Saturday March 7, 2026
Hi Gang! This was our last day in the glorious country of New Zealand. Wish we could have stayed another week! Today we were anchored in the Bay of Islands which is on the Northland coast and made up of 144 islands. We did an excursion to the historic town of Russell.
From the early 1800’s, whalers found Russell (then called Kororareka by the Māori culture) ideal as a provisioning port. The town grew in response, gaining a reputation as a lawless and bawdy port and earning the nickname “Hell Hole of the Pacific” (there’s even a coffee house named that!).
But not now! This place has to be one of the prettiest and calmest areas on the planet. It was so quaint with old houses, shops and hotels along the tree lined streets. And on top of that, this boat company that took us there cooked on board some of the best New Zealand lamb we’ve ever had. So tasty! They also drove us around the various islands and pointed out the cool houses tucked along the water.
We also walked around the little town of Paihia where the tender boat dropped us off. I’ll let the pictures do the talking and do another update tonight. Hope everyone’s having a great day!
The Wandering Italian 