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Background: The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year, the British began the first organized colonial settlement. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in a number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years, the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances.

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By Willow
May 10th 2005

Windy Welly

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

I arrived in Wellington on a beautifully sunny day... at a bus station that seemed miles from anywhere. In true backbacker style I then ermm jumped in a taxi with a girl I'd met on the bus and headed off to the hostel. I did consider public transport but well... I only had a day in Wellington but that was enough to tell me two things, (1) - that I'd really like living and working here and (2) - that I wasn't ready to get a job yet! The city is small, windy but beautifully set around the harbour... lots of [View Full Entry]

By Bon Bon on the Go Go
May 9th 2005

Time to get a little bit of culture

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

Wellington Botanical Gardens
Being autumn, there weren't very many colours present at the Wellington Botanical Gardens. But it sure was green.

Beehive Parliament Went on a free tour here Very interesting. I woke up with the thought of..."it' free bagel Monday!" It’s always a nice way to start the day knowing a free and yummy breakfast is waiting for you. I took my time having breakfast, I called my mom for Mother's day and also gave Anita a call. By the time I packed my bag and packed a lunch/snack for the road I was finally "good to go" at about 11. Talk about slow moving! Well, I guess it didn't help I bumped into Michelle and Sinead in the dining room. [View Full Entry]

By Bon Bon on the Go Go
May 8th 2005

It's Mother's Day!

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

Cool cow
As seen at the Te Papa Museum. It's made out of corned beef tins!

Happy Mother's Day! Today is your special day. Thanks for everything. :) This is the first of three full days I have here in Wellington. I took it pretty slow getting up since Te Papa (NZ's National Museum) doesn't open up until 10AM. I started off by organizing my laundry (Geesh, laundry Sundays...hard to break some habits, eh?!?) I wanted to get done today, organized my tickets and onward travel stuff, organized more stuff I would like to send home, organized my food, organized my pack a bit too. Guess I'm just in one of those let's get organized moods! I [View Full Entry]

By Bon Bon on the Go Go
May 7th 2005

The wheels on the bus go round and round

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

6 hour bus ride Delayed because of a flat 2 hours behind. We were all ready to go with our bags packed in the trailer by 9AM as scheduled. One minor glitch...our bus had a flat and the spare tire along with all the tools were stuck in the boot and our driver James could not gain access to any of it. Solution...wait for the bus from Taupo to arrive around noon and switch buses. So that meant we had a bit of time to kill. We were going to watch one of Elaine's DVD's but the audio wasn't working so [View Full Entry]

By et
May 6th 2005

The boot's on the other foot

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

We took the train on a scenic (pacific ocean on the left, snow-capped mountains on the right) five-hour trip up north to the port of Picton. From there the three-hour ferry journey, through the Malborough Sounds and across the Cook Strait was spectacular (and thankfully smooth considering the storms we saw last week). We even saw some dolphins (but from too far away to identify properly). On our first day in the capital (rainy and windy) we visited the 5th and 6th floors of the "Te Papa'' museum, where Emma was thrilled to see original costumes as worn by ''Split Enz'', [View Full Entry]

By noahglusman
January 26th 2005

Wellington

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

Hey everyone, I am currently in Wellington New Zealand (the capitol). It is an amazing city on a harbor on the southern tip of the north Island. This will be our last stop on the north island (so sad)! On the 26th we had a transit day between Taupo and the river. In the morning we did some shopping at the Pac-n-save to buy dinner for that night. Then we drove for about 2 hours to our campsite on the Rengetikei river (spelling is wrong). We swam in the river for awhile before making some dinner. My cookgroup made some tasty [View Full Entry]

By Tommy Rooney
December 22nd 2001

The Land of the Long White Cloud

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

White water rafting, Rangitikei river
We're taking on the terrifying grade five rapids, however it's not an experience I care to repeat!

After crossing the Tasman Sea on a three hour flight I arrived in Auckland, the largest city of our closest neighbours and great mates from New Zealand. This country of four million people is blessed with sublime natural scenery, friendly people, superb tourist infrastructure and world class beer. Oh, and it's also the adventure capital of the world! If you have a taste for adventure and wanna do something wild and crazy ... sweet as a nut bro, just come to NZ and the Kiwis will take care of you. I was out of the airport like a shot, and had [View Full Entry]

By Born to travel
November 24th 2001

Rafting Over a Waterfall

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

Rafting over a Waterfall

We're in Wellington, New Zealand at the moment, killing time before getting a ferry to the south island tonight. We've been here about a week and, so far, it’s great. Auckland was a really cool city, and from there we headed to Hamilton to catch up with a friend from Japan, Michelle. Got to experience some good old kiwi culture - a mad beer drinking competition! Believe me, these guys can really gulp it down (Brits pale in comparison!). The best news is that the girls out-drank the boys - hoorah! It's official - girls are better drinkers than boys!!! Next [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington