Russell & Bay of Islands

Russell is the perfect base for a romantic stay, family holiday or base to explore the upper north island and the sailors paradise of the Bay of Islands.

Russell was the first capital of New Zealand and one of the first European settlements. The town is rich in history with a variety of shops and services that do not spoil the old charm. Hours can be spent in the museum tracing the town’s history from the first European settlers, whaling and marine history. Even the headstones at New Zealand's first church have a story to tell.

Shops include two boutique supermarkets, butcher, baker, shops that sell candles, off licence, video rental, hardware, newsagent and bookshop, business centre, fish & chips, antiques, gifts, fuel, fishing tackle, dive fills, and attraction booking offices.

Restaurants cater from cafe and bistro dining to world class and even a vineyard restaurant nearby. Bars range from the famous Duke of Marlborough hotel with its wonderful terrace near the wharf, to the Bay of Island Swordfish club. Pizza, Thai, Fish and gourmet restaurants are all available.

Passenger ferries operate continuously to the tourist town of Paihia opposite where additional shops and attractions can be found. A number of attractions leave from Russell wharf including the fast Excitor trip to the hole in the rock, R Tucker Thomson sailing ship, fishing charters and dolphin encounter cruisers. A medical centre and chemist are also in the main shopping area.

The wharf is a hive of activity with ferries, game fishing boats, tours and boats refueling coming and going all day long.

About Captain Cook and discovering New Zealand

"The land on the Sea-Coast is high with steep cliffs, and back inland are very high mountains...the face of the Country is of a hilly surface and appeares to be cloathed with wood and Verdure"

Captain Cook's journal, 8th October 1769

We often stand on the deck of Captain’s Lookout and like to imagine the sight of the Endeavour sailing into the bay in Russell, back in Novermber 1769. It would have been quite something. The house features a number of reproduction paintings including one of Cook and another made by a crew member of the Endeavour of Cook meeting a maori. Over time we hope to build up a small collection of Cook items.

James Cook was born in Yorkshire, England, and entered the navy as an able seaman in 1755. By 1768 he had been promoted to first lieutenant, and was given command of the bark Endeavour, a well constructed ship of 368 tons.

On 26th August 1768, the Endeavour set sail from Plymouth, stocked with 18 months supplies, and with 94 men aboard. Accompanying Cook were Joseph Banks, the botanist, Daniel Solander, a naturalist, and Charles Green, from the Greenwich Observatory.

On 6th October 1769, Nicholas Young, the surgeon's boy, sighted the coastline of New Zealand from the masthead of The Endeavour.

On 8th October the Endeavour sailed into a bay, and laid anchor at the entrance of a small river in Tuuranga-nui (today's Poverty Bay, near modern Gisborne). Cook named a peninsula in this bay "Young Nick's Head" after Nicholas Young.

On 3rd November suitable anchorage was found at Mercury Bay - so named as ten days were spent here observing the transit of Mercury. Before leaving Mercury Bay, the date and the ship's name Endeavour were carved into a tree, and Cook took formal possession of this area. Sailing further north, the Endeavour arrived at what Cook decided to call “the Bay of Islands”.

Such was the quality of his chartwork that some of his original soundings still appeared on maritime charts of the area until the 1990s.