Russell is a town in the Bay of Islands which is probably most famous for the number of times the British flagpole was cut down, by Hone Heke, a Maori chief (more on that later - but a brief explanation of the photo)
We arrived to bright sunshine and blue waters, lots of bouganvillae in full bloom and Virginia creeper on the walls of the shops...
It is a quaint town, one which Captain Cook visited in 1769, when it was an established settlement of various Maori tribes.
Its name at that time, was Kororareka, reflecting a legend that a wounded chief asked for penguin and on tasting the broth said " Ka reka to korora." (How sweet is the penguin.) That would be one of those cute, little, blue penguins that waddle around here!
Russell gained a bad reputation in the 1800s however, when the South Sea whalers found it to be a useful port. It became lawless and bawdy, earning the nickname Hellhole of the Pacific.
Hard to believe today, with the pleasure craft moored, cafes and ice-cream parlours, and a leafy walk through the historic remnants of the place.
Our little house for the week had an amazing view, we sat on the balcony and had breakfast with this view!
Greg and Sophia went kayaking and we had fresh snapper for dinner.
Lots of lovely bays and beaches, ice-cream every day, gorgeous coffee and beautiful boutique shops to browse in - next week we shall have to be more adventurous - we're in search of history..why flagpoles got cut down, and so on!
