We pushed back our flight to South America by two weeks because we had so much more of New Zealand to see. So we headed off on our trip again after Auckland up to the very north, an area known as the Northland. It has some famous sites in Maori and European history, some great beaches and a few incredibly old Kauri trees.
Our first stop on our way up was in Whangerei. Not much to say about this place except that we stopped overnight to continue our journey in the morning. We did get to see a watefall though...
Our first stop on our way up was in Whangerei. Not much to say about this place except that we stopped overnight to continue our journey in the morning. We did get to see a watefall though...
From here we headed to Waitangi. Yep a lot New Zealand place names start with a 'W' and all sound very similar. It all gets so confusing! Waitangi is located up in the Bay of Islands. A popular holiday destination for New Zealanders. It has some amazing costal scenery, with around 150 islands nestled within the bay. Its a big bay!
Back in the old days (not really that long ago by British standards), the Maori's weren't too fond of all these foreign immigrant taking over all their land, and the Maori's being a very warlike people started fighting back. The British didn't enjoy the Haka being shouted at them on a frequent basis, followed by being hacked to pieces and eaten, so a treaty was drawn up by the British. At first the Maori were reluctant to sign, but an increasing number of foriegn people were settling in New Zealand, who had guns which reached further than their stone hacking devices. With a little persuasion by the older and wiser Maori chiefs and the local missionaries, the treaty was eventually signed by almost all the Maori tribes in 1840. It meant British acquisition of sovereignty, offering protection to the Maori and the British residents from foreign invading forces. Obviously a lot more was involved, since no world power walks into a country just to be nice, but the treaty did offer the indigenous people more rights, unlike in Australia and the Aboriginees. It gave the Maori chiefs more authority, opened trading markets between the Maori's and Europeans, and land buying and selling was under control by a governer. Yipee! All sorted. Atleast thats what I understood of it!
With a little New Zealand history under our belt, we pushed on in our journey northwards. On the way we stopped into the Hunterwasser toilets. They were designed by a famous Austrian architect and are the most photographed toilets in New Zealand. They're covered in different coloured tiles, and light is let in through bottles set in cement! Rather peculiar, like something you might see in chiquitos, but worth a five minute stop.
Next stop was Cape Reigna, the northernmost point in New Zealand. We got up early for sunrise. We caught about the last 10 minutes...
The only direction from here by road was south. Along the way you pass the 90 mile beach. Its a massive stretch of sand, not quite 90 miles. I think 60 miles is more accurate, but still vast. If you know where the quick sands are you can drive right down the beach. Our van wasn't insured for beaches and we had no idea about the quick sands so we kept well clear!
We passed more beaches on the way down....
Before we headed back to Auckland we stopped off at the Waipoua Forest. In the forest are some of the oldest and tallest Kauri trees - native trees of New Zealand. The Maori's use these trees to build their canoes.
Tane Mahuta - The world's largest Kauri tree. Trunk Girth 13.77 m, Trunk Height 17.68 m, Total Height 51.2 m, Trunk Volume 244.5 m3. You cant appreciate the size of it from the photo. In real life it was pretty massivo.
1 comment:
You have really captured Omapere well. I hope you had a beautiful time there. I never wanna leave when I go.
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