It was the first place the European explorers visited in New Zealand and where the treaty between them and the native population happened*.
On Friday we went for a 18km walk from Paihia to Russell (another town of modern day NZ firsts, inc. the first pub). The walk included beaches, forest and walkways over swamps and mangroves. Check it out on strava if ya interested.
On Saturday, I went on a boat cruise around the Bay. One thing worth mentioning is that the price of tours etc. in NZ has gone up a lot post covid, in some cases doubling in price, so it's looking like it's going to be an expensive few weeks! Anyway, back to the cruise. It took us around to look at lots of the islands- most are privately owned with Selling Sunset-esk houses on them, but in addition to that they have lots of historical significance e.g. first Christian church in NZ. There was lots of wildlife too, but sadly no Dolphins, Whales or Penguins as is often the case in the bay. The tour stopped off on the island Urupukapuka so I went for a walk with a couple of people from my hostel dorm and found an empty secluded beach to relax/swim in. The beach also came with lots of sheep!
When I got back me and Kate had fish and chips and watched the women's rugby quarter final- NZ vs France in a bar (with lots of French people from our hostel).
After a short walk on Sunday to a lookout point, we headed back down to Auckland. I grabbed a pizza with my Aucklander** pal Peter who I met working in Italy in 2016! It's so awesome to be able to catch up with mates in the southern hemisphere 😁.
*I don't know too much about what went on, so apologies if my phrasing is inaccurate
**I think I just made that word up
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