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.
April 27th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Three hours late arriving in Sydney but there are Wendy and David (friends I met in Vietnam) still waiting for me. A short drive and we meet up with Rick (my brother) and Dan (my nephew) and have a m ... 54 photos[full story]
April 13th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Day-21 Franz Josef
Had a lay in today before going for a walk, we had been told about to a nearby beach. Having gone way over the 10mins they said before turning up a track (in fact about 20-25mins ... [full story]
April 19th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef We arrived into Franz Josef late afternoon on a very cold day. We wanted to walk this famous glacier and had already read up about it in out NZ book and various leaflets. Taking a stroll through the ... 12 photos[full story]
April 17th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Nicola this week, I hope she got the birthday card I sent and had a great time? :o)
Tuesday 15th April - Leaving The Purple Cow - incidentially the only place whe ... 61 photos[full story]
April 11th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Quelque chose que j'avais envie de faire depuis longtemps: une marche sur les glaciers. La NZ a 2 glaciers que l'on peut visiter: Fox et Franz Josef. On est seulement alles voir Fox mais on a fait une ... 52 photos[full story]
April 12th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Day- 20 Heli hiking the Franz Josef Glacier
We arrived at the heli-hike centre and got kitted up with some thick woolly socks and some stinky rubber boots which weighed a ton. The helicopter ride o ... [full story]
April 11th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Day 19 - Franz Josef
Another day on the bus but still a glorious day. Had the crystal clear Tasman sea on our right and the rain forest covered mountains to our left. A couple of stop enroute inclu ... [full story]
April 12th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Hi everyone, Mel writing here as yesterday Lauren and I did different things. The glacier walk was absolutely amazing! I thought I'd be freezing but it was warm with my 3 layers. We had to climb up re ... [full story]
April 11th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef Although I planned an early night last night, due to the lack of sleep the previous one, that did not happen....
...Went to the bar last night, had a great time, saw some of the people that we had ... [full story]
April 3rd 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Franz Josef How you goin?!
The afternoon that we got to the glazier, Rob was pretty tired as he had driven quite alot in the past couple of days, so we checked into a camp and had a few drinks, as Simon had bo ... 19 photos[full story]
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