Bay of Islands: Hole in the Rock Cruise & Island Walk

4.87

(140 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect the water to be that clear—almost glassy, but with these wild flashes of turquoise where the sun hit. We’d barely left Paihia when our guide, Sam, started pointing out islands I’d never heard of (144 is a lot, honestly). The boat was smaller than I pictured, which actually made it feel more like we were all in on something together. There was this salty breeze that kept making my hair stick to my face—annoying but kind of perfect for a day trip Bay of Islands style.

We stopped at Roberton Island (Sam called it Motuarohia, which I tried to say and failed—he laughed but in a nice way). The short walk up to the lookout was steeper than I thought, and I could smell wet earth and something sweet from the bush. At the top, you get this view over the twin lagoons—green water curling around white sand—and it’s just quiet except for some birds I couldn’t name. Someone said they saw a stingray but I missed it; still annoyed about that. Anyway, standing there felt like pressing pause on everything else.

The main event was definitely cruising out toward the Hole in the Rock. It’s weird seeing something you’ve only seen on postcards actually right there—the sea gets rougher out near Cape Brett and suddenly there’s this giant rock with a hole straight through it. We didn’t go through because of the swell (apparently that happens sometimes), but even just drifting close felt unreal. There were gannets diving for fish and everyone got quiet for a second watching them. On the way back someone shared their sandwich with me because I forgot mine (thanks again if you ever read this).