We ate a picnic lunch overlooking the beach. It was very windy and a little chilly. We opted not to go on the boat cruise to see the dolphins and the "Hole in the Rock" out in the ocean.
Leaving the beach behind, we crossed the impossibly narrow bridge to reach Waitangi. The bridge was one single lane. There was a widening in the middle, I suppose in case you should encounter someone head-on from the other direction. There were several such bridges in this area.
Waitangi is the birthplace of the nation of New Zealand. Two significant events took place here.
- On October 28, 1835, British Resident James Busby joined 35 Maori leaders to sign the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand. The British Crown officially recognized New Zealand as an independent nation of Maori.
- On February 5, 1840, British sea captain William Hobson presented the Treaty of Waitangi to several hundred Maori leaders on Mr. Busby's front lawn. A day later, 43 chiefs signed it. Nearly 500 more followed suit over the next few months. New Zealand became a British colony, and the Maori became British subjects.
The treaty (and its annual commemoration on February 6, "Waitangi Day") has always been controversial.
Problem #1: The English version and the Maori version differ greatly.
Problem #2: The British routinely disregarded the treaty when it didn't serve their whims.
Problem #3: The Maori were not a homogeneous group. And not every Maori tribe signed it.
You can see where this would all get quite messy.
This is the Residency, or home of the British Resident. At the time of the Treaty of Waitangi, that would have been James Busby. The house was pre-cut in Sydney and shipped to New Zealand. Mr. Busby had asked for a much more impressive building, something befitting an official the realm, but alas, he made do with its four rooms. The gardens surrounding it were well-tended, then and now. Today, its interior serves as a museum.
They called Mr. Busby a "man o' war without guns". Indeed, he had very little authority, and absolutely no way to enforce it. I think he was probably a pretty good diplomat, though. He lived in a savage land, and must have made enough local native friends to keep himself and his family from being slaughtered out here at world's end.
Here's a diorama of the Treaty Grounds as they would have looked on February 6, 1840. The tents were for the Maori tribesmen. The house (left) was the residence of James Busby and his family.
This flag pole was erected in the exact spot the Treaty of Waitangi was originally signed. The flags are the United Tribes of New Zealand (left), New Zealand (top) and Great Britain (right). The United Tribes (Maori) flag was created back in 1835. It gave locally built and/or berthed ships a unique flag to fly in international waters (and perhaps in hope of legitimizing the sovereignty of New Zealand to its neighbors and potential colonizers).
This is a traditional Maori meeting house (Te Whare Runanga) erected in 1940 for the Treaty Centenary Celebrations. Maori meeting houses typically are decorated to represent one tribe. This house is special. Each carved panel, roof beam, etc. represents a tribe, and they all come together in harmony.
See? Each piece is unique. Shoes off here.
I liked this one a lot. The eyes were paua shells (like abalone). Notice the unique patterns on the woven mats, too.
What's up with the reptiles substituting for (or consuming) genitalia? That was a consistent theme throughout the building.
Relaxing on the porch.
Yowser! This canoe was enormous. I heard a guide say that it was 6 tons dry, and 12 tons wet. They bring it out on Waitangi Day, and it is crewed by 80 warriors (another 8 tons or so).
Its name is Ngatokimatawhaorua. I guess that's why it's 35 meters long, just to accommodate it.
The canoe was made from three giant kauri trees. One for the hull (foundation), and two for the elaborately carved gunwales (top carved portion), stern, and prow. It is an homage to the canoe Kupe used to sail across the sea from Hawaiki.
I learned how the Maori seafarers were able to travel such long distances on such meager vessels (meager by western standards). They would tow behind them strings of a particular species of mussel. The mollusks provided fresh meat. But even more importantly, when they brought the creatures out of the water, they would perspire fresh water that the travelers could lick off to satisfy their thirst.
This wasn't the stump of one of the three kauri trees, but it was here to give you some idea of how big they were. I'd venture a guess that it was more than 8 feet across.
Same stump, viewed from the side.
Kauri trees were greatly valued by both the Maori and the Europeans. Both peoples appreciated their size, strength, and straightness, not to mention the priceless kauri gum (something akin to amber) that the trees produced. The gum's uses varied between tattoo ink, varnish, resin or even jewelry. Kauri wood is ideal for shipbuilding. It is nearly impervious to rot. It didn't take long for the giant kauri forests to be devastated by human beings (Maori and Europeans). A few still survive in the Northland. The best ones are on the opposite coast from Paihia.
But I must have gotten a good enough start in the spring that the veggies could produce unattended. This will probably be the last of it.
I've got two ripe (or almost ripe) pumpkins...
...and one still green pumpkin.
My Clara Curtis daisies are looking wild but exuberant.
Hey little guy, where'd you come from? I planted a couple balloon flowers in this bed two years ago, but none of them sprouted. Better late than never!
We had mentally prepared ourselves for the long flight back to L.A. The time flew by! (No pun intended.) I watched several movies, a couple TV shows, and played some Sudoku. Whoever thought to put TV screens on the back of everyone's seat is a genius!
Dawn at the Auckland airport. Serene. And cold!
As we checked in for our "Aerolineas Argentinas" flight, we learned it had been delayed for three hours. They gave us food vouchers. That was nice. We were optimistic. "So we lose three hours in Sydney...there'll still be plenty of time to enjoy the day." We hung out and shopped a bit. The plane arrived at the gate (shown here), but the boards didn't update with a new status. The time to board arrived...and then passed. Still no word.
We did get a few minutes to shop at Hay Market (photo taken at dawn the next day). It's like a giant mall. But apparently malls close early, even on a Friday.
These roosters hung around the small unpaved parking lot. They wouldn't leave me alone when I got out of the car either.
Haruru means "Big Noise" in Maori. It lived up to its name. We heard the falls long before we saw them. This waterfall is considered ordinary by New Zealand standards, but I really liked it.
Look, another rainbow!
We ate a picnic lunch overlooking the beach. It was very windy and a little chilly. We opted not to go on the boat cruise to see the dolphins and the "Hole in the Rock" out in the ocean.
This is the Residency, or home of the British Resident. At the time of the Treaty of Waitangi, that would have been James Busby. The house was pre-cut in Sydney and shipped to New Zealand. Mr. Busby had asked for a much more impressive building, something befitting an official the realm, but alas, he made do with its four rooms. The gardens surrounding it were well-tended, then and now. Today, its interior serves as a museum.
Here's a diorama of the Treaty Grounds as they would have looked on February 6, 1840. The tents were for the Maori tribesmen. The house (left) was the residence of James Busby and his family.
This flag pole was erected in the exact spot the Treaty of Waitangi was originally signed. The flags are the United Tribes of New Zealand (left), New Zealand (top) and Great Britain (right). The United Tribes (Maori) flag was created back in 1835. It gave locally built and/or berthed ships a unique flag to fly in international waters (and perhaps in hope of legitimizing the sovereignty of New Zealand to its neighbors and potential colonizers).
This is a traditional Maori meeting house (Te Whare Runanga) erected in 1940 for the Treaty Centenary Celebrations. Maori meeting houses typically are decorated to represent one tribe. This house is special. Each carved panel, roof beam, etc. represents a tribe, and they all come together in harmony.
See? Each piece is unique. Shoes off here.
I liked this one a lot. The eyes were paua shells (like abalone). Notice the unique patterns on the woven mats, too.
What's up with the reptiles substituting for (or consuming) genitalia? That was a consistent theme throughout the building.
Relaxing on the porch.
Yowser! This canoe was enormous. I heard a guide say that it was 6 tons dry, and 12 tons wet. They bring it out on Waitangi Day, and it is crewed by 80 warriors (another 8 tons or so).
The canoe was made from three giant kauri trees. One for the hull (foundation), and two for the elaborately carved gunwales (top carved portion), stern, and prow. It is an homage to the canoe Kupe used to sail across the sea from Hawaiki.
This wasn't the stump of one of the three kauri trees, but it was here to give you some idea of how big they were. I'd venture a guess that it was more than 8 feet across.
Same stump, viewed from the side.
Travelers' tip: When crossing the bridge on the Northern Motorway leaving Auckland, pick lane 1 or 2 (far left). Do not attempt any of the center lanes like I did.
The green in this picture doesn't do it justice. It was the "greenest" green ever.
The constantly changing weather surprised us with clear skies followed by stupendous rainbows.
Oooh. Pretty.
This thatch-covered structure is the Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa. It was a quick pit stop a dozen or so kilometers south of Paihia.
Quirky. Asymmetric. Very cool.
The bathroom wasn't very big, but it was unique.
Check out the toilet. It had a polished wood seat. It was a nice contrast against all that ceramic and glass.
Recycling can be beautiful. I think I'll just grab all the spare materials from my last remodel and turn them into a masterpiece. Just kidding.
At last. Arrival in Paihia. The first thing I wanted to do was stick my hand in the Bay of Islands.
Um, workers need two u's a spell checker. Punctuation might help, too.
This is the Rotorua Museum. We didn't go inside, but its surrounding Government Gardens were beautiful. Ma was jealous of their ability to grow primroses (pictured here).
Our next stop was Kuirau Park. Public and free. There was plenty of bubbling mud (pictured above), steaming holes, and boiling pools to view here.
This pool was awesome. The water was probably contaminated with some kind of mineral (calcium? sodium?) which formed a crust on the edges. It was cordoned off.
Steam rose from everywhere.
Some of the pools were hidden behind vegetation.
Others were right out in the open. This is me sticking my finger in one. It was warmer than bath water, but it wasn't boiling. And it stank like rotten eggs. There was a public bathing pool elsewhere. It was a little cold for that today.
You could hear the gurgle of boiling water and the hiss of steam from this rock display.
New vents open up all over the place. This was a few feet from the road, and adjacent to a soccer field where kids were playing. It wasn't cordoned off either. It was just "marked" by the orange mesh. As if to say, "Aaak, no big deal."
To make matters more interesting, it was raining off and on. But there was a huge bonus to this condition. Rainbows! Ma and I began calling New Zealand "The Land of Rainbows". They were miraculous. And abundant.
So, why did we drive all this way? One word: glowworms. The building was pretty awesome, too. We were outside here (see the trees?), but we were covered by some sort of acrylic dome. I enjoyed the lavish use of wood.
We couldn't take pictures inside the caves, so the best I can do is show you this postcard. See the blue dots like stars in the sky? Nope, not stars. Those are glowworms inside a glowworm cave. There were so many glowworms on the walls and ceiling you could make out the features such as stalactites and the like.
Due to recent rains, the river was swollen. See it down there? This meant that the boat portion of the tour couldn't conclude with us exiting the cave out the hole in the end. It didn't affect the experience. The tour guide just pulled the boat back the way we came, and we walked back up to the cave entrance. It wasn't as claustrophobic as you might think. Ma didn't freak out at all.
We had a delicious (and cheap!) meal at the Big Apple Cafe just outside Waitomo. They had a great gift shop, too. Why didn't this place make it into the guidebook? Oh, right, I know. 'Cuz the guidebooks sucked.
The Maori were (and still are) skilled wood carvers. The museum contained several of their meeting houses. This one was a restored 19th century meeting house called Hotunui. It was brought here from Thames (on the Bay of Plenty to the south).
Take off your shoes before you enter. It was sort of eerie inside. The carvings on the walls were a little scary.
Maori patriotic = red, white, and black
This is another meeting house. I later learned that there's a Maori meeting house at the Field Museum in Chicago. And I've been to the Field Museum. Why don't I remember seeing one?
