The Bay of Islands is a popular vacation spot in the Northland. As its name suggests, it is a large bay about ten miles wide with 144 sub-tropical islands, numerous peninsulas and inlets. Sailing, fishing and all sorts of water sports are popular there. We stayed near the town of Paihia in a campground right on the bay for 2 nights. Our spot was so close that the water was just three steps away from our front door.
We walked about 45 minutes along a pretty coastal trail to Paihia on our first morning there. The trail gave some nice views and was shaded most of the time. As we got closer to town, we had the option of walking along the rocky shore as the tide was out, instead of hiking up around a hill. The shoreline was full of oysters and we even spotted a small starfish in a little pool. Once in town, we boarded a small passenger ferry that brought us across the bay to the historic little resort town of Russell.
Russell was the first capital of New Zealand and one of the first European settlements. It used to be a pretty lawless town and earned the nickname hell-hole. But nowadays, this picturesque little town is very quaint, tranquil and full of old-time charm.
The ferry dropped us off on a small wooden wharf that entered the center of the town. On either side was a tree-lined pebble beach with historic houses behind. It was only a block or less in either direction.
It was after noon when we arrived, so we immediately headed to The Gables restaurant for lunch, which was a few buildings to our right along the beach. This restaurant came recommended to us and happened to be the oldest restaurant in New Zealand! It was opened in 1847, and the original foundation was built using whale bones as Russell was a big whaling town. It wasn’t busy and we got a table right in the open front window overlooking the beach. We had a wonderful leisurely lunch with a seafood appetizer, freshly caught red snapper (little did we know then that we would meet this fish again – future blog hint), salad and one of the best chocolate desserts we have ever had. And of course, we enjoyed some local New Zealand wine while soaking in the incredible views of the waterfront, we couldn’t stop taking pictures! What a delightful time, it was hard to leave this amazing spot.
After lunch we explored the town a bit more, looking at the historic homes and gardens. We also walked to the back side of town (it is on a narrow isthmus) where there was a nice, long sandy beach for swimming and surfing. We found Russell incredibly charming, laid back and idyllic. It was one of those towns where you dream about living in one day.
We returned to Paihia via ferry, then hiked back to our campground. The tide was high when we got to our camper, and we were ready to jump in. The water was pleasant and we enjoyed our swim. The next day we would leave the Northland and drive south through Auckland making our way east to the Coromandel peninsula.
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