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The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
This is a stained glass window in the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Rotorua. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between Great Britain and the Maori chiefs, supposedly one of the 'best deals' ever between an empire and the indigenous people of one of its colonies. Today the Maori people are still trying to claim land under this treaty and a Tribunal has been set up to officiate.Our start in New Zealand was a good one. The airport in Auckland is set in a lovely watery location and there are some nice shops awaiting. Then when you get through customs there is a stand offering free coffee and tea (Denise was overjoyed!). Funny how first impressions count.
We headed straight for the campervan rental office in the airport with a view to hiring a van for a week or so. Unfortunately all the vans were already hired out "but there is one", the attendant said "but we don´t normally hire it out!" This appealed to Denise´s maternal instincts so we said we would take it! We couldn't pick it up until the next day so we booked ourselves in to a Best Western Hotel nearby. Just before the sun set I (Gerry) went for a swim in the little outdoor swimming pool, but it was beginning to get cold and some rather excitable kids had just bellyflopped in beside me so I decided that rather then murdering them and having the problem of disposing of their bodies when their were 40 chalets with large patio windows facing the pool, I would quietly retire for the night.
They don't make em like they used to!
None of the hire companies had any campervans left, except this one. They said "we don't usually hire it out but you can have it if you want it", this definetly appealed to Denise's maternal instincts and Gerry's frugal bias (it was cheap!). In the morning down at the hire company offices we were sheepishly shown the poor beastie, which turned out to be small, very small, but it had a certain endearing quality. The next 10 days we drove round the North Island of New Zealand. We started in Rotorua, a geothermal-shooting geysers-mudbath wonderland!
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cool