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Old Wharf Road, Bay of Islands, Paihia, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
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View over the bay of Islands
HARURU FALLS
A remote beach in the Bay of Islands
The "beach" at Paihia
A gang of us - all schoolmates 20 years ago are planning for a birthday bash with many of us flying in from Australia, New York and some from Asia (like myself) for an overnight Auckland and then on drive to Bay of Islands.
I am looking for tips on whereabout to stay, dine and pamper ourselves. Money issue is secondary; we just wanna have a memorable week together.
I realise you probably want first hand personal information, which I can't give in this instance. But I see no one has answered you, so I just wanted to point you to a couple of websites:
www.aaguides.co.nz
www.newzealand.com
Both have accommodation sections where you may want to look around.
Hope you enjoy Bay of Islands,
Pam.
We only stayed at a little motel (the only one that wasn't booked up) Any of the places to stay are all pretty amazing with wonderful views, you can't really go wrong,
we stayed in paihia, and traveled over to russell by the ferry(5 mins) you must just spend a day or even a few hours just walking around russell,
we spend a day in kerikeri, was raining but its full of shops, whilst i enjoyed my time there i did like paihia and russell +waitangi alot better as they are populated but now with all the chain stores and more individual stores that are quite fascinating just to look around,
feel free to send me a message asking more
I will never forget my trip to the bay of islands.
all i say is if the sea is calm you must take the hole in the rock tour, i found it really enjoyable (even though the sea was very choppy) and the stop at the little island on the way back has a nice place to sit down, walk around and look at the 3 or 4 shops on the island.
also, if you like icecreams you must get one from the ice cream stand across from the post office :)
once again feel free to message me with anything else i can help you with :):)
Kiwi - yes - i am looking for insiders' tips. Nothing general, becos I think the websites you have given me will give me all thos tips. They were great to give me an overview...and I actually could appreciate mooloo's tips after reading the general websites.
I am looking for specific experience in particular resorts - it could be a exclusive old estate, a famous chain (but do not prefer the international ones) or a national heritage home etc.
we are looking for tips on to do for 4 days.
We will fly in to Auckland on Apr 8 and drive to Bay of Islands on April 9.
I like to see names of great lunch, dinner and cake shops, places to pamper ourselves at some exclusive spa and while we are at it, what the men could do.
we also do not mind including sailing, but nothing on adventurous sports.
So far, it looks like we have targetted a great destination for our April bash. It would be peak period being an Easter weekend
There will be 10 of us, maybe more.
cheers-audrey
For the men - If they enjoy fishing there are many day trips, overnight trips, or trips for a few hours where they can go out and attempt to catch fish, you can book at the information office (this is where the computers with internet access are if your wishing to get in contact with someone, they are realatively cheap to, a few dollars for half an hour i think, i only just it for like 10-15 mins and they only chaarged me a $1)
there are boats which you can take out by yourself from what i recall, and boats which just will take you and others that will take many people. i think they supply all the stuff from you but you would have to check around to make sure i am correct on that.
the wharf is right next to the information office, you cannot miss it.
whilst i cannot give you any names i am certain there are many places to be pampered for the females, paihia/russell are places to relax and feel like you are on top of the world.
a restaurant i went to, whilst i didnt eat there i had a couple of drinks there, i once again cannot recall the name , this is next to tha wharf and the information office, a big round building that is in the water, this has an aquarium with fish swimming round in the middle of it in the restaurant part, it is quite amazing to look at them, as i had never seen anything quite like it. there was also a small tank with seahorse in it :)
anyway i hope some of my tips have helpped you although i couldnt recall any names.
mooloo
Hello,
I stayed in the Bay Of Islands in the campervan I rented but there is a few places worth looking into.
Paihia Beach Resort - http://www.paihiabeach.co.nz/
Five star Qualmark with spa etc.
Cliff Edge lodge - Here's a review from NZ Herald:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/travelstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3514831&thesection=travel&thesubsection=destination&thesecondsubsection=nz&reportID=1112599
While in Pahia - don't miss the oportunity of swimming with the dolphins. Fullers operates dolphinswimming tours from Pahia.
Hope this is somewhat helpfull
Bjoern
would it be too cold to swim in April. we are going this Easter. Tickets already booked!!! I am so so excited...but would love to be there with the dolphins...but many of them cannot swim...can they just float with the dolphins instead!!!
bjoern - the Cliff Edge sounds awesome. i am forwarding it to my pals across the world to get an approval...hope to visit this resort...sounds a real treat!!!
Audrey,
Nice to see that my tips were helpfull.
Regarding the dolphin swimming - They will provide wetsuits that will provide some flotation, and I'll guess they provide wests to those that need it, so it will not be cold in the water. And it is quite nice just staying aboard watching the action.
Have a look at http://www.fullers-bay-of-islands.co.nz/ for more info.
When I was there in april a few years ago the watertemperature was nice with twentysomething celsius.
Enjoy the Bay of Islands - I sure did.
Bjoern
THANKS AGAIN - i will take note of the dolphins...they are cute!!! and swimmng with them....adds extra special to the gathering. Some of my friends are WWF friends - so they will be interested and there will be a 10 year kid tagging along...it will make her day.
Bay of Islands is a great place to visit. I stayed in Pahia for a few nites but nothing fancy, just a BBH.
During the day - take a sailing trip round the bay with many type of sail boats avaialble at reasonable price and it comes with lunch ! ;-)
There is also, (if I remember correctly) I think it's called a hse boat where they allow you drive this boat around the island !
Mei Leng, I know of these houseboats...they had it when i was a kid in school in Sydney....and it is best during the summer or spring season, where you rent them for a couple of days and it is adventurous to visit different bays and stop over for coffee or lunch at some of many restaurants along the bay, jump off the boat for a skinny dip!!! aaah - such a life...but not sure if I want to do that during cold April month!!!
I have another question.
We have now booked for Cliff Edge for 2 nights and will be looking for 2 nights elsewhere. Something perhaps in between our drive back from Bay of Islands to Auckland. What can we do for perhaps a day trip..any suggestions welcome.
again thanks.
while returning from pahia to auckland, the bus drove by this place called Whangarei - pronounced as Far-n-ga-ray
it looked great ! anyone to 2nd that ?
Bjoern - We went to the Cliffedge as you recommended. I now also highly recommend it - the family that runs it are very nice. Peter was the food editor for the Sunday Sydney Telegraph for 19 years, and he was guest chef to many overseas stints including my home. He is very flexible with cooking nd they really fed us well. The home has extensive sea view, and overlooks Russell. It probly has one of the best if not the best spot in Opua, and I think by year end, they will be opening a new luxury homestay.
Gourmet food is expected and Peter just love spoiling our tastebuds. It was really one of the relaxing holiday - and really - you do not need to get out of the house....but sit there and enjoy it.
thanks for the wonderful tip!!!
I'm glad that my tip prooved helpful and that you and your friends had a good time. When (not if) I return to the Bay of Islands I'll try it out myself.
Did you go dolphin swiming?
I did not becos we were a bit pushed for time...and we had a young child with us. It is hard to keep time in such a big group n everyone wanted to do different things. But one other couple went and they told me it was excellent, the trip was more than 3 hours in the cold, weather was fickle for us...the forecast were reallu unreliable...one day said warm and sunny turned out overcast n reverse for other day. The couple that went, Rodger and Cole said it gotten a bit boring after a while in the sea....you see nothing but the vastness of the sea. They saw lots of small dolphins and they come up and swim near you in big schools, and then they went away where there was lots of smaller fish, so you need to track them down...there are lots of birds where there are lots of dolphins.
I really doubt I will be making another trip to NZ for a while...11 hours flight from my country...a bit far.... and then another 3 -5 hours drive depending on traffic to Cliff Edge.... I went to NZ in Nov 2003, and going there in April was a bit too close. I m off to Russia next.
Certainly worth a stop in Whangarei - excellent choice of eateries along the harbour/marina side and a very interesting museum of clocks (yes, really!).
Me again! We went out to spot dolphins from Paihia. First trip, cold, sunny early morning, fantastic trip, out for about three hours but no dolphins (loads of other things though, seals, penguins, beautiful rays...) and so we were given a free repeat trip (I think this is pretty standard with all the companies running trips). Went a few days later, saw dolphins, absolutely awesome - over-used word but appropriate in this case, it was a real privilege to look into the eyes of a dolphin and for it to look back into mine. We could not swim with them as they had young with them. It is something I will remember for ever. Hope you do it.
Hey Tissie, sounds great, glad you had a great time. Love your pport, by the way!! Superb, you must have been up above me doing that hahaha.
I think the post of this question has been and gone, though, as it was in 2004 hahahah ;-)
Oops, how did that happen, he he!!! Hope they all had a good time!!!! Greetings from UK, Lis
hahaha but someone else will read it and benefit by your wisedom LOL ;-)
I had to add another dolphin picture to the page. This is a Bottlenose dolphin. They were very docile and curious about our boat when we arrived at their sunny little bay.
If you pick up the Bay of Islands Cruises and Tours brochure from Fullers (either in Auckland or the Bay), it shows you in which months you're most likely to see dolphins or even whales (unfortunately the latter mostly go into the Bay in the winter).
It is quite scenic to walk along the path, it is sandy, with lots of sea smell, but also the smell of bush, and shrubs...smell reminded me of Australia though!!!. And you here the clink clank of the boats, and now and then you get the tingling of rain over you. The stroll is about 10 mins, and there was even a small shipyard. The path ended at a small convenient kiosk, where I bought some choc fish (marshmallow fish coated with choc)!!!
next door is famous confectionary, Makana. We were served Makanas chocolates during after dinner t the Cliffedge...
I recommend buying their popcorn, macadamia coated with honey and orange flavour, and also some slices with berry taste.. the unfortunate thing is there was not much tasting so we could not decide what to buy. MAKANA CONFECTIONS
Boutique Chocolate Factory - free viewing and tasting.
Open daily 9am - 5:30pm
Kerikeri Road
While I was walking from Paihia to Waitangi I noticed a group of people near the bridge who were gathering shellfish in the sand. It is difficult to know sometimes where you can find shellfish in the sand so I thought it might be interesting to document this observation. I am not sure what type of shellfish they are gathering but it is likely to be either pipis, cockles or tuatua. You will need to check the regulations on the daily limit per person for shellfish.
Paihia is a destination that you can stay in (very popular with young people in particular) or you can make it a daytrip destination. We chose to stay in Russell and go there for the day on the ferry.
There are more shops in Paihia than in Russell - including several banks and a large supermarket. The beach is a short walk away from the ferry buildings and shops. There is a good playground too for children to play in (we enjoyed taking little George there as you can see from the pics).
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Address: Old Wharf Road, Bay of Islands, Paihia, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
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