Sunday, February 26th, 2023 Queen Victoria, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Updated: Jul 4, 2023
Having sailed south from Auckland to Tauranga yesterday, the Queen Victoria headed north again, passed Auckland and on up to arrive at the Bay of Islands this morning. The Bay of Islands describes a small region rather than a town, the area if known for its natural beauty with many small green islands dotting the pristine bay. Environmental controls in this area are very strict with permits required for ship entry; the condition of the ship must also meet certain requirements – we’d heard that another Cunard ship had recently been denied entry for having too much material growing on her hull. There are no docking facilities available in the area for a ship the size of Queen Victoria and so we anchored in the bay, and Raymond and I took the crowded tender boat for the 25-minute ride to shore. We had booked to go on a half-day light fishing tackle trip and we were met at the small dock by the organizer who escorted us to the small fishing boat that would be our hangout for the next 5 hours. The captain helped us aboard and we were joined by 6 other hopeful fisher-folk. Once we cleared the jetty area the captain pointed the boat out to sea, opened the throttle, and with a roar the boat surged ahead. Inside the area sheltered by the many close-by islands, the sea was quite calms with only a gentle swell – just as well since my friend Raymond gets seasick very easily. Under bright blue skies with the occasional puffy white cloud the temperature was very mild, though with the breeze generated by the speed of the boat I was glad I’d brought along my favorite fleece. Passing the Queen Victoria we continued on our way, what had appeared as tiny dots on the horizon gradually revealed themselves to be sizable rock formations with much bird life. After about 45 minutes the captain cut the throttle and dropped anchor in 35 meters of water, I estimate we were about 10 miles off shore. The boat was set up really well with room for 3 anglers on each side and 2 at the back, I took the aft-most port side spot. The rods were already set up with hooks and weights and a small tank was located in the center of the boat – it contained the sprats that we’d use for bait. I was the first to be handed a rod by the captain, he quickly baited it with a small piece of fish, showed me how to use the reel and I was soon watching my line recede into the clear blue water. A small flock of well-trained seagulls surrounded the boat and swam from line to line in the hopes of picking up a stray piece of fish. As soon as my weight hit the bottom, I wound it up with about 8 turns of the reel and was immediately rewarded with a strong bite, I pulled up the rod to “strike” the fish and reeled in my first catch of the day – I was very happy. The captain unhooked the fish, a Pacific Snapper, and tossed it back into the ocean – the expectant seagulls flapped in anticipation, only to be disappointed. I pulled in 3 more snapper in quick succession, much to the chagrin of Raymond, a much more experienced fisherman than me. So the day went on, with almost everyone catching several fish – I lost count but think I got 9, Raymond got a similar number – all Pacific Snapper. Back at the dock the captain dropped off the rest of the customers, but he had kindly agreed to drop Raymond and I in the nearby small town of Paihia where I knew Christine and Sandra had spent the morning. Sandra stumbled across a stall in the local market selling "Kumarahou" cream - she remembered this word being a derogatory term used by children in Glasgow! A typical seaside tourist town, Paihia has plenty of small shops, cafes and restaurants lining the frontage road and main street – a small park was hosting a local market. Fish and chips out of paper from a really tiny one-lady “restaurant” – it hit the spot and the pile of chips was the size of one of the local volcanoes! A latte in the Swiss Movenpick ice cream café topped off the visit to Paihia and we boarded the shuttle bus for the short ride back to the jetty to pick up the tender boat. Instead of going straight back to the ship we thought we had enough time to visit the nearby Waitangi Treaty Grounds – we’d hear from the guide yesterday that this was the place where the British and Māoris met to sign the official treaty that would create the country of New Zealand and establish the relationship between the two peoples. After walking for about 10 minutes through a beautiful park we found the treaty grounds but were surprised to see that it was a large museum, we had expected a statue or a plaque in a field. We only had about half an hour before we’d have to get the last tender back to the ship, which was clearly not enough time to visit the museum – well we did enjoy the walk out and back.
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