In between some perfect days to cruise around the Bay of Islands, we also have had some grim days – best spent in town.  By that I mean, anchoring off the quaint little town of Russell. This town holds an important place in New Zealand’s history, as its first sea port with European Settlement. The town maintains some of its original layout from the early 1800’s and has a number of historic buildings, with the Duke of Marlborough being the oldest pub in the country.   It is a popular tourist attraction with a very active ferry service from Paihia, and many boat trips into the larger bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this place – Cavelli House

 

We took a brief bus tour around the area and got the lowdown on what a fun place this was, known as “the hell hole of the Pacific” with trading, whaling,  pirates & prostitutes. The Maori on the other hand called it Kororareka, meaning “how sweet is the penguin”  Seems these Maori were also fairly good at trading with the white man, and got their hands on guns quite quickly.  So in a addition to the usual destruction from foreign disease and enslavement, the Maori also started the Musket Wars amongst themselves. These wars fought between tribes all over the country managed to kill close to 1/5th of the population.  And you thought the All Black “Haka” was aggressive?

 

We also met another Nordhavn... Mermaid Explorer, a lovely example of the 52 – owned by Gerri and Phil Bradshaw from Perth. Here she she is anchored alongside Time2.