Bay of islands new zealand. A mysterious island has surfaced near Lakhta

There are a lot of wonderful places there, but the most unique is the territory of the Bay of Islands, the name of which it received due to the mass of small islands located in a small area, in a bay similar to. Get to know him better!

The Bay of Islands, or a fairy tale is almost here

A mild subtropical climate, snow-white beaches that stretch for kilometers, positive energy and the maximum number of sunny days a year - this is the territory of the Bay of Islands, which is located 240 km from Auckland.

It is somewhat similar to Russian beauties, except for the coast. Numerous shrubs, low-growing trees, grasses, some of which are similar to our tumbleweeds, yucca palms, similar to those that grow in, make this place special. It’s worth mentioning separately about the coastline, because here is the longest beach in the country, the length of which is 91 km!

The Bay of Islands is a special place that:

• located between two peninsulas - Cape Brett and Purerua;
• inside the bay there are about a hundred small coves, each of which can become a place for privacy for two or active recreation for a whole company;
• will delight travelers with numerous islands that can be reached by swimming, by boat, boat or yacht, admiring the beauty

In a word, the Bay of Islands is, each of which has its own flavor and character. It’s so easy to imagine emerald greenery, snow-white sand, waves rolling onto the shore and the numerous active ones that are possible here in.

The appeal of the Bay of Islands: more than just natural beauty

The very first European who visited here was D. Cook, after him missionaries settled here, for a long time the local population (Maori) and visitors were engaged only. Time has passed, traditions and cultures have mixed, so today the Bay of Islands has become an attractive destination for tourists and travelers.

Therefore, when planning to visit this part of the world, it is worth paying attention to visiting the city of Russell, located in the very north of the Bay of Islands.

It was once the capital, but today it delights travelers with numerous museums, Christ Church, the Pompallier House, created in the Victorian style in honor of the first vicar of the mission, and Flagstaff Hill.

The Bay of Islands is a favorite attraction for locals and tourists. But this is for the most active, and for those who like slowness - excellent, or a visit to the Newport Chocolates ltd chocolate boutique, an excursion to the Paroa Bay winery.

Various types of leisure, indescribable beauty, developed infrastructure and delicious dishes local cuisine- this is what attracts you to the territory of the Bay of Islands. When planning a vacation somewhere there, include this place in your route. You will not regret!

• Where to find: New Zealand, near Auckland;
• Entertainment: leisure- diving, yachting, boating, fishing, water sports

One of the most picturesque places in New Zealand is the Bay of Islands - a huge bay dotted with one and a half hundred small islands. This fact became decisive when choosing the name of the attraction. The bay's vegetation is rich and includes a variety of trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers, making it one of the most beautiful places peace.

The Bay of Islands is located 240 kilometers from. Its shape resembles a fjord, the width of which in some places reaches 16 kilometers. The interior of the bay is covered with numerous bays.

The Bay of Islands was discovered in 1769 by the famous English traveler Cook. This place became one of the first refuges for colonists from Europe. At the end of the 18th century, the bay was invaded by whaling ships. The year 1814 marked the arrival of the first missionaries in the area.

The bay is inhabited by indigenous people - Maori, who live in the small towns of Paihia and Russell. Settlements distinguished by beauty, hospitality of the aborigines, interesting story. The city of Russell was in the past the first permanent settlement of the colonists.

Bay of Islands today

These days, the Bay of Islands is the most visited resort in the country. This is facilitated by the mild subtropical climate, cozy beaches with white sand, and beautiful scenery. Nature did not skimp and created a unique landscape in the bay, which vacationers often call “New Zealand's French Polynesia.”

In addition to the superbly organized beach holiday The Bay of Islands offers active recreation, which includes diving, yachting, boating, fishing, aquatic species sports

The Bay of Islands is incredibly popular among vacationers also because accommodation is available to suit every taste and wallet size, service in hotels and inns is at the highest level, excellent local cuisine will satisfy a wide variety of tastes and preferences of visitors.

You can visit the Bay of Islands throughout the year. However, the greatest influx of tourists occurs in the winter months. It is at this time that you can go on an excursion to the sea and see whales and dolphins.

How to get there?

You can get to the attraction different ways. Excursions to the Bay of Islands are organized daily in. There are also coordination centers of travel agencies in the bay that can help in this matter. In addition, it is possible self-guided tour in a rented car from

On my 4th day of travel I drove north from Auckland and the “Bay of Islands” became the most northern point my travels around New Zealand, since all my other movements were to the south, slowly moving from North Island to the South.

My path was to the village of Paihia (or Paihia) - it was from there that the “water excursion” began.

The way there lay through the Auckland Bridge, once it was possible to bungee jump from it, but now all that remains is the attraction of walking along the bridge structures, similar to the famous bridge in Sydney, and even this activity must be booked in advance.

As I wrote earlier, the real symbol of New Zealand is the kauri tree. And probably the oldest and most famous representative of these trees is McKinney Kauri, whose age ranges from 800 to 900 years. It is located near the town of Warkworth, just on the road to the Bay of Islands. When you see this gigantic tree, you can’t help but wonder how many generations of people it has watched, technological progress has developed, trains, cars, airplanes have appeared, but the tree still stands in its original place.

There is also a small local history museum, where originals of New Zealand “buildings” of the early 20th century are presented. This small stall is a prison building from 1912.

The interior of the prison, it seems to me that previously, with the help of “friends from outside,” escaping from such a prison was not a big problem.

An old telephone booth.

Post office.

At the same time, a New Zealand surf camp came to this tree. As far as I know, in Russia there are only surf camps for learning to surf in Bali, I once visited one, and a German group came to New Zealand to learn surfing. I don’t know how comfortable the training was for them, but the ocean here in the spring is very, very cold.

Paihia is a cute little New Zealand village. But the fire station here is made in a modern style.

When I travel and go to a supermarket, I always try to find and try brands that I did not know before and that are produced exclusively in a given country. In New Zealand, a purely New Zealand product is Lemon and Paeroa lemonade.

It tastes somewhat like regular Sprite, but the trick is that before this I have never seen this lemonade on sale in any country in the world.

In New Zealand, as well as in any civilized country, you can do anything for money officially paid to the state budget car number to order, with the exception, of course, of outright curses. You don’t have to, like us, pay the cops money to buy an “a777aa-77”, and it’s impossible to be known among the people as a “cool pepper.”

The pier in the town of Paihia, from which boats depart for a walk to the Bay of Islands.

On this water trip, dolphins can be seen with a probability of almost 99.99%, as evidenced by the wooden monument immediately before boarding the ship.

The boat departs and the excursion begins. Before entering the ship, everyone receives a special map of the Bay of Islands indicating all stopping points along the way to observe the progress of the route yourself.

Along the way there are these cute uninhabited islands.

It is interesting that the guide on the boat is the “driver” or “captain” himself, I don’t know what is the correct name for the one who physically controls the boat. This is our girl - driver - guide, who told us all the way about the delights of New Zealand's Bay of Islands.

The boat floats past beautiful scenery, sometimes completely secluded houses on the mountains.

The dolphins didn’t have to wait long either.

Sometimes dolphins swim very close to tourist boats and tourists even with “simple soap dishes” manage to take a photo for themselves as a souvenir.

On the shore you can see New Zealand houses standing, well, completely “alone with nature” - one house, surrounded by green trees, standing on the shore of a steep cliff in the Pacific Ocean.

And again there are dolphins, they are everywhere here.

During our excursion, the boat also made a stop to deliver food to the remote mansion of some New Zealander. In the next photo you can see which interesting island his “dacha-pacha” is located. On the right there is a pier and a house for service personnel, and on the right, behind the scenes, high on the mountain, the house of the owner himself. When the tide is low, the owner can walk to the pier through a thin isthmus, and when the tide is high, there are two islands and the only way to move around is by swimming.

Marina "remote dacha"

And the main house of the “owner”.

Along the way we constantly meet beautiful islands– rocks.

And finally, another local attraction is a rock with the simple name “Hole in the Rock” or simply “hole in the rock”.

In Crimea, near Koktebel, we have a similar attraction, only with more beautiful name- "Golden Gate". And she still seems cooler to me :-).

In Paihia, those who are not very fond of sailing on ships, or who suffer greatly from seasickness, can take a helicopter tour along the same bay and see everything from the air.

From Paihia it is very close to the place where all New Zealand statehood began.

This agreement is still one of the governing documents of the country's social structure and creates the principles of existence of the Maori and the modern New Zealand state.

The creation of the state of New Zealand was practically “bloodless”; the treaty was signed for Great Britain by William Hobson, and for the Maori – Oni Iki, the leader of the Apui tribe, on his own behalf and on behalf of 40 other leaders of other tribes.

The signing site is located in the north of Paihia on the other side of the Waitangi River; to get there you need to cross this narrow bridge.

In New Zealand, even now, a huge number of bridges are equipped with only one lane of traffic, the population density is very low and this does not create traffic congestion.

In order to pass each other on such bridges, sometimes passing pockets are installed in the center, and sometimes this is not done. And the cars are waiting for oncoming traffic to pass at the edge of the bridge.

Now at the site of the historical signing of the treaty there is an open-air history museum and a socio-political center “Treaty of Waitanga”, but I never visited it due to limited time.

There is also a proud three-masted sailboat"Tui", where part of the Kelly Tarlton shipwreck museum is located, another museum of which I visited in the future

This is where the flagpole stands, which the arrow points to in the next photo is the exact place where this famous treaty was signed.

Now a few words about this agreement itself. The British here were voluntary colonizers and colonized the land mostly peacefully, unlike the Australians - convicts or the conquistadors who completely destroyed the Mayan civilization.

In accordance with the agreement, New Zealand came under the control of Great Britain, in exchange for which the Maori retained their property and non-property rights, received British protection and transferred the Crown exclusive rights to purchase land from them.

Here and now, the richest businesses belong to the descendants of Maori. This is the only indigenous population in the world who can be proud of such a fate in their proximity to the white race, which certainly cannot be said about, for example, the Australian aborigines or North American Indians living on reservations.

Some interesting facts about Maori, the indigenous population in New Zealand is only 13%.

Usually these are obese, overweight people; before the Europeans they did not know “diseases of the white race” and now they have the highest percentage of diabetes mellitus in the country.

The Maori have their own king and their own hierarchy, their families have many children, they have a family-tribal structure, that is, women can choose their own husbands.

There is a fairly low percentage of homosexuals among Maori, this is a very big difference from or where "representatives of sexual minorities" among the indigenous population are found everywhere.

Despite the obesity of most of them, many Maori representatives can be found in New Zealand sport.

They are characterized by innate belligerence, but the Maori are also very pragmatic people, and therefore they decided not to tempt fate and agreed to sign the treaty proposed by the English Crown. Several leaders were still against it, there were clashes with them, so it was still not possible to completely avoid bloodshed.

And the British even took some Maori leaders to Great Britain in order to show them the “benefits of civilization,” because the “natives” did not know iron at all before the whites.

And finally, in Paihia there is a place where the date of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi is celebrated every year. People gather in this square and arrange a holiday for themselves.

P.S. In the next post about the most “Maori” city of New Zealand - Rotorua, I will continue to write about Maoris and the preferences that exist for them to live in a lovely rural country called New Zealand.....to be continued....

A mysterious investor brought an artificial “Bay of Islands” project to Smolny - in the water area next to the Lakhta Center, the new stadium and the 300th Anniversary Park. Several sources in the city administration confirmed to Fontanka that they know about the project.

Nobody wants to say the "islander's" last name. Perhaps because it coincides with the name of one too famous in Lately in Russia and even in the world of the restaurateur - Yevgeny Prigozhin. However, the fact that a new alluvium may appear in the Neva delta was officially confirmed to Fontanka by the Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture (KGA). It is planned to create a “unique” multifunctional complex on artificial land – the “Bay of Islands” eco-city.

The idea is still at an early stage; sources in Smolny are rather skeptical about the possibility of its implementation. But options are already being “worked out.” New Island, or even a complex of islands, if, of course, the idea is considered feasible, will appear near the coastline of the Primorsky district and Lakhta Center.

From the information of the committee it follows that the department was provided with materials giving only a general idea of ​​the intended use of artificial land plot. The documents, as reported to Fontanka by the KGA, contain only aggregated indicators of the volume of development, sketches transport links With coastline cities. In addition, they generally describe the model for the future supply and provision of the formed territory.

The committee also emphasizes that the presented plan does not include calculations for connecting to the city road network. They also do not contain traffic load forecasts. The committee could not describe the project in more detail, nor could they name the investor.

It was not possible to find out any information about the timing or cost of the Fontanka project. One of those who saw the project says that it is more of a concept for now, and makes a comparison - the Emirates. This is something in the shape of a flower or palm tree, they told Fontanka.

The only thing that is definitely known is that for such reclamation it is necessary to first calculate the environmental consequences. And above all, the impact on the performance of the Protective Structures Complex. Because the island is drawn “inside” the dam, not outside.

As ecologist Alexander Karpov explains, the problem is that such an island can seriously reduce the area of ​​the Neva’s water bowl. And this will make it potentially dangerous for water masses to drain back into the delta after they are blocked during floods: roughly speaking, if the island is too large, there may simply not be enough space for the water. In addition, in order to build an island somewhere, you need to tear down a mountain somewhere else. There are no such reserves of sand in the bay, the expert says.

The KGA also confirms this. It will be possible to make any decisions and make assessments only after a scientific examination, they say. In St. Petersburg, it can be performed, for example, by the All-Russian Research Institute of Hydraulic Engineering named after. B. E. Vedeneeva, they say in the department. But the documents have not yet been transferred there. The examination should assess the possibility of creating alluvium, taking into account the depths and currents of the Gulf of Finland, as well as the “special functions of the Neva Bay water area.”

The committee says that the examination may include existing calculations of the area of ​​the minimum permissible water surface of the Gulf of Finland, which ensures the normal operation of the dam. As a result, scientists must determine “the maximum area and location of the territory that can be formed without creating a threat of emergencies of a natural or man-made nature, as well as without compromising the normal operation of the gas station,” explained the department’s press service. “Taking into account the above, the committee considers it premature to assess the possibility of implementing this investment project,” the press service quotes the head of the committee, Vladimir Grigoriev.

The head of the Primorsky district, Nikolai Tsed, confirmed to Fontanka that he had already heard about this project several times on the sidelines of the city government. However, the name of the investor, according to him, was not mentioned, there is no government decision, so there is nothing to comment on yet. But in general, he has nothing against the idea, the head of the district said: the more large ambitious projects in St. Petersburg, such as Lakhta Center, the better.

The Legislative Assembly also knows about the project. As sources in the city parliament told our publication, they are aware of a certain investment proposal, which was transferred from the office of Vice-Governor Igor Albin to the KGA for a preliminary assessment. The assessment, they said, was negative.

The head of the KGA, Vladimir Grigoriev, also did not answer Fontanka’s direct question about the author of the idea.

However, in great secrecy, some sources report that the name of the investor may coincide with the name of the “Kremlin chef” Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin. There is no official confirmation of this. Yevgeny Prigozhin has long had substantial assets in Lakhta. It was his company, we recall, that built the Northern Versailles residential complex near the Lakhtinsky Razliv, consisting of cottages in the style of palaces from different eras. Half were sold at the start of the project, in 2008. How many have been implemented since then is unknown. Nearby, on New street, Prigozhin’s company Concord Management and Consulting built another low-rise complex on 17 hectares, a simpler class - the Lakhtapark residential complex, 60 two- and three-story cottages and 18 semi-detached residential buildings with 490 apartments.

As they say, the idea still raises many more questions in Smolny than approval. In addition to destabilizing the work of the dam, such an “eco-city” in the middle of the bay will create new species dominants: the structure, for example, will be “admired” by tourists from the coast of Peterhof.

The environmental management committee will not be in a better position either, because the island will get in the way of migratory birds. It is also unknown how the monument protection committee will resolve the situation. By the way, its head Sergei Makarov also told Fontanka that he had heard about the project, but was not yet aware of the details.

Nikolay Kudin,

Elena Zelikova,

IN There are many islands, large and small, in the Gulf of Finland...
However, only a few will be able to name any islands other than Kotlin Island, on which Kronstadt is located. At the same time, there are very interesting and beautiful islands.

1. Kotlin Island
The most famous, most important and most populated island in the Gulf of Finland. The length of the island is about 12 km, the maximum width is less than 3 km, the area is about 16 square meters. km. The island is connected to the mainland by a road passing through a complex of flood protection structures (Dambe). On part of the island is the city of Kronstadt.

The island is located on the legendary routes “from the Varangians to the Greeks” and “from the Varangians to the Arabs”, and is mentioned in the 1269 agreement between Novgorod and the Hansa. The city that stood on this site was at least 500 years older than St. Petersburg. And given that the contract stated that ships would be reloaded on the island, “as it was in ancient times,” the city was much older. Subsequently, arriving merchants waited on the island for pilots from Novgorod, who led trade caravans across the Neva and Volkhov to Ilmen.

There is a legend according to which the Swedes, when landing on the Russian island, hastily fled, leaving a pot on the fire. This legendary bowler hat is depicted on the coat of arms of Kronstadt. The name Kotlin supposedly comes from the word “boiler”. According to another legend, Kotlin was named so because on old maps the neck of the Gulf of Finland east of the island resembled a cauldron.

On an islet dumped on the shallows south of Kotlin Island, Peter I founded Fort Kronshlot in 1703, which blocked the main fairway leading to the mouth of the Neva, where the new capital of the empire, St. Petersburg, was being built for a potential enemy. On May 7, 1704, the fortifications, which included two batteries on Kotlin Island, came into operation (the date of the founding of Kronstadt).

In 1723, a fortress was founded on Kotlin and given the name Kronstadt. Peter I considered Kronstadt part of the capital.

1. Gogland Island
This small granite island, located in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, is one of the most famous islands Gulf of Finland. Gogland is located 180 km west of St. Petersburg. Its area is about 21 square meters. km, height - up to 176 m.

The basis of the island is granite, which forms many different-sized hills and valleys, where small fresh lakes glacial origin. The entire coastline is indented with hundreds of bays of all shapes and sizes.

Although the island is considered one of the most dangerous places for shipping in the Baltic, local residents have long been considered excellent sailors and were willingly hired as sailors on sailing ships.

The nature of Gogland is rich and diverse. There are about 700 species of vascular plants alone (for comparison, the same number of species in the Leningrad and Pskov regions, which are tens of times larger than Gogland). Almost 80% of the island's territory is covered with coniferous and small-leaved forests. The foot of the rocks is covered with blueberries, raspberries, alpine currant and juniper bushes.

The fauna is represented by 25 species of beetles, 6 species of amphibians and reptiles, 126 species of birds (a quarter are listed in the Red Book of Nature Leningrad region). As for mammals, their composition is unknown because it is constantly changing. Here they often see shrews and various mice, sometimes white hares, squirrels and foxes, European mink, and raccoon dogs.

Gogland is a Mecca for archaeologists and historians. Stone Age human sites, medieval pirates, the Battle of Hogland, envoys of Peter the Great, the death of "Lefort", "America", the Struve meridian, Popov's radio communication session in 1900, 300 years of wars, endless fortifications and dozens of sunken ships, battles of World War II, constant a change of owners, which ended only in 1947 with the return of the island home to Russia.

2. Transund Archipelago
The island is located in Vyborg Bay, for a long time it was known only to history buffs and radio amateurs. Previously there was a Finnish artillery battery.

At the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, Alexander Popov tested his wireless telegraph on the islands of the archipelago, and from 1963 to 2012, Maly Vysotsky Island was leased from Finland. During this period, specialized expeditions to Maly Vysotsky, which did not belong to Finland, but temporarily did not belong to Russia, were popular among radio amateurs, and where a special call sign was used for communication sessions.

3. Sommers
Peter the Great gave this rocky island to his jester Jan Lacoste along with the mocking title of “Samoyed King.” It is located in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland.

The next time the island made its mark in Russian history was during the Great Patriotic War, and this happened under very tragic circumstances. In June 1942, Sommers, captured by Finnish troops, was recklessly landed by amphibious assault. The desperate battle lasted for three days, but the poor planning of the operation prevailed over the steadfastness and courage of the Soviet soldiers. Of the one and a half thousand Red Navy men who landed on this piece of land, none survived. The island was only liberated after Finland left the war in 1944.

4. Moshchny Island
It's pretty big Island. It used to be densely populated. Now on the island there is only a small border post with a radio technical post and a post for illuminating the surface and underwater situation of the Leningrad naval base.

5. Big Tyuters and Small Tyuters
The two islands are located in the central part of the Gulf of Finland. There are lighthouses on both islands; the attendants are the only inhabitants of the islands. On Maly Tyuters there is a ringed seal.

Bolshoi Tyuters has long been known as the “island of death.” During the Second World War, the Germans mined it; in subsequent years, several attempts were made to clear the island of mines, but only the last seventh was successful. In 2005, Russian and Swedish specialists neutralized more than 30 thousand explosive objects. There are lighthouses on both islands, and members of the staff are the only inhabitants of Tyuters, with the exception of the ringed seal, which is very common on Maly.

6. Fox Island
One of the calmest and greenest islands, lost in Klyuchevskaya Bay of the Vyborg region. Beautiful forests with plenty of mushrooms and berries have been preserved here, as well as clean shores along which all kinds of fish swim and spawn.

This is perhaps one of the calmest and greenest islands of all those listed. There are no conservation restrictions and the island is quite popular place recreation for those who have a boat.

7. Virgin Islands
IN Gulf of Finland have their own Virgin Islands. These are practically namesakes Virgin Islands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. South Virgin is especially interesting: it contains a mysterious round labyrinth of pebbles, built by ancient people.

This labyrinth is called Paris: some say that in honor of the intricate streets of Paris, others say that this name comes from the Swedish word Paris, that is, church parish, and reflects the sacred essence of this place.

More information about the islands on the website