A must try was the Hokey Pokey ice cream. You have never had butter or cream as fresh as what is in New Zealand. One of the country's themes is Dairy for Life. Add fresh New Zealand dairy to French vanilla and you have a divine ice cream laced with real honeycombs. You have just tasted one of the Kiwis’ favorite snacks.

Up early and glad there is no rain, we walk along the coast to our tour boat for a morning out on the water touring the Bay of Islands.

 First a Maori settlement, James Cook landed here in 1769 on the shores of Robertson Island. There are 144 islands in the bay, where only one is still used for agricultural purposes. The Maori name for Robertson Island is Island to Be Desired Beloved. Naming the area The Bay of Islands, James Cook made this island one of his base camps during his explorations.

The dreaded Scurvy plagued sailors and pirates alike during this time. Besides loading up on vegetables and fruits, Cook found on the shores if this island and grass that could be used to make beer and simultaneously ward off Scurvy. The plant to date is still known as beer grass. 

We were in luck that day, clear skies and a small pod of dolphins cruising alongside our boat. Most of the dolphins in that pod had not been seen in five months. Each dolphin had a signature whistle. When communicating to the other dolphins, they finished their sentences with that signature whistle to identify them. They can communicate up to 20 kilometers underwater by gauging the water temperature, pitch, and sound frequency. Unlike whales, dolphins come up for air voluntarily and not out of necessity.

Their average life span is 60 years. Since they do not tag the dolphins, they were recognized by our captain and called out by name. Environmental preservation is very important in New Zealand. 

Staying on top of the boat for the best views and the least seasickness, we motored thru a number of the islands. On a couple of the islands our guide kept referring to pissed, saying the islands have been pissed free for a number of years so natural fowl can make a comeback. I wasn’t quite sure what urine had to do with pissed free islands. I know on Russell Island they are not pissed free because I used the bathrooms there a number of times and the tannery still utilized pissed.  I wondered if the wildlife knew they were violating the law. Had anyone told them, “This is a pissed free island.” I finally made sense when she said they had problems with possums and rats digging the nissed up and eating the eggs. Oh, pissed means pest and nissed means nest. Some of the accents are thick, and I need a “Come again?” to clarify. 

We then motored out to a natural rock formation called Hole in The Rock, made from a very soft sedimentary rock. It used to have two arches but due to erosion and weathering, the second arch crumbled. Weather had prevented them from going thru the past couple of days, but we were in luck and went right thru. During a storm with 90 kilometer winds, the hole is completely covered if you can imagine that

We did have a few squalls on the way back, but no drenchings.  Wherever you look on any given day, a rainstorm is always lingering in the distance threatening to unload. The Kiwis never consider the rains as storms but a little rain cloud. It even rained when the sun was out and no clouds were above you.

We have seen a dozen rainbows, double rainbows, and the ends of rainbows on a daily basis. Anywhere you looked, some part of a rainbow could be seen.