Bay of Islands

Last week I shared with you how it has been snowing here in Wellington, and we've been freezing...well, Ryan and I decided it was high time we got out of here and headed north (aka, where it is warmer!). That, and we were attending a marriage conference up in Auckland, so we added a few days of holiday and decided to explore the far north of the north island. Our trip looked a little like this:
We flew to Auckland, and started our drive north. After getting a little lost in the city...we managed to find the highway and got moving. Our first big stop was in Waitangi, near the Bay of Islands. This is where the Waitangi treaty was signed between the Maori people and the British. We thought it might be free to get in, but unfortunately no...so we settled for a pic with a statue.

Moving along, we found Haruru falls, complete with a rainbow!

Also, while in the Bay of Islands, we decided to take the ferry over to Russell from Pahia. Russell is one of the oldest settled towns, and officially the first capital of New Zealand.

The area is absolutely beautiful. There are thousands of little islands all around, with lots and lots of boats. Russell is a really cute little vacation town, with a lot of history. We scouted the area for dolphins, but no luck.

We actually stopped at the oldest church in New Zealand! Isn't that amazing? Missionaries came almost 200 years ago, and here we are trying to share the same message. Kind of crazy.


Anyway, we stopped for some ice cream, fought off seagulls, and then headed back on our way! Mahinepua here we come!