Bay of Islands and Russell Adventure

Today we hopped a coach at 7:30 to make the long journey north to the Bay of Islands. On arrival, we  visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and learned about the arrival of the English and the process of signing the treaty with local Maori. We also viewed a massive waka (war canoe).




 We then got our lunch and ate it on the ferry ride over to Russell, New Zealand’s first European settlement. We were given a guided tour and history of the town. It has the oldest church in New Zealand, but the town is only about 820 permanent residents and is mostly a holiday destination, and sometimes for the super wealthy.
  



 

 After our tour, we walked around the town and got ice cream before our ferry ride back. We then caught the coach for the long ride back to Auckland.

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