Bay of Islands family holiday

We finally braved going away with Freya. After what has seemed a long winter we headed up to Northland for warmer climes. So Freya went on her first plane flight. She did really well and ate and slept most of the way. She also went on several boat trips during the week...lots of firsts.

 

Waiting for take off

On the Russell-Paihia passenger ferry

We stayed at a friends Bach in Russell, in the Bay of Islands. Normally it is very busy in summer and although it was school holidays it was pretty quiet and not that many tourists. We did quite a few short walks in the bush, on the beach and visited some historic places. Russell used to be the capital of New Zealand, so lots of interesting history. We also went to Waitangi for the day, a very important place for New Zealanders. 

The strand in Russell

Flag pole at Waitangi

View from the Bach across to several of the island at dusk

We also spent a lot of time just hanging out and relaxing at the Bach, enjoying soaking in the spa! 

In the spa

Next time it would be nice to get in the water (bit cold at the moment), and out to some of the islands and explore. But we survived our first family holiday and learnt a lot about travelling with a little one...