After a night's stay with cousins Justin and Jenny in Auckland we headed up north to The Bay of Islands.
We stayed in Russell (the old capital of NZ), which was one of the first European settlements and back then known as "the hell hole of NZ". Nowadays its a quiet sailing town where all the inhabitants knew each other and the only bars were the local fishing, yacht or sailing clubs.
Our campsite owner knew just the best way to experience the area and after a quick phone call we were booked onto The Phantom - 50ft yacht with Rick and Robin for a full day sailing.
Whilst waiting for the wind to pick up, we motored out the bay spotting a swarm of gannets diving most spectacularly into the sea, a pod of dolphins leaping out of the water and blue penguins basking in the sun.
With the sails up we picked up the pace quickly and headed round to Robertson Island where we swam ashore and enjoyed some beach time.
After a lovely homemade lunch of bread, cheese, chutney, quiche and coconut biscuits we headed back to the mainland with the wind filling the sails and the boat gliding through the water at speed (known for being the fastest boat in the bay!)
It was a lovely way to spend our penultimate day on our road trip (aka not in the car!)
We stayed in Russell (the old capital of NZ), which was one of the first European settlements and back then known as "the hell hole of NZ". Nowadays its a quiet sailing town where all the inhabitants knew each other and the only bars were the local fishing, yacht or sailing clubs.
Our campsite owner knew just the best way to experience the area and after a quick phone call we were booked onto The Phantom - 50ft yacht with Rick and Robin for a full day sailing.
Chris heading up The Phantom (Xth Dec 2013)
Whilst waiting for the wind to pick up, we motored out the bay spotting a swarm of gannets diving most spectacularly into the sea, a pod of dolphins leaping out of the water and blue penguins basking in the sun.
Dolphins following the boat (XXth Dec 2013)
With the sails up we picked up the pace quickly and headed round to Robertson Island where we swam ashore and enjoyed some beach time.
The view from the top of Robertson Island
After a lovely homemade lunch of bread, cheese, chutney, quiche and coconut biscuits we headed back to the mainland with the wind filling the sails and the boat gliding through the water at speed (known for being the fastest boat in the bay!)
Home-made lunch by Captain Robin (Xth Dec 2013)
It was a lovely way to spend our penultimate day on our road trip (aka not in the car!)
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