Paihia Haere Mai

Click the image to read the inscription (prayer) 
that accompanies this statue in the heart of Paihia.  

Haere Mai to Paihia

This carved wood statue greeted us as we returned to the small town of Piahia, Bay of Islands, New Zealand after exploring the islands and caves by boat.

Haere Mai (click for pronunciation) is a Māori greeting: come here!  welcome!

Dolphins

The dolphin has special meaning to the Māori people, who often described dolphins as taniwha, or water spirits, and told stories about certain taniwha that had intervened in human life.

According to Ngāti Wai people, who inhabited islands off Auckland’s eastern coast, dolphins acted as messengers in times of need, carrying news from the islands to the mainland.

Bay of Islands On Your Own

Paihia photo album

For those that don't want to book a ship's excursion, you can visit the iSite (information site) once you arrive in Paihia by ship tender.  You will find these visitor information centers throughout your stay in New Zealand. 

Tour like a local with the information provided by workers at these centers.  They can provide you with ideas about things to do, how to get around, and even book your tours.

When we first arrived at the ship, we had been talking with our cabin steward about our cabin bar setup, and the topic of Orange Fanta® soda came up.  We found out he liked it as well.  In one of the shops, we asked where we might get some snacks and soda, and they directed us to the local grocery store, just down the block.  We found the orange soda on sale there, so we bought a few bottles, including one for our cabin steward.  He was quite surprised when we gave it to him.

We had a very enjoyable time exploring this little town following our shore excursion.

Explore more in our photo album:
Paihia photo album



Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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