Day 2 - The Towns of Russell and Paihia

Russell is the first western settlement in New Zealand, originally called Kororareka. It is rooted deep in the history of the country and has seen some difficult times, but you would never know it by looking at Russell today. It is a lovely small town on the clear blue waters of the Bay of Islands.

Walking around the town we visited Christ Church, the oldest church in New Zealand. The grounds around the church are filled with flowers and the interior is beautiful. There are still musket ball holes in the side of the church (near the front door) from past battles between the Europeans and the Maori tribes before the treaty between the two was signed. Make sure to see the hand cross-stitched pew cushions when inside. Each one tells a family story. The Russell Historic Museum, on the south side of town, is a good place to start your tour and you can easily spend a couple hours there.

We had lunch on the wharf before taking the passenger ferry over to the town of Paihia. The passenger ferry costs NZ$ 6.00 for a round-trip and the ferry leaves frequently.  The info center in Paihia is right off the ferry dock. We found some postcards and purchased internet access for NZ$ 2.50/15 min. There is great aquarium just up from the ferry dock. It displays all local species and the curators are very friendly and knowledgeable. Paihia is larger and more touristy than Russell. We did some souvenir shopping here and also reserved a King's boat tour of the Bay of Islands for the next day.

We returned to Russell, across the bay, grabbed a quick snack and headed back to the B&B. The trailhead for the top of Tapeka Point is right on Du Fresne Place at the bottom of the B&B's driveway. This used to be a Maori Pa, or fort, and it is easy to see why. The hike is short, but steep and the place could be easily defended. We took in the awesome view as the sun sunk down low.