Bay of Islands

Something happened we forgot to tell you about. At SFO Airport while we were waiting for our plane, Shirley , Leila & Rosie went for a walk and ended up in the Bar. We ordered our drinks, started talking to a guy from Australia when the Bar Tender came over. He wanted to know where we were going. We told him Australia and then we were taking a cruise around New Zealand. He said, “wow, the Golden Girls”, and Leila replied, “and the Golden Boys are right over there”, pointing down the hall. So we’re not sure if this journal should be, “ The Quest for the Tuatara Lizzard”, or “The Travels Of The Golden Girls( and Boys)”.
We have hit land in the North Island of New Zealand and are on the quest for the Tuatara Lizzard. It’s only on this island out of the whole world. Why wouldn’t we look for it? But then, why should we look for it? Well, we are! Jerry thought he saw it under a very big fig tree, but upon inspection it was a rotten fig. Leila thought she spotted it heading out to sea, but it was just driftwood. Then we realized we didn’t even know the size of the lizard. A man here in the Bay of Islands told us that we might see one in a zoo, but we don’t know where the zoo is – definitely not here – we’ll just keep looking.
We took a walk to the New Zealand Mauri Treaty House, went shopping, took a ferry boat ride to Russell Island, a mere 7 minutes away, on the Fast Ferry, where we saw the oldest church in New Zealand. The cushions on the pews were handmade needlepoint. We returned to Paui hia Harbour to find a “Que” of more than 400 passengers waiting to launch to the Sun Princess, at anchor.
It’s Manhattan time – tomorrow we meet Karen, Patty Taboni’s niece, and Bob for our guided tour of Auckland.
Six BMK Travelers ; AKA “The Golden Girls”