The Hole in the Rock

"The Hole in the Rock" is disappointingly prosaic. I mean the name, not the place. Imagine if Taupo was called "Big Lake", Wai-O-Tapu was called "Muddy Holes" and Mount Ruapehu was called "High Mountain".

This morning we packed our gear and left on time for our boat trip. Conditions were Lyn-perfect, blue skies and almost no swell.

We saw Common Dolphins (who seemed not at all disconcerted by their name) and, of course, islands. We are still here in "The Bay of Islands" after all.

At The Hole in the Rock we sailed through the hole.

The skipper was a woman. So was the entire crew. So was the ferry captain yesterday. Lyn was so intrigued she asked one of the crew if this was some sort of official recruitment policy in action. Apparently not. I suppose they just wanted to employ New Zealanders capable of sailing between and through islands rather than knocking them over.

On the way back we stopped at Urupukepuke Island (now there's a name). We disembarked at a cove. After some skilful manoeuvring behind a towel, we went for a swim. We also ate our picnic lunches. It was beautiful. The bottom was scattered with starfish.

Most of the passengers had apparently not done their research and were reduced to climbing the hill or standing knee deep in their boating clothes. The land-bound folk also had to endure a large Japanese family. This almost mute couple looked on as their ghastly children fed seagulls until a huge screeching flock were all around, then ran at them chasing them away, then fed them some more, then pretended to feed them ... you get the idea I'm sure.

We finished the trip at 1.00 p.m. just as a few clouds started rolling in. It was a wonderful trip made all the better for knowing that if we had caught the afternoon trip it would have been in this!

We love this place so much we cancelled our Auckland hotel and are staying here. 

Tomorrow I'll probably be reporting from a place called "Big Trees" or "Water Falling Over a Cliff".