NORTHLAND CONTINUED

About 20 minutes from our hotel at Tutukaka is the resort town of Whangarei. Here are the nearby Whangarei Falls seen on a misty afternoon.

We visited the Waitangi National Reserve near Paihia. It is the spot where a treaty was signed between the Maori people and the British. On the grounds is this Maori war canoe which was carved from 3 kauri trees and carried a crew of 80.

Our visit to Paihia at the Bay of Islands was much too windy, rainy, and cold to take advantage of the many water activities in the area. We did take a ferry to the nearby old town of Russell, and got a brief view of the sun and a rainbow during the journey.

We journeyed through thick forests of fern trees.

We stopped at several Kauri forests, where stands of the native trees have been preserved. The giant tree on the left is from the Parry Kauri Park near Warkworth. It was awesome to wander the paths in the misty deep green forests.

(onto Rotorua)