5 Reasons to Visit Bay Of Islands New Zealand

There are plenty of activities – both adrenaline-filled and calm – in New Zealand’s Bay of Islands – “an area rich in history and culture” with beautiful surroundings. Carley Olley writes about her favourites in an article in The Weekly Review.

One of the highlights of New Zealand’s “winterless north” is “Cape Reinga, at the tip of the North Island where you can see the “Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide in a clash of currents and two-tone seawater.” Maori believe that this is where souls return after death to begin their long journey home to Hawaiki, the Maori land of origin. Don’t forget to stop at Ninety Mile Beach and New Zealand’s highest sand dunes on your way there.

The Bay of Islands is an area rich in culture. Visit NZ’s first capital Russell and Waitangi where New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.

There’s plenty of opportunities to head out onto the water. Go sailing, fishing, diving or take a day trip from Paihia to take in some of the 144 islands and spot some dolphins, whales or orca.

“It’s very easy to eat well almost anywhere in NZ, but the far north is a veritable dinner plate for seafood lovers,” writes Olley.

Olley also recommends visiting Rawene, an hour away from Paihia to “take in the pastel-coloured weatherboard buildings perched on stilts above Hokianga Harbour”.

“Further south, deep in the Waipoua Forest, is Tane Mahuta (the king of the forest, above), a kauri tree that is 50 metres tall and thought to be 2000 years old,” she writes.

Article Source: The Weekly Review, Carley Olley, May 23, 2017
Image Source: Wikipedia