As I travel the world I take many photos that pique my interest. During the year April 2025 to March 2026 our travels included visits to many islands large and small. My theme for 2026 Island Hopping will give precedence to Islands visited in the past year but for those difficult letters like X and Z I will dig into my photo archives for content.
Motu Kōkako in New Zealand's Bay of Islands has several names. "Piercy Island, also known as "The Hole In The Rock" (and by its
Māori-language name Motu Kōkako), is located off the north coast of the
North Island of
New Zealand. It is at the very northern tip of
Cape Brett in the
Bay of Islands. It is Māori freehold land, which is administered by the Motu Kōkako Ahu Whenua Trust for the benefit of the descendants of the
traditional owners."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercy_Island_(New_Zealand).
While we didn't set foot on this small island we visited it on a cruise from Pahia. The highlight was when our driver put his foot down and whisked us through the famous "Hole in the Rock."
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| The Rock and its Hole |
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| Approaching the Rock |
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| Phew - we made it through. |
Back in November we had a more sedate visit to
Hammerfest, Norway, which is on the island of
Kvaløya.
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| Hammerfest Harbour |
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| Hammerfest - a small modern city |
While on
Kvaløya we visited a traditional Sami Camp and learnt about the lives and culture of these indigenous peoples.
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| We were greeted by a family member in traditional dress |
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| And directed inside this traditional grass-covered building |
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| We had fireside chat to learn about Sami customs |
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It takes a big fence to keep the reindeer herd contained
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| A young reindeer grazing - the older reindeer were rather mangy |
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| Lavva - a traditional Sami tent used by nomads following reindeer |
After returning to our ship for some fast food we took a tour to the
Museum of Reconstruction where we learnt about the devastation wrought on the area during the Nazi occupation in World War Two.
Unfortunately , as I was suffering from a bad photo day or overwhelmed by what I saw in the Museum, I only have a couple of photos to share.
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| Inside the Museum |
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| Most of the exhibits had English translations |
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| Patriotic photo from the exhibition |
