Bay of Islands

After picking up our hire car we headed north towards the Bay of Islands. It was great to have the freedom of the open road and go literally wherever we liked. We planned to make a few stops along the way. Our first stop was Mangawhai Heads; a beautiful beach where we had a picnic on the rocks.

Along the way we stopped at many beaches and headlands to take pictures and marvel at the scenery but the next notable stop off was at Whangarei where we did a short walk to the waterfalls which were very nice but hard to take seriously after Iguassu!

Our evening was spent at a nice campsite in Paihia where we had booked a trip to swim with dolphins in the bay for the next day.

The trip was fantastic! Although we didn't get the opportunity to swim with the dolphins, we were lucky enough to see three pods together culminating in over fifty dolphins. It was great to watch as the dolphins followed the boat and played along as we made arm gestures and put our noses over the edge.

As well as the dolphins, the scenery was amazing; crystal clear waters, golden deserted sands, and lush green islands - truly a remarkable place!