Kowou island was about a four hour run from Great Barrier and we anchored up in Bon Accord Harbor 11 AM.
Kowou is home to the Governor Grey Mansion house who was govenor of New Zealand in the late 1800’s. It has been thru various iterations since, but is now a historic site open to visitors. Deb and I spent about 2 hours touring the house.
Unfortunately, photos of the interior are not permitted, but the interor is full of antiques from the 1800’s. The paneling is all Kauri and is truly beautiful.
After our tour, we stopped for a large flat white at the tea house. A flat white is steamed foamed milk and espresso coffee and is a staple in new Zealand. The following is a shot of one of the other diners at the tea house – he stopped by and was cheeky enough to take someone’s scone.
The island is also an historic reserve with many walking trails. Deb and I spent the rest of the day on a walk about.
This was a beautiful little beach where Deb collected shells.
A view from the top of the island (about 200 meters above the ocean).
A view of an old copper smelter that operated on the island in the late 1800’s.
A path back thru the bush to the mansion.
A redwood that Goevnor Grey planted in the 1800’s.
Gardens in the vicinity of the house.
For dinner we went by boat to the local yacht club. Lots of local color, fish and chips and simple surroundings. Then it was back to the boat, hoist the dink aboard, make ready for an early departure and off to bed. We are off to Marsden Cove and then Whangarei for final preparations for the leap to Tonga.
Cheers
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