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.
July 4th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
So we had to leave Dunedin sometime….but why did it have to be so soon. I woke up early to say goodbye to my Uncle Cliff and my cousin Ben before they went to work and school. Then I had a ... [full story]
June 23rd 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park Hello everyone! Currently we are in Mount Cook National Park. The town of Mount Cook is about 150 people at best. And.. one restaurant. And..... its chilly!
Yesterday we went to Milford Sound on a ... 4 photos[full story]
June 9th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park
We awoke from our first campervan night nice and early. It was still pretty cold, but thankfully our campervan heater gave us a lot of warmth and Britz provided us with loads of bed sheets.
Our ... 24 photos[full story]
June 10th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park Wow, what a winter wonderland we awoke to see! Gregg got up and took pictures of the sun rising over Mount Cook and the beautiful snow. The boys spent the morning playing with Harry and having snowb ... 13 photos[full story]
June 7th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park Wow, the majestic beauty of mountains - Mount Cook, the tallest in New Zealand. And what dramatic weather we had!
Spent Saturday morning in Fairlie watching Avery play rugby. He made his first try ... 7 photos[full story]
May 7th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park Neil:
Hello everyone. Since our last blog we've made our way down the west coast of the south island of NZ passing two of New Zealand's big glaciers before swinging inland and climing towards Moun ... [full story]
April 1st 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park After my death defying Queenstown visit, I hit the road again. At this point I feel like one of the contestants on the show, "The Great American Race." Always on the move maximizing as much time as ... 14 photos[full story]
February 8th 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park We camped inside the Mount Cook National Park grounds, before doing a day of hiking towards the famous Mountain itself in the Hooker Valley. As we are not trained mountaineers we were not allowed to ... 22 photos[full story]
March 21st 2008Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park Apres Christchurch, on est parti explorer un peu plus le sud de la NZ. Direction le Mt Cook ou Aoraki comme les Maoris l'appellent. Le Mont Cook est une montagne superbe toujours couverte d'une couche ... 23 photos[full story]
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