Pacific Coast North Island

On Monday 9th March we were up with the lark for our drive to the Pacific Coast. 

We stopped first of all at the National Treaty Grounds at Waitangi on the Bay of Islands. This is the site of the signature of the Treaty of 1840 between the representatives of HM Queen Victoria and the combined Maori tribes, under which Her Majesty graciously offers to protect the Maori in return for sovereignty over these lands. The whole thing appears to have been a bit of a stitch-up, with the Maori bowing to the inevitable. They would have done well to read the small print, but then few if any of them could read. Be that as it may, the Treaty is considered today by New Zealanders as a founding legal document similar to our Magna Carta.

The site is considered of national importance, and entry is free to New Zealanders. The rest of us have to pay, which we are sure is unconstitutional under the conditions of the Treaty itself, since we Brits have sovereignty over the site. The Treaty House is the former Residency of the British Representative, which, far from being a resplendent palace that one might find in other parts of the Empire, is in fact little more than a prefabricated shack, built in Australia and transported here by ship. The grounds are magnificent, containing a Maori meeting house and an incredibly long war canoe, both intricately carved. We learned much about early New Zealand History here.

Then we went off to Paihia for a cruise round the Bay of Islands, with the possibility of spotting dolphins. The scenery is absolutely stunning, the sun was shining and we did find a pod of dolphins. The captain was a heavily pregnant woman who ruled the boat with a rod of iron. She was also a remarkably good sailor; she took us through one of the sea-arches with no more than 8 feet to spare on either side. There was a party of noisy primary schoolchildren on board who ran riot with almost no supervision; we believe that the dolphins responded to their enthusiastic cries, and they stayed with us for about 15 minutes. We also stopped on one of the few private islands in the group, Moturua, and visited a site that is sacred to the Maori because of a battle that took place with a bunch of French sailors. A great afternoon on the water.

A quick stop at Kawakawa to visit a public lavatory. Is this really worthy of an entry in the blog? Well yes, because it was designed  by a mad Austrian artist called Hundertwasser in the late 20th century, Look at the photos and you’ll understand.

Peter has caught another cold. But this time he can’t blow his nose because it’s sunburnt.

Then a mad dash down to Tutukaka, a tiny marina in the middle of nowhere which is the best place from which to go diving on the Poor Knights Islands. Peter was aware that the Poor Knights are legendary amongst divers, but did not really know why. Now he does. He was worried about diving with a stinking cold, but in the end he decided to take the plunge. He had two of the best dives ever. Underwater caves, arches and cliffs filled with schools of fish were absolute magic, and just as spectacular as coral reefs.

The Poor Knights Islands are a National Park, and no one can go ashore. They are also sacred to the Maori due to a massacre of one tribe by another that took place on one of the islands. There are many such tapu (taboo) sites throughout New Zealand, and we have often remarked on how much time and energy the Maori devoted to beating each other up.

The following day we set off for Dargaville, famous throughout the world as the capital of the Kumara sweet potato, on the West Coast, to collect the new battery for the camera. The good news is that the battery was there waiting for us. The bad news is that it was the wrong battery. Oh dear! As Carla would say. We googled frantically, and eventually tracked down a Canon dealer in Auckland who said he had a battery. Hope for the best!

The next stop was the campervan depot at Auckland where we returned the van. The owner kindly agreed to let us have a bigger campervan at no extra charge. Michèle thinks she might be happier with this one.

Then into the city centre, where we finally got a genuine battery for the Canon G10 camera. Hurrah! How long will it be before we lose it again?

You all want to know whether the new campervan is a success, don’t you? Well you’re just going to have to wait for the next installment to find out.