8-11th April - Bay of Islands and back to Auckland

8th
Today we had a boat trip planned in the Bay of Islands! We left really early and we were on the boat all day but the perfect weather for it. The sun was shining and the sea was so calm - a little different to some of our other boat trips we've been on while away. The trip we went on was called the crean trip, a day on the bay. The trip originated many years ago from the original trips held in the bay for transportation of goods to and from the small islands in the bay and surprisingly one of the main shipments were cans of cream!! We went all around lots of the islands and our skipper Tammy and the crew were very much into dolphins and marine life so it was not a surprise that after only a short time they took us to a spot where there was a large pool of dolphins!! It was much more impressive than the two we saw in Kaikora and it was amazing to see them all jump and play around with each other.  We had a dolphin researcher onboard so we got some extensive information about these wild dolphins that was brilliant.

We went around the Islands for a while before the skipper told us that we are going to see if we can spot some whales that are supposedly around and that a call has come in from a research boat that they are around but need help finding them. We headed a little further out of the bay and it wasn't long before Tammy spotted something! As we made our way over the crew suddenly grew more excited and instead of finding the whales we were initially looking for, we came across 2 Blue Whales and a very rare Bryde's Whale (Pronounced Broodus). It was amazing to see these huge mammals gliding through the water!! The blue whales were huge and we couldn't believe that we saw these rare animals! The crew were very excited and we then knew we hadn't just seen anything!! They said this never happens and that some of them had never seen them, so we felt very privalidged!! We watched these enormous creatures for nearly an hour before we had to turn back. We then went to the Hole in the rock. We went through the hole in the boat and although a little nerve wracking we made it through! The water was amazing, so blue and so so clear! We then went along the mainland of the bay and came along another pod of dolphins! It was brilliant again to see so many and having such a good time in the water! Time was going quickly on the water and the excitement of the whales had made the time fly but we did stop off at one of the small islands and we walked up to a nice lookout point over the bay. Soon enough it was time to head back and we were back on dry land after an amazing day on the water!! We learnt a lot about the history of the bay as well as information about the marine life in the bay!!

An incredible few days in the bay of Islands, we could have stayed so much longer!! We headed back to Auckland that evening and sadly have to give our camper back tomorrow :(.

9th,
The sad day came where we had to clean out and return our now much beloved camper :( we have had a brilliant time seeing New Zealand in our Jucy but it time we said goodbye. We gave it back in Auckland city and thought we'd have a walk around the city before heading back to the house. Another lovely day here in New Zealand. We have been very very lucky with the weather here!! The whole day was pretty much taken up by taking the Jucy back so not much else to report!!

10th
Today we went to Karel's renovation project to give him a hand with it. We started off by pulling off wall paper and cleaning the ceilings in what is probably the dirtiest house we have ever seen!! Luckily Karel had a few tricks up his sleeve to get the jobs done quickly.  We were only supposed to stay a couple of hours but it soon turned into a lot more when Karel said we should clean the kitchen lounge area for the painters to start. We started by spraying soap on the ceiling (it was absolutely filthy with tabacco stains) and before we realised the whole place was a mess. Katrien made a comment about using the pressure washer on the ceilings but didn't realise Karel had also had the thought and soon enough we had cleared the inside and Karel used the pressure washer to clean the whole living area. It was carnage however we handled it well. We even managed to get all the wallpaper off quickly and easily but it did look as though there had been a horrendous flood. Luckily with team work and a bit of elbow grease we had the house gleaming in a few hours ready for the next stage of the the renovation!!

By the the end if the day we were knackered but a bit if hard work did us some good.  We actually really enjoyed it!
11th
Today we were woken up early to get ready for a fishing trip!! The sea was calm and although a little cloudy in parts the sun was out!! We went out with Karel in his boat and spent all day on the water. Katrien caught the first two fish (snappers) but we threw them back as they were a little small. Afte a few hours out near where we launched in Takapuna and having now caught 2 Kowai fish (big ones) we headed into Auckland Harbour where the Royals are due to do a bit of sail boat racing. We lingered for a while and as the wind picked up it become very choppy and rainy at times. We braved the conditions and it paid off as we saw the royals! It was brilliant The only problem however was that we were most probably the smallest boat there are you can imagine the amount of boats and yachts all trying to get a glimpse of Kate and Wills, we were a little battered by the end and it was like a washing machine out there! We did get a very good look of the royals and we did get quite close to the boats!! It looked like they had fun too but after a while we'd had enough too and headed home. On the way we had a quick trawl and Katrien caught another Kowai! Those are such strong fish so a little help was needed to get it on board.  Rob did a lot of driving and was our captain for most of the day and a very good one at that! Katrien was lucky to catch 2 Kowai (maybe its a hidden talent) and Rob caught one! We will enjoy eating them in the next few days.

Another great day on the water, another brilliant experience and another great day in NZ but we are thoroughly knackered by the end of today!!

Lots of love Katrien and Rob xxx