![]() ![]() The Māori word manaakitanga means providing hospitality that is genuine and uplifting, supporting travellers with kindness as part of the community. It's about now that our itinerary is hijacked by hosts whose generous recommendations are rooted in a concept that plays a pivotal role in the lives of the indigenous people. ![]() Launching into Russell with gusto, we move into the century-old B&B Arcadia Lodge, perched on a hillside above Matauwhi Bay. It's immediately clear, however, that all the big game fishing, scenic cruising, sailing, diving, kayaking, walking, biking, picnicking and helicopter-flight-seeing will take another day. The pebbly seashore is obscured by subtropical foliage but we know it's there beneath the mezzanine bedroom with a floor-to-ceiling glass shower.Įagles Nest is an impeccable lover's retreat with champagne, a jacuzzi, and 144 islands to gawp at through wrap-around glass walls. Rahimoana Villa at Eagles Nest in the Bay of Islands. RussellĪs New Zealand's first European settlement, Russell was such a magnet to fleeing convicts and drunken sailors in the mid-1830s that Charles Darwin described the roughneck town as full of "the very refuse of society". History runs deep in the safe harbours along this Northland coast and especially in the township of Russell - once "the Hellhole of the Pacific" - about three hours' drive away. Leaving Waiheke takes fortitude but, nonetheless, we are ferried over water and soon on State Highway 1, heading through the winterless north to the Bay of Islands. Al fresco Sundays at Poderi Crisci are legendary as Long Lunch day and the resulting experience is impossible to review here. The scent of truffle oil hangs heavy in the air. They are gathered at tables laden with melting mozzarella, garlicky sausage and eggplant tart. There are gorges where splinters of wild are tucked into the tame and, in the sheep-cropped hills at the northeastern end of the island, an abandoned network of wartime gun emplacements at Stony Batter Historic Reserve.Įventually, in a vineyard down an isolated valley, we stumble upon a feasting crowd. ![]() We travel further next day, circling the island on roads sometimes unsealed, often deserted. It entices us to a stroll after dinner into artsy Oneroa, where galleries sell locally produced knick-knackery. One of those beaches is a crescent of sand beneath our bedroom window. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |