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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 Compass Rose
November 7th 2009

Around New Zealand Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Abel Tasman National Park » Marahau

church
Lunch @ Church/Pub

Here are some photos [View Full Entry]

By Packham and Davey
November 6th 2009

The rest of Australia part 1.. Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Ok, so we've been a bit (well VERY) lazy about this whole blog thing...apologies!! We arrived safely in Auckland you will be pleased to know, unfortunatly to rain - something we are no longer accustomed to after the likes of Australia! So heres a summary of the rest of our australian adventure!! After Byron Bay we headed to Surfers Paradise, and we arrived at the hostel just in time for the bbq! bingo! We had also bagged ourselves an 8bed dorm between the two of us, plus a tv, plus a fridge, plus a massive mirror (luxury) and even better about [View Full Entry]

By Compass Rose
November 6th 2009

Going up the Island. Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Motueka

Greetings. Our last day with Chad we hiked two glaciers. (Fox and Franz) and drove to the pancake rocks ( and blow hole) All of us loved the hikes but the hightlight was watching the sunset over the Tasman Sea and the pancake rocks. We camped on the West Side and watched the ocean beat the shore, we woke to our new neighbors the Kewa birds. They do not fly and are very curious. We sadly dropped Chad off yesterday in Christchurch. That was a very fast 10 days. We were not ready to return him back to the States. Last [View Full Entry]

By thenumberj
November 6th 2009

day 5 Oceania » New Zealand » North Island

Hi all After spending a great night at a spot called Murphys Park and watching the sun come up on the beach with only a few other people in the park (the first time we have seen the sun without clouds) we made our way to Rotorua. It really does smell (like eggs said Serina) - we viewed some hot springs at the Govt Gardens and the kids played on swings while Ness got a massage at the Polynesian Spa - a great little spot overlooking the lake. We went to a tacky little 3d maze that the kids did not [View Full Entry]

By Suziepaul
November 5th 2009

Kaikoura & Malborough Sounds Oceania » New Zealand

View from the boat

Heading North We left for the east coast and after another fantastic drive through the countryside we arrived at Kaikoura, where we had booked ourselves on a dolphin encounter for the following day but as it was such nice weather as we arrived at midday we decided to move the encounter forward to that afternoon (which worked out perfect weather-wise). As it turned out there was a pod of over 700 dolphins waiting for us just 20 minutes out off the coast and after getting the full wetsuit gear on we hopped on the boat in search of the wild dolphins. [View Full Entry]

By Feral Mike
November 5th 2009

CYCLE TOUR - THE COFFEE SAGA CONTINUES Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell

Trevor Scrub Cutter
On the road to Mimiwhangata, I chatted to Trevor who works for the Webb Brothers, owners of several very large blocks of land in the area. One of Trevor's workmates had been cutting out ragwort and Tr... [more]

The search for a real latte ended in failure. But the day was not ruined. By late afternoon I reached a stunning DoC campground at a place called Mimiwhangata. The last few kilometres were along a gravel road with a steep climb and final descent. Best Kept Secret Mimiwhangata has to be one of the best kept secrets. It's a beautiful, sheltered spot with bush and farmland behind it. The campsite is a five minute walk from the carpark, up, over and down a steep path. And the facilities are limited, just toilets and cold water. The main beach is [View Full Entry]

By Daveyd
November 5th 2009

The final ship....or is it, well for now it is definately!! Oceania » New Zealand

Barcelona, Spain

Well, wow, what can i say for once i'm bordering on speechless. You see 8 months ago i had an idea, well more like a thought about venuring further than i'd ever journeyed before. I suppose in truth the thoughts of travelling have been there since i left to join my first ship when i was 17. So here is the break down for those of you who didnt know, realise or actually care that i'd done 10 years at sea!! Carnival Cruise Lines 2000 - 2001 Festival Cruise Lines 2001 - 2002 (No Longer Trading) Celebrity Cruise Lines 2002 - [View Full Entry]

By thenumberj
November 4th 2009

3rd nov Oceania » New Zealand » North Island

Hi Everyone We are travelling fine at the moment. The girls saw a butterfly house at Dickson Caravan Park in Thames and loved it and then we took them to Waihu beach which they also enjoyed. The roads here are easy to travel and we have had no problems with the motorhome. Had a steak tonight which was yum. We all swam in a heated pool tonight just before tea which a nice way to relax. Serina says hi smiley faces. Teisha says hello yoyo heads. Bye for now. [View Full Entry]

By flinkfar
November 4th 2009

Velkommen til vores lille hjørne :-) Oceania » New Zealand

Hej. Med denne rejseblog vil vi prøve at fortælle lidt om vores tur til New Zealand og smide nogle billeder på. Vi rejser fra Danmark d. 30 November og vil så køre rundt i New Zealand en måned i en autocamper - fra nord til syd. På hjemvejen har vi lige en uges stop i Californien, hvor vi kører fra Los Angeles til San Fransisco. Kommentarer, udfald og indfald er meget velkomne. Mange hilsner Hella, Bertil og Ida [View Full Entry]

By BenandCharmaine
November 4th 2009

Cruising it Up Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands

Few Orca Whales

This morning we were all set to go. I think I forgot to mention that Charmaine kindly made us sandwiches and we sorted out some little bits to eat for the whole day out at sea. We set off at 9.30 and by about 10am we encountered something…An orca whale. Infact it was a whole group of them, there must have been 10+. Now the guy that was the captain had been doing it 26years and he said he had only ever seen something like this 3 or 4 times. INCREDIBLE! I found this thing on my camera which did quick [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Oceania » New Zealand