Fun things to do in Paihia

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It's fair to suggest that I had few expectations about the Kauri Museum. I mean, really, how much can you stand when the subject is just one specie of tree? Someone had suggested to allow two hours and we had, but I fugured we'd be out in under an hour.
How wrong can you be?
I've seen museums all throughout Europe and Australasia and this compares favourably with any I've come across. It is outstanding and would be on my list of ten things not-to-miss when you're in New Zealand.
For openers we went into the old post and telegraph office adjacent to the main museum and here came across someone who may even have been a relative of mine (see pic 2). Her name was Margaret Smith and she was our introduction to the dummies throughout the museum who have been modelled in such a lifelike manner you have to do a double take at times, so realistic are they.
We were hugely impressed and hadn't even walked in the main building yet.

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Paihia (pronounced pie-heah) is a key town on the Bay of Islands inasmuch as it sits at the eastern base of the bay and is easily accessed by car and tourist coach.
There's plenty of accommodation here at a variety of prices and styles and restaurants to cater for most palates.
It's clearly a town that would like to expand more but is restricted by the contours surrounding it, i.e., it's very hilly. This landscape's shortcomings were clearly on display in 2007 when torrential rain caused an uncountable number of landslides.
Everywhere we drove there was evidence of the fragility of the soil and building blocks around here would have to be very carefully surveyed.
Even when we were there there was minor flooding (pic 3) and many was the road edge that had disappeared in a downward direction on some steep slope.
It wasn't all doom and gloom. On top of a small rise and park which affords the view over the bay I used in the intro shot there were some lovely yellow flowers which were intertwined with a mass of cobwebs.

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You can't help but notice this little charmer on the main street. In fact, it's one of New Zealand's best known churches.
"Less than a decade after the first Christian service was held at the Bay of Islands on Xmas Day 1914, Rev. Henry and Mrs Williams arrived on August 3rd, 1823 to establish the missionary settlement at Paihia. On their arrival, Mrs Williams with her three children went to reside in Kerikeri while the Rev. Williams set to work to erect temporary buildings at the new station.
On September 15th, Mrs Williams came to join her husband and her journal states that there was a Church, built of raupo, which was opened for Divine Service on Sunday, September 21st, 1823. This was the first Church ever built in New Zealand.
The Reverend William Williams with his wife joined his brother Henry, arriving at Paihia on March 26th, 1826. This gentleman was a classical scholar of Oxford University and also had a considerable medical knowledge which was of the greatest benefit to the Mission.
In the year 1828, the raupo church was replaced with a lath and plaster structure, which served until 1856 when a wooden church was built. This was used until 1874, when it was dismantled and another wooden church erected, incorporating much of the old timber. In 1925 the 1874 church was dismantled. It made way for the stone Church of St Paul, the fifth to be erected on the site. It was built as a lasting memorial to Henry and William Williams.
The stone came from near Kawakawa and the kauri beams from near Waikare.
The stained glass window was installed on the occasion of the Williams family reunion to commemorate 175 years since CMS missionary brothers Henry and William Williams landed in Paihia. Details and photos can be found in the church.
The first organ to be brought to New Zealand was used in Paihia Church. It arrived between 1824 and 1826. Later moved to Pakaraka it is now in the Wanganui Museum. The present organ is of similar design and vintage.

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It was like, we've done Pekapeka Bay, it's overcast, might as well go for a drive.
Thus is was that we discovered Million Dollar Drive. What a name; I loved it and I loved the drive. It takes you above Tauranga and Matauri bays and in between gives you ocean and land scenery that makes you want to keep on driving forever.
Sadly, in the VT format it doesn't quite do them justice but, if you blow them up you'll get some idea of how good it was.
If you're looking for it on a map, it's the road that loops east of Kaeo and when you see some of the views you'll find it hard to disagree with the title given to road.
There are signs indicating a tourist drive so just follow those and you'll end up where we did.

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This was by far the best thing we did on our latest 10 day trip of NZ. Price is about $160 per person, and we felt we got quite a lot for our money during the 24 hours, especially considering that to hire a motor boat to trip around the islands yourself for a day would cost more than this, without accommodation, BBQ dinner on board, and other activities such as fishing, air rifle shooting competition (where you shoot at a life buoy being towed behind the boat), snorkelling, kayaking, swimming and lunch (supply your own) the next day on a deserted island with a beautiful sandy beach. Plenty of time to relax on board while the boat cruises around.
To see my full travel journal of this great trip, see the travelog.

A few minutes away lies the impressive Te Whare Runanga Meeting House, which was built using traditional Maori engraving that, incorporate the techniques of hundreds of tribes in NZ. In a sense, this is a mix of most of the styles of Maori tribal meeting houses. It has no official name and no one Maori tribe can call it its own.

The Treaty Ground is a large grass field with a giant flagstaff marking the location of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. The tour of the complex continues as they let you into the Treaty House Residence, which was the home to some of early British government appointed officials to NZ.

The historic grounds are now open to the public and are managed by a trust. Waitangi is located on a beautiful spot overlooking the Bay of Islands. One of the price exhibits is a giant Whare Waka, which is a Maori war canoe over 35 meters in length. It was built in the mid 1900's from three giant Kauri trees using traditional building techniques (some of which were long gone).