This morning we got up early and took the Explorer ferry for 40 minutes to the largest island in the Bay, the aforementioned Urupakaka. We alighted onto a wooden pier leading to a a beautiful lawn with a large and graceful cafe, serving damned fine Kiwi coffee. In the 1920's the rich and famous would stay in bungalows for £350 a week, at a time when most men probably earned about £3 a week. The author Zane Grey started a Marlin fishing club there, and his rich and famous mates joined him their.
Today it is a nature reserve with camping sites at a number of beaches on small bays around the hilly green island. It is stunningly beautiful, and is been gradually restored to how it was before people arrived. Imported predators including rats, cats, dogs and ferrets have been trapped and terminated with extreme prejudice, so that the local bird population can breed safely.
Following the sign posts we went over a grassy hill past contented sheep to Cable Bay. At the bottom of the hill was a small campsite of a dozen or so tents on a meadow leading to the shingly beach.
I changed and waded in with my mask and snorkel. Julie got wet up to her ankles and decided it was too cold. The water was shallow, clear and warm (ish) but with no fish, crabs or even shrimps. The other end of the beach was murky and I couldn't see more than a foot under water. But I did disturb a ray about seventy centimetres across, which soon swam off.
The birds there make extraordinary noises, like Brian Eno noodling on his synthesiser. Local oystercatchers waded in the shallows looking for morsels to eat, and peep loud lying if you get close.
I found the skull of a bird with a bony crest, but haven't identified it yet. If anyone can identify it, let me know!
With its green, surf-ringed islands, blue sky, blue sea, the Bay of Islands is a beautiful and special place. It certainly beats Torbay.
Waterfront Hotel in Paihia
A very nice picture of Julie.
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