NEW ZEALAND - Bay of Islands

Well I've been in New Zealand all of 2 days and so much to say and so many pics to load but they seem to be taking an age.
As I said previously Mac and Julie have been great. I forgot to mention their 2 little dogs Basil and Linus - lovely balls of fluff. Julie even grooms other dogs so they are well groomed.
There are 12 of us in the group plus Sue our guide who's really chatty and likes a laugh. Monday - We drove in a small bus to Paihia - Bay of islands harbour where we had lunch by the sea and they drove to Haruru Falls which were very pretty.

Then we had to wait for the small boat (called the Climax) to collect us to ferry us across to our cruise boat 'The Rock' for our trip and overnight stay. The Climax was very low in the water but it was calm and so not too much stress.
Once on board we settled into our cabins and then went up front of the boat to shoot at a sitting duck (not real mam)and show our rifle skills. Guess who won the glass of wine out of the girls!! Yes me - I knew those lessons in South Africa would come in handy one day. We then did some fishing for tea - I caught 2 red snapper but most of them were thrown back as they were too small. I won a game of pool but I didn't go out for the night kayaking as you know what I'm like with water.

We had a great BBQ of lamb, steak, sausages, fish, potatoes and salad and then had a couple of drinks and listened to one of the crew playing the guitar - he was a little quiet as I think he's new and was nervous.
Off to bed (4 to a room) but slept like a log - I couldn't feel any motion of the boat and it was incredibly calm.