...This was how Russell, the first European settlement in New Zealand was known in the 1800s. When Charles Darwin visited in 1835 he described its inhabitants as 'the refuse of society'. As a successful whaling & sealing town it was world renowned for its population of drunk sailors, escaped convicts and prostitutes. Disappointingly, when we visited it wasn't as nearly as much fun as billed.

It is in a nice spot though, and you can understand why those pesky outlanders dropped anchor here: Dead centre in an enormous protected bay dotted with a hundred little islands, lots of trees to cut down and mend ships, friendly/easily pacified natives, fresh water and easy hunting. Nowadays this haven is known as The Bay of Islands.

We were there to see dolphins. The calm waters are frequented by pods of common and bottle-nosed dolphins, whales and orcas. Having missed out on swimming with dolphins in Kaikora due to bad weather, we were hoping for a second chance. Unfortunately, we didn't see any bottle-nosed dolphins (who are happy to swim with people), but we were lucky enough to see a pod of about 100 common dolphins who were idly swimming around a mother and baby pair of Bryde's Whales. It was a fantastic sight. The dolphins looked almost lazy, slowly circling the boat, pfffing water from their blow-holes. The boat's captain told us that they would have just eaten, so were taking it easy to digest their food.

As well as dolphin-spotting our boat also made a stop at Urupukapuka Island, one of the biggest in the bay. We walked up to the top of the hill in the centre of the island to find stunning views of the rest of the bay, as well as the site of an old 'pa' – a walled Maori settlement. Reading about the European settlers and their exploits, it's easy to forget that the land they arrived in had already been inhabited for hundreds of years. This history is especially significant in The Bay of Islands area as the nearby town of Waitangi is where the British and Maori finally signed a treaty in 1840 that recognised Maori land ownership and gave them the same rights as British citizens in exchange for British sovereignty. (Aside: James Busby, the then British Resident who drafted the treaty was also the founder of viticulture in both New Zealand AND in Australia. Legend). The site of the treaty-signing in the seaside garden of the former British Residency, has life-sized replicas of the 20 foot war canoes that the Maori arrived in. How's that for an entrance?