New Zealand
Bay of Islands
A hundred and forty-four islands where dolphins thread through the waters where New Zealand's founding treaty was signed.
One hundred and forty-four islands scatter across a bay so sheltered that the water barely ripples between them. Dolphins surface alongside kayaks in the Bay of Islands, close enough to hear the exhale through their blowholes. This is where New Zealand's modern history began.
The Treaty of Waitangi was signed here in 1840, establishing the relationship between the British Crown and Māori iwi that still defines New Zealand's political landscape. The Waitangi Treaty Grounds sit on the waterfront at Paihia, offering a guided experience that is confronting, honest, and essential. Beyond the history, the bay is a sailing paradise — sheltered channels between islands provide anchorage in all conditions. The Cape Brett Hole in the Rock is a natural tunnel through a headland that tour boats pass through in calm weather. Big-game fishing for marlin and kingfish draws anglers from across the Pacific.
Solo
The Cape Brett Track is a challenging overnight hike to the lighthouse at the bay's eastern edge. The hut sleeps twelve and the sunset over the islands is yours.
Couple
Chartering a yacht to anchor in a private bay overnight — with dolphins threading between the islands at dawn — is Bay of Islands at its most romantic.
Family
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds offers a cultural experience that works for all ages, and the calm bay waters are safe for swimming and kayaking with children.
- Dolphins swim alongside kayaks between the 144 islands, often close enough to hear them breathe.
- Waitangi Treaty Grounds sit on the waterfront — the founding document of modern New Zealand was signed here.
- The sailing is sheltered by islands in every direction, with anchorages accessible to novice skippers.
- Seasonal marlin and kingfish runs draw anglers from across the Pacific to these warm northern waters.
Rock oysters shucked dockside at the Opua Marina farmers' market.
Line-caught kingfish sashimi so fresh the flesh is still translucent.
Duke of Marlborough pub — New Zealand's oldest licensed hotel, serving cold beer since 1840.
Jericoacoara
Brazil
Windswept dunes where the sun melts into the sea from a natural stone arch.
St Ives
England
Light so luminous it lured a century of painters to this harbour of turquoise shallows.
Tulpar-Köl
Kyrgyzstan
Alpine pools at 3,500 metres that mirror a 7,000-metre peak at dawn like shattered glass.
Philae Temple
Egypt
A temple rescued from rising waters, reassembled stone by stone on an island in the Nile.
Piha
New Zealand
Black iron-sand stretches beneath a lion-shaped monolith where the Tasman pounds relentlessly.
Tiritiri Matangi Island
New Zealand
Birds thought near-extinct now eat from your hand on a predator-free island sanctuary.
Raglan
New Zealand
One of the world's longest left-hand point breaks rolling into a harbour of black volcanic sand.
Cathedral Cove
New Zealand
A cathedral-sized limestone arch frames turquoise water on a coast carved across millennia.