“The Bay of Islands offers more than broad vistas of sea and sky, more than beaches, boating, and fabulous water sports. The Bay is the birthplace of modern New Zealand. Here the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, establishing British rule and granting the native inhabitants equal status. Rich in legend and mystery, the Bay of Islands has age-old ties to the Maori and to whalers, missionaries and New Zealand’s early settlers.
The Bay of Islands has lured explorers for countless centuries. The Maori say that Kupe, the great Polynesian adventurer, came here in the 10th century. Captain Cook anchored offshore in 1769, followed by assorted brigands, traders, colonists and missionaries.” – The Princess Patter
The Pacific Princess anchored in the Bay of Islands about 7:00 am. It was a glorious sunny day with the temperature expected to get up to 78º F. When we entered the Bay of Islands we were struck by the smell of tropical flowers. As there is no port or docking facilities large enough for the Pacific Princess, we went ashore in a ‘tender’ (lifeboat in other circumstances). We landed in at the Waitangi Yacht Club near the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. In 1840 a treaty was signed here between many of the Maori Chiefs and the British Crown which is the basis for New Zealand nationhood.
From Waitangi we boarded a bus and headed for the Puketi Forest. This is a semi-tropical forest of Kauri Trees which covers 37,000 acres in northern New Zealand. The Kauri Tree once covered much of New Zealand. It is a slow growing tree that lives for hundreds of years and grows to great height. The native Maori used the tree primarily for building war canoes but the European settlers saw it as a great building material and soon cut down most of the Kauri Forests. It is now a protected species. Kauri grows in dense semi-tropical forests that are also home to many flowers, vines, saw-bladed grass, and birds. New Zealand has no snakes and the only native mammals are small rodents. Unfortunately, Europeans brought rats and Australians brought possums, both of which have been quite damaging to the Kauri Forests. The possum are so destructive that a bounty has been placed on them and New Zealanders use their fur to combine with merino wool to make expensive winter wear.
We had an interesting walk through the Puketi Forest with a naturalist as a guide. Although not quite as big as the Giant Redwoods, Kauri Trees are huge. The forest is a crowded eco-system where the grasses, huge black ferns and vines all play a part in providing the nutrients necessary to grow such large trees. Also important is the volcanic nature of the New Zealand soil. We walked through the forest on raised wooden walk ways constructed to protect the flora from us. We saw little animal life as most of the birds and insects that inhabit the forests are nocturnal.
After leaving the forest we headed for the Kawiti Glow-worm Caves. However, along the way we stopped in the small town of Kawakawa. There, we visited Hundertwasser’s Toilets. These remarkable toilets were designed and constructed on commission from the Town of Kawakawa by the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The toilets are decorated with many colored tiles of various shapes and sizes as well as empty bottles. The structure has few straight lines and at least one tree growing through it. It is quite a fantastical sight but it also serves a very practical purpose.
The Kawiti Glow-worm Caves are privately owned by the descendants of the Maori who first found the caves. Upon arriving at the site, we were directed to take a “bush walk” up the side of a mountain and then back down again. I’m not sure why. Having completed this task were were then lined up and escorted to the cave. This was a quite large cave full of stalactites (“head knockers”) and stalagmites. Electric lanterns were handed out and we were guided into the cave. The guide had quite a patter worked out and the walk in was cool and entertaining. Finally, we reached what was described as the highest point in the cave and we were directed to turn the lanterns off and look up. What we saw were constellations of little glowing lights. (The guide says, “If you are looking up with your mouth wide open and you see a shooting star … shut your mouth!”) We were told that the lights were small worms (Arachnocampa Luminosa) about the size of a match stick. They salivate a sticky substance that they first use to build a ‘hammock’ with and, when they are securely attached to the cave ceiling, they use the sticky saliva to create ‘lines’ which hang from their mouths to catch May Flies, Mosquitos and other small flying insects. The insects are attracted by the Glow-worms blue light and, once they are entangled in the Glow-worms sticky line, the worm sucks up the line like spaghetti and it is dinner time.
While listening to our guides commentary it became clear that the longer the lights were off, the brighter the worms became. Even when we turned the lights back on in order to file back out of the cave, the worms were still quite visible. We then realized that there were worms on the cave ceiling almost to the cave opening and some of them were close enough that we could see them quite clearly.
Following our exit from the caves, we re-boarded our bus and returned to Waitangi and back to the Pacific Princess.
Just a note about the Pacific Princess Harmony Choir concert … It went very well … our next performance will be at 6:00 am on February 12 as we enter Sydney Harbor. The choir will salute the Sydney Opera House in our bathrobes …