even rolled on their sides to have a look at all their spectators, and the boys got a squirt of salty snotty sea water when they passed by and blew through their blow holes... "their way of saying hello" I told the youngest so he was chuffed to bits. Have to say this was to go down as one (of the huge list) of New Zealand memories we will all take back with us.

The boat then made its way though the Hole in the Rock which I have to say was pretty impressive and then cruised on past various islands and hotspots showcasing the best of the Bay of Islands, finally dropping us off on Russell Island.

Russell is a quiet uncommercial little island with quite a sleepy laid back feel to it. It was fairly late in the afternoon by the time we got there so had time to have a quick wander round some of the art shops on the island, a visit to Christ Church (NZ's oldest church which still had old musket holes on it's external wooden cladding), sneaky drink at the Duke of Marlborough (looks like a really good place to stop and eat) and a wander along the beach to catch the sunset, before catching the ferry back to Pihia.

A truly memorable day!