Each summer, Paihia is blessed by the arrival of a multitude of cruise ships that anchor in the bay and disembark their passengers for a shore visit to the Bay of Islands. Some passengers take an organised tour, others are happy to explore and enjoy the ambience of Paihia or Russell. A few years ago an American couple, Jim and Nancy, were celebrating Jim’s retirement with a round the world cruise. Paihia was one of the final stops before returning to the States. They stopped in front of an estate agent’s window that displayed a model of a proposed tourist apartment development in the town. They went in and sought more details. The salesperson drove them to the building site, and showed them the expansive views of Paihia beach and the shimmering blue waters over the bay to Russell. Jim and Nancy then went for a coffee, but 15 minutes later they returned to the estate agents, paid a deposit and signed a purchase agreement for one of the apartments. Each month, at Jim’s request, the salesperson emailed photos and updates of the development. Some months later, the salesperson received an email from Jim asking if any of the apartments were still available. Jim had been showing his holiday snaps to an old friend and his enthusiasm for Paihia had been so infectious that his friend also wanted to buy an apartment. The friend, who had never been to New Zealand, had never been out of America and had never owned a passport, bought the adjoining apartment. Now, that is the magic of Paihia, it not only enchants its visitors, it enchants their friends by some kind of osmosis.