Wednesday 30 January 2008

Waitangi Treaty Grounds










Friday 25 January




Had a great breakfast with another 2 couples on the terrace who came from just outside Manchester and Suffolk and whose daughters boyfriend had just phoned them to ask for their daughters hand in marriage, ahh. The boxer dog called Cal is a real great dog with attitude, he owns the place.

Took the ferry over to Paihia to visit the place where the Treatyof Waitangi was first signed on the 6 Feb 1840.This was a treaty with the Maori chiefs on behalf of the British government which originally 43 chiefs signed until copies were carried around the country and by Sep over 500 had signed and Captain William Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty over the whole country on 21 May 1840.It is an agreement between two peoples to live and work together as one nation and is still relevant today.

There is a photo of the meeting house (Te Whare Runanga) and the giant canoe built in 1940 for the centenary celebrations.The original treaty house has been substantially extended since it was erected in 1833.

In the afternoon Richard went out on the "Mack Attack", a fast powerboat where you sit outside on seats at the front of an enclosed cockpit dressed in full wet weather gear and hoods.This powers its way out to sea to visit the "Hole in the Rock" and makes for an exhilarating ride , taking off at times.The weather today was a bit overcast and the sea was quite rough so we hope to do the cruise tomorrow.

Back to Arcadia Lodge for drinks on the terrace and then down to charming Russell for a great meal at Sallys overlooking the jetty and watching a good sunset again.We are eating much earlier than at home.
When we arrived back at Arcadia Lodge we met the couple from Manchester coming back at the same time, after a walk up from The Strand at Russell, its funny how people seem all prim and proper when you meet them for the first time and then after an evening drinking they are just like the rest of us.In fact she was standing staring up at the stars wobbling around and quite drunk, we had a few more with them in the lounge, funny really.Ah well.

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