Bay of Islands

On our second day we travelled south along the east cost towards the Bay of Islands, stopping at Paihia. We nestled our camper on a beach front campsite and arranged a boat trip the following day to explore the islands. On our third day we took a boat out into the bay and saw three separate pods of dolphin, including the bottlenose and common dolphin. They swam alongside the boat catching the currents. We were dropped off on an island for a bbq lunch and then explored the secluded beaches and bays, stopping at Cable Bay for a swim. That evening we headed south again for the Coromandel Peninsula, stopping overnight at Uretiti beach campsite, backed by large sand dunes, in a huge open bay.