Christ Church in Russell. Photo / Sarah Ivey Expand

Christ Church in Russell. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Gazing across the Bay of Islands, light bouncing off the languid waters and into my wine glass, it's but a small leap to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, of natural selection and survival of the fittest.

Competition out on the water is certainly fierce for the early-summer tourists: pristine beaches of golden sand or islands still largely cloaked in native bush, deep waters teeming with fish or performing dolphins and orcas.

There's a battle of sorts for survival on land, too, among those touting food, drink and places to stay.

Not that Darwin saw the bay evolving into a tourist mecca - he saw no future in the place, and little in New Zealand as a whole.

The great man was here in 1835, as naturalist on the HMS Beagle on its round-the-world journey of scientific discovery. When the ship left, after nine days, he wrote in his journal: "I believe we were all glad to leave New Zealand. It is not a pretty place."

The natives and the "hovels" they lived in were "filthily dirty and offensive".

The Europeans he encountered (sailors, traders and escaped convicts among them) were "the very refuse of society". In this "land of cannibalism", he noted, the missionaries were more scared of their own countrymen than of the Maori.

Nor did he like the landscape. The countryside was "uniformly clothed in fern, the whole scene, in spite of its green colour, had a rather desolate aspect".

Historians put Darwin's ennui down to cabin fever and homesickness after four years at sea. On the way home, he made similar unflattering observations about Australia and South Africa.

But what Darwin saw on the Beagle's voyage would culminate in the publication, 150 years ago today, of The Origin of Species, his theory of evolution that would turn ideas about human society, the natural world and religious doctrine on their heads.

While scientists and institutions around the world are marking the anniversary (this year is also the 200th of Darwin's birth), in the Bay of Islands there is little awareness that Darwin walked these shores, met its Maori and European residents, ventured into the hinterland and took samples home.

I have come to retrace his steps, to see if modern visitors can see what Darwin saw and find any links to his visit.

My journey starts at Russell, a booming trading port in 1835 and refuge for weary sailors, whalers and fishermen. It was then known by its Maori name, Kororareka.