Day 18 & 19 ~ Bay of Islands
8th & 9th December 2020 ~ Joppy’s birthday present is a boat trip
Days off. Aaah the serenity.
We’re celebrating Joppy’s hotel quarantine birthday today with a boat trip. One of those carrots we’ve been dangling to motivate the kids while we walk. We’ve talked about it almost everyday and finally, here it is.
We meet Mum’s old mate Julia for a quick cuddle down at the dock, then board the essential ‘Hole in the Rock’ Tour. Out to Cape Brett and back via Otehei Bay for a swim. It's the first touristy thing we’ve done and it feels weird to be lumped in with everyone else. But it’s great. We lap up the luxury - seats and toilets and a cafe with cold drinks. Livin’ the dreeeeam!
We even happened upon a pod of False Killer Whales (Pseudorca) and Bottle Nose Dolphins that only come into the bay a few times a year. Absolute magic. It’s handy having your olds out there in the universe somewhere, feels like they have your back and when good things line up, it feels like they're there, little smile and a wink.
Thanks to @scottysinton for hooking us up, I shared a few frames with @whale_researcher Jochen. He let me know that he’s been studying these animals for 20 years and this particular pod featured in Blue Planet 2. So good.
We do perfect things like swim in warm, clear water and hop off in Russell for a bought lunch, even a beer. Proper tourists for a day.
The next day we skipped walking a whole chunk of the road thanks to our favourite legends, Aunty Lynette and Uncle Robert, Chahlia rounding out the gang. A delightful little minivan roam around tight and dusty corners with epic views and a Ukulele singalong soundtrack.
Usually, you’d walk through the Russell Forest, but it's another one closed due to Kauri Dieback.
We call in to meet Sue, a trail legend of sorts and finish up back at Dave and Alex’s little joint with a whole tribe of hardy hikers and scramble into tents and the back of the van to try sleep with a night full of rain.
Bay of Islands baby.
