Land ahoy!

/ thebloggingbritblog

After 3 1/2 days at sea, our ship has finally arrived in New Zealand where our first port of call is the Bay of Islands on the North Island.

The Bay is home to 144 islands, ranging from rocky outcrops to large inhabited islands with private farms. A couple of the islands are privately owned.

The Bay of Islands was given its name when Captain James Cook stopped here on his round the world journey in 1769. Anchoring his ship at Robertson Island, pictured above, Captain Cook was rowed ashore and made contact with the local Maori People with whom he began trading.
Cape Brett’s lighthouse was built on the Coromandel Peninsula, barged up the coast and winched into place. Lighthouse keepers lived here from 1910 until 1978, when a new automated light went into service.
At the end of the Cape is Motukokako which Captain Cook named Piercy Island. It is commonly known as the ‘Hole in the Rock’ due to its 60 feet (18 metres) passage running through the island. Our tour captain steered our boat through the passage!