WONDERFUL WAITANGI – NEW ZEALAND

On March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 By alisonferryIn History, TravelLeave a comment

I love delving into the history of places we visit and New Zealand has a rich story dating back to the early explorers and even before. One place which should be on every New Zealand visitors’ “must see” list is the Waitangi Treaty Grounds at Pahia in the Bay of Islands. Here the Maori chiefs first signed their accord with the British Crown and the Treaty is New Zealand’s founding document.

We took the little ferry across the Bay to Pahia and walked along the foreshore to the Grounds. Here we learnt a little about Maori history and culture and visited the Treaty House.

From 1833 to 1840 this was the official British Residency and the home of James Busby and his wife and six children. It is now a fascinating museum which brought to life the times in which the family lived.

Next we saw the world’s longest ceremonial war canoe which is 35 metres long and needs a minimum of 76 paddlers to handle it safely.

The canoes are launched every year on 6 February as part of the Waitangi Day celebrations. A special covered hut has been built so the canoe can be launched directly into the water.

The carved Meeting House is a beautiful building intricately carved and faces the Treaty House which symbolises the partnership between Maori and the British Crown.

We saw a short cultural performance here and a haka was performed before we entered – the idea to frighten alien people years ago and I have to admit, had I been there in those times, I would have taken to my heels very quickly!

Afterwards we made friends but I was reluctant to get too close to the big guy!

The Flagstaff marks the spot where the Treaty was signed on 6 February 1840 and today flies the flags of the United Tribes of New Zealand, The Union Flag from 1840 and the New Zealand Flag.

Busting with historical data and real stories, we made our way back along the coast road to catch the ferry back to Russell and a quiet dinner on the beach.

RUSSELL in the BAY OF ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND

On March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 By alisonferryIn History, Travel2 Comments

Russell, also known as Kororareka, is a charming little seaside town which has an interesting history. It was the country’s first seaport and also the first European settlement. There are many historic buildings and we spent several happy hours wandering through the Museums and learning about the former “hellhole of the Pacific” named because it was a shoreline destination for whalers, traders and seamen during the 19th century.

The Duke of Marlborough Hotel, the oldest hotel in the town has been restored and is in a perfect position for dining on the waterfront. Tables have also been set under the trees by the beach and we watched a couple of beautiful sunsets from there.

The little passenger ferry runs continually across the bay to Pahia.

Legend says that a chief wounded in battle asked for penguin and after drinking some of the broth, murmured “Ka reka te korora” (how sweet is the penguin). The town was named Russell in 1884. Many of the original buildings remain and a fine example is the Catholic Mission “Pompallier” which was built in 1841 and used as a printery, tannery and storehouse for the Marist Brothers. The building is made of rammed earth and has been restored as a working museum where every aspect of tanning, printing and binding is described and in some cases visitors can participate with hands on. The garden is magnificent and was created first of all to grow vegetables to feed the residents and then as a peaceful place to contemplate.

The oldest existing Church in New Zealand is in Russell and is worth a visit if only to see the musket ball holes from the New Zealand land wars!

We spent three nights here and could have stayed longer. More history is to be had at Waitangi, across the bay, and we spent another fascinating day there, but that’s another story…..

AUCKLAND, WAIHEKE ISLAND AND ON TO THE BAY OF ISLANDS

On March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 By alisonferryIn TravelLeave a comment

We left Christchurch on a beautiful sunny day and flew to Auckland where we picked up a car for our little exploration of the North island and in particular of the Bay of Islands.

Our hotel in Auckland was in the city and a short walk to the Viaduct Basin where the Marina is located along with lots of shops, restaurants and a couple of maritime museums. We weren’t totally up to date with what was happening in the city and were excited to find all the yachts competing in the current Round the World Yacht Race had arrived in Auckland at the weekend. There were displays and film shows, information kiosks and sponsor marquees all over the area and we had a wonderful time wandering around and discovering much more about the Race and the people who compete. As well as that we managed to find a restaurant serving New Zealand Mussels in large bowls with the requisite fries and a chilled glass of wine so we were very content!

We decided to spend a day on Waiheke Island which is a short ferry ride from Auckland and is, in fact, a suburb of the city with a population of 10,000 of which 2000 commute to work daily. For us it was interesting as Magnetic island is much the same in that there is a resident population and people commute. There the similarity ends. Waiheke is much larger with several communities and a number of vineyards as well as accommodation ranging from backpacker to luxury spa hotels.

There are lots of lovely beaches and the main settlement of Oneroa has a number of restaurants and gift shops which we browsed through. We struck gold with our choice of restaurant for lunch, The Oyster Inn, situated in the main street is relatively new and has a wonderfully innovative menu with a range of seafood choices. It is very popular for dinner and their marketing slogan is “Come for Dinner and Stay for Breakfast!” as they offer three rooms on site.

Next day it was time to head north. We chose the coastal route through Whangarei and Oakura Bay to Russell which took much longer than driving to Opua where there is a car ferry across the bay to Russell. It was a long and winding road but we were in no hurry and enjoyed the magnificent countryside and forests.

Yachts in the harbour at Whangarei – it was crowded with boats from all over the world.

Beautiful beaches along the windswept coast but a bit too cool for us to dip into!

We finally reached Russell which took our breath away – a really beautiful little town with hillside houses and lots of restaurants along the foreshore. We had booked into a B&B, Bellrock Lodge, and what a beautiful place to stay. Again we struck gold!

The view from our room. It was peaceful and certainly invigorated the soul.

NEW ZEALAND – Rangiora and Akaroa

On March 7, 2015March 9, 2015 By alisonferryIn Travel3 Comments

It has been ten years since we visited the land of the Long White Cloud and so our trip to see the Williams family was long overdue. We arrived in Christchurch after a short flight from Sydney and spent the first couple of days at Rangiora with Ron and his daughter Zoe. It was wonderful to be back at their peaceful retreat with a view of the Southern Alps and their cattle quietly grazing in the front paddock at the front of the house.

The weather was superb and so on the first day we drove to Blacks Winery in Wairapa for a relaxed lunch outside with the beautiful hills all around and dotted with vines. The Chardonnay was pretty good too!

Then it was off to the pretty little town of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula which is about an hour’s drive from Christchurch. It is a stunning drive over the hills and the views were simply superb.

The town has a pretty harbour and has an interesting history. French settlers arrived before the English and as a result the streets still bear French names as do many of the shops and restaurants and the majority of tourists appear to be French!

There is still a Maori influence as well and we went to a little settlement close by where there is a beautiful little wooden church built by the missionaries years ago and still used today.

New Zealand is known for its adventurous spirit and people here love to be physical whenever they can – this involves walking, cycling, swimming, water sports of all kinds, team sports and anything else you can think of. At Akaroa there are many walks and “rambles” around the town, the harbour and the surrounding hills. We went to one which is a Nature Reserve as well and the views were simply magnificent. The park is guarded by a totem of the God Tawhiri Matea.

Akaroa, with its quaint houses, history and village like atmosphere will always remain a favourite place for me and hopefully there will be many more visits.