Need some advice: excursions at Boy of Islands NZ

What is there to do at Bay of Islands. My wife and her mother are cruising there and are wondering what to do. Any suggestions?

We were there in January. Bif Islands is a tender port. When you get there, you can take a ferry across to Russell. The area is unspoilt. There is also the Waitangi Treaty House in the area, but you just catch a bus there. Hamburger at Paiheai was superb!

Don't remember feeling like I needed to seek out a paid excursion.

We have been there twice. The first time we booked an excursion to the Waitangi Treaty area and it was an interesting time, but then we found out we could have done it on our own cheaper. The second time we walked to Paihia (there is also a shuttle to take you there) and it took us about 20 minutes and was a nice walk. Once in Paihia we walked around the small town for awhile and there was a market on at the time. Then we took the ferry over to Russell for a few hours of leisurely walking around to see the shops and there was a small museum there as well.

Bay of Islands is a delightful part of the world. If the poster s wife and mother want to do their own thing I agree with the above. Shuttle to Paihia, ferry over to Russel and on the way back if enough time , the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi.

If they want a tour , my suggestion is to book a ships tour as it will be easier with the tendering ashore. They offer boat trips , but one of the tours you could look at is the trip inland to see the glow worm caves . This is sometimes combined with a trip to the giant Kauri trees, depending on time. A trip inland will give a good idea if the NZ countryside.

Russell is lovely and I want to go again someday. I agree that you could do it on your own.

I haven't been by cruise ship but by car ferry. I enjoyed wandering around and seeing the sights.

When is your cruise?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Bay of Islands is a delightful part of the world. If the poster s wife and mother want to do their own thing I agree with the above. Shuttle to Paihia, ferry over to Russel and on the way back if enough time , the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi.

If they want a tour , my suggestion is to book a ships tour as it will be easier with the tendering ashore. They offer boat trips , but one of the tours you could look at is the trip inland to see the glow worm caves . This is sometimes combined with a trip to the giant Kauri trees, depending on time. A trip inland will give a good idea if the NZ countryside.

hi, I spent my childhood in the Bay of Islands and second Kiwi cruisers suggestions however also add the "CapeBrett" tour, its a boat tour out to the "Hole in the rock", the Bay is full of Dolphins and wildlife and the tour to the Cape is one of the best ways to experience them.

If I can be of any help just ask.

It certainly is a beautiful part of New Zealand.

Roscoe

We have been there twice. The first time we booked an excursion to the Waitangi Treaty area and it was an interesting time, but then we found out we could have done it on our own cheaper. The second time we walked to Paihia (there is also a shuttle to take you there) and it took us about 20 minutes and was a nice walk. Once in Paihia we walked around the small town for awhile and there was a market on at the time. Then we took the ferry over to Russell for a few hours of leisurely walking around to see the shops and there was a small museum there as well.

That is what we were wondering... if the cruise excursions are the way to go or can you do it easily on your own. They are going with a group tour but this port for some reason they do not have anything planned.

We were there in January. Bif Islands is a tender port. When you get there, you can take a ferry across to Russell. The area is unspoilt. There is also the Waitangi Treaty House in the area, but you just catch a bus there. Hamburger at Paiheai was superb!

 

Don't remember feeling like I needed to seek out a paid excursion.

Thanks for the help. That might be what they do???

Bay of Islands is a delightful part of the world. If the poster s wife and mother want to do their own thing I agree with the above. Shuttle to Paihia, ferry over to Russel and on the way back if enough time , the Treaty Grounds at Waitangi.

If they want a tour , my suggestion is to book a ships tour as it will be easier with the tendering ashore. They offer boat trips , but one of the tours you could look at is the trip inland to see the glow worm caves . This is sometimes combined with a trip to the giant Kauri trees, depending on time. A trip inland will give a good idea if the NZ countryside.

Yes I had thought of the tender process as well. I have seen reviews of the glow worm caves that seem different than the ship excursions talk about.... for instance one site had a little boat tour through a river in a glow worm cave. I don't know if it is the same cave or what? Their tour guide for the rest of the trip has told them to not use the independent guides... only to use the ship excursions??? I usually never use ship excursions.

What is there to do at Bay of Islands. My wife and her mother are cruising there and are wondering what to do. Any suggestions?

Below are some of my visuals and added details from our sailing "adventure" while our ship was tendered in the Bay of Islands. You can see more on our craft and its history at:

http://www.zindabar.co.nz

The Zindabar was built in in 1998 and is a proven offshore yacht that has cruised extensively in New Zealand, voyaged to Tonga, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji, etc. We had a great lunch prepared and served at sea on the ship. Another touch of class and fun!! This ship carried a dinghy, kayak, snorkeling and fishing equipment, etc. Lots of options for this day at sea.

More details and lots of pictures on page fourteen of my live/blog. Happy to answer any questions.

In 1769, famed Captain James Cook came to New Zealand, extensively mapped/charted both the North and South Islands. He gave the Bay of Islands its present name. Long before Captain Cook, Russell was an established settlement of various Maori tribes. From the early 1800s, South Sea whalers found it ideal as a provisioning port. The town grew, gaining a reputation as a lawless and bawdy port. Some called it the "Hellhole of the Pacific" and Russell was a busy, busy port. It expanded as a provisioning/refitting location for whaling ships. Russell was the country's first capital before it was moved to Auckland (and later finishing at the current Wellington. From the early 1900s Russell became known as a quiet historic town. The famed American writer, Zane Grey, lived here and promoted this area for big game fishing. Russell now has a population of about 1000 people.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 158,088 views for this posting.

They said we might get lucky and be able to see some dolphins. Did we? Seeing is believing!! They knew these waters and how to draw these dolphins closer to our boat. We loved the results (and good luck), especially seeing multiple dolphins jumping and flipping. Plus, these cute creatures coming so close to our sailing craft. Great fun!! Our Captain Sharon was a sailor for New Zealand at both the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (where she sailed off of Savannah) and the 2004 Athens Olympics.:

How does shore time on an outlying island in the Bay of Islands sound? Seems like fun!! First, here is our group's Sharon, who was fearless, going out on the kayak to explore these waters and this island, doing snorkeling, etc. And who goes out in the dinghy? It's John, Mike and me who are preparing to go ashore to explore and climb to the top of the "mountain" that is there on this island!:

At Bay of Islands during our private sailing adventure, we went ashore and walked past this scenic cove with a mother and daughter enjoying this great setting. Then, we had to climb up the Motuarohia Trail to the TOP!! How tall was this challenge? Officially, it is 450 meters or 1476 feet. BUT, by the time we got back on the boat, with bragging skills learned in Australia, that "mountain" we conquered had grown greatly up to 2414' in height. Inflation? Sure! Just makes the stories better to those who stayed on the sailing craft. And the views from up, UP there? See this one example below to prove our great achievement.:

It was not until mid-day, after lunch, that the winds were up enough to use effectively the sails. One of the options for those in our group on this custom, private sailing was to help to do as much (or as little as desired) in helping make this sail experience happen. In the first picture, you can see John helping Captain Sharon in raising the front, jib sail. In the foreground of this picture, you can see Sharon from our group doing the cranking to raise and adjust the main sail. The second shows Murray guiding the ship from this vantage point on the back of the Zindabar.:

We did our own thing , tenders land at the pier and the free buses were waiting there for us, they went to the treaty grounds and into town on a circuit. We walked, 10 mins to the back entrance of the treaty grounds, then toured there, war canoe, treaty grounds, very interesting forest displays. Then the free bus took us from the entrance into town, markets are usually on when a ship is in. Nice litttle town, lovely area. We got the bus back to the wharf to the tender and had a drink and snack at the sailing club right on the beach. Very friendly people and pretty views. This was our favourite day!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks to everyone.... this info is fantastic. I really appreciate it.

Will be visiting in February , hope to get more responses about doing things on our own.....thanks to all