Visiting the Bay of Islands with the Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise
I had the good fortune of meeting four friends in New Zealand as part of my around the world trip. As a group activity, we chose to head up three hours north of Auckland to the Bay of Islands to explore some of the 144 islands in the area on the Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise.
The Rock leaves from Paihia Wharf and is a blast. Read on to understand what to expect on the Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise and why it is a great way to explore the Bay of Islands.
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About the Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise
The Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise takes place on a pretty cool boat. It offers an open first floor with a bar in the middle, a few couches to sit on, and a small fireplace in back. The second floor hosts a number of bedrooms and a small balcony in back. While on board you sail around to different areas of the Bay of Islands and partake in a variety of activities they have planned.
Day 1 Activities on the Rock
You board the Rock in the late afternoon, and from there on, activities ensue. The first activity of the day – Paintball plastic duck shooting!
Paintball Plastic Duck Shooting
That’s right, we started the evening off with trying to shoot a plastic duck trailing behind the boat with a paintball gun. Wouldn’t you know it, one of my friends, Cari, was the only one to hit the duck in the three chances we we were all given. As her reward, she received a free beer.
Snapper Fishing
Next up was fishing. If you’ve been fishing before, you may have some luck, but as novices, we were fairly unsuccessful. In fact, after standing at the back of the boat trying for about an hour, all I caught were enough plants to build my own aquarium… sans fish. There was only one fish caught by another passenger on board, but it at least proves that it can be done!
Dinner
Dinner is served as a buffet with a variety of food including sausage and steak. The food onboard is pretty good, and I think everyone left quite full! Beer and wine are also available for purchase onboard at $7 per bottle.
Night Kayaking
I had never kayaked at night before, but it is exceptionally calming. And, this is one activity you don’t want to miss as the water glows with phosphorescence or bioluminescence. Any time you move the paddle or kayak, or even your hand, it glows with shimmering blue particles. It was very easy to see the glow with the minimal moonlight while we were there.
This is also an excellent time to take in the clear sky with stargazing from your kayak. While that is very cool and you can get a pretty clear view of the Milky Way, did I mention the water glows?! I have seen millions of stars before but never glowing water so I was busy playing in it while others were taking in the stars.
Fireplace Onboard
Returning back to the Rock, we were all a bit damp so they lit the fireplace and handed out some marshmallows to roast. As we sat there roasting the marshmallows, people slowly started excusing themselves for bedtime.
Day 2 Activities on the Rock
The second day on the Rock is just as action packed as the first. They want to ensure you get to do as much as possible in the two day journey.
Early Morning Fishing
Rumor has it they offer early morning fishing. And, I admit, many people took part in this and caught some fish, but we all missed this activity. (Oops!)
Breakfast
Breakfast is served as another buffet with various cereals and a bit of fruit. Plenty to get the day started off right.
Snorkeling and Sea Urchin Hunting
When exploring islands, snorkeling is a must! That being said, we went in November, and the water was freezing – like take your breath away when you jump in cold! Against our better judgement, we jumped in, and snorkeled until we literally turned blue. Hint- it didn’t take that long!
During this time, we also went sea urchin hunting. You know those black spikey things in the ocean? Yeah, we pried those off the ocean floor to eat later on. Be careful picking them up as you can easily get a spike in the hand or cuticle, and it hurts!
Island Hiking and Beach Time, Optional Kayaking
As part of the Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise, you will get to go onto land at an island or two. We pulled into a bay and took the small dingy (boat) onto shore. There was the option to kayak into the beach instead, but with the freezing early morning swim, we opted to not get wet again. During the summer, this would be a great option!
On the island we docked at, we went for a short hike heading over the hill and down into a cove on the other side and then back up to a lookout point. It was a beautiful uninhibited island and we had a couple hours to explore it. There were some beautiful beach front areas as well as sweeping views.
Lunch and Sea Urchin Eating
Upon return to The Rock, it was lunch time. Lunch was premade sandwiches with fruit and chips as we headed back to the mainland. We also cracked open our sea urchins and had some sea urchin sushi. It’s a real thing, I promise. I’ve had it at restaurants.
Unfortunately, sea urchin is not like salmon or tuna sushi which I could eat every day and every meal. It is super salty and squishy. I can’t say I’m a huge fan, but when given the option to catch and eat sea urchins, I embrace my hunting and gathering skills.
Arrive back into town
We arrived back into town at about 3 pm and started the three hour journey back to Auckland.
Journey Back to Auckland
On your way back to Auckland, there are a number of places you can stop. As we were quite hungry, we made a pit stop in the tiny town of Puhui for dinner. It’s about two hours from Bay of Islands and one hour from Auckland. The town itself is barely a town as it has a general store and post shop and that appeared to be it.
However, the Puhui Pub is super charming and a great place to stop for dinner. It has an indoor area and then dozens of tables on the lawn in front of it. As the pub is one of the few places around, it does get crowded! We actually had a hard time finding an open table. The food was tasty, the beer was cold, and the people watching was stellar with everything from bachelorette parties to bikers to rugby teams. It seemed like everyone was enjoying this lively pub.
Visit the Puhui Pub official site for details. It also offers some hotel rooms in case you’d rather stay here than in “the big city”.
Other Ways to Explore the Bay of Islands
Maybe the Rock Overnight Adventure Cruise is not for you due to timing or budget. No worries as there are a LOT of other ways to see the Bay of Islands. Of course, the best options generally do involve a boat as after all, it is a group of islands…. Check out these other great options.
Plan More of Your New Zealand Adventure
Headed to New Zealand? Check out these other useful posts.
- Renting a Car in New Zealand: The Essential Guide
- Geothermal Activity and Adventures in Rotorua
- Road Trip from Queenstown to Christchurch: Exploring the South Island
- Discover Lake Wanaka: Hidden Gem of New Zealand
- Road Trip from Queenstown to Glacier Country
- Get to Know Downtown Auckland in Just One Day
- Searching for Glow Worms at Waipu and Abbey Caves
- Visiting Hobbiton: The Set of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings’ Movies
- Day Trip to Piha: A Black Sand Beach
- Wining and Dining on Waiheke Island
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