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.
May 27th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers Hey all, sorry its been a while but I'm in New Zealand,. and it's action packed and full of adventure, so I haven't had a lot of time to update the blog. Since landing in Christchurch last week on Wed ... 12 photos[full story]
April 16th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers Hokitika hat einen ganz netten Glockenturm. Ansonsten fahren in dieser Stadt auch nachts laut hupende und schnaubende diesellokgetriebene Güterzüge mitten durchs Wohngebiet. Mit anderen Worten: wenig ... 10 photos[full story]
April 1st 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers As we made our way down the west coast the first thing we came across was the Pancake Rocks, these were rocks that had layered very thinly on top of each other that looked like guess what...pancakes!! ... [full story]
February 14th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers Ok I think I have to say this was teh best part of the trip yet.....we arrived at Franz Joseph Glacier late and found a rainforest campsite to stay had a couple of drinks and dinner and then hit the s ... 50 photos[full story]
March 21st 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers Paasin liikkeelle vasta klo 10. Oli pilvipoutainen paiva. Pysahdyin ensin pikkukaupungissa ja sitten nettituokiolle Franz Josefissa.
Kavin katsomassa ensin Franz Josefin jaatikkoa. Jaatikon naki h ... 3 photos[full story]
December 29th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers 23-25/12 Rainforest Retreat, Franz Josef Glacier
We drove first to Hokitika, where we were planning to stay for christmas, but then saw it was to boring, so we went on. We got a motelroom with a priv ... 13 photos[full story]
January 7th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers We are trampers all right! We packed sooo much into the next two days, it was unbelievable!!! We woke up and headed right for another adventure, kayaking the Okarita lagoon! We got there mid-day, a ... 16 photos[full story]
December 28th 2007Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Glaciers We had a relatively long drive to Franz Joseph. As in much of Arkansas, distances have no real meaning. The North Island roads are similar to HWY 65 north of Conway to Branson. The East coast of the S ... 28 photos[full story]
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