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The Bay of Islands is a premier New Zealand holiday destination.
Just 237 kilometres north of New Zealand's major airport city on the North Island, Auckland, or a matter of about three hours driving, the Bay of Islands comprises mainland townships and close to 150 islands, many virtually untouched by civilisation.
Not only is it a romantic and idyllic New Zealand holiday destination but the Bay of Islands is, in fact, the cradle of New Zealand nationhood with historic Waitangi within its precincts.
Opening out to the South Pacific, the Bay of Islands features innumerable coves and inlets which lend themselves to forays into surprising discovery.
A sense of history
In 1769, the English explorer Captain James Cook dropped anchor in the Bay of Islands and set the wheels in motion for its settlement by the English.
It was Cook who named the place Bay of Islands and it was here that English settlers first set up home in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
The birth of New Zealand nationhood is traced back to 1840 Waitangi when Maori tribal leaders and the English colonisers forged a treaty which despite some flaws remains a watershed document for uniting New Zealand's various peoples into one common nation.
Next page: Paihia: Museum, Beaches, Bay Cruises
- (Photo courtesy of Destination Northland)
