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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 Deirdre and Diarmuid
October 16th 2009

New Zealand - South Island Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fox Glacier

Diarmuid at Fox Glacier

Hi all, We arrived in Picton around 9.30pm on the 27th May and drove south to Bleinheim, a wine region in Marlborough. We drove around for a few hours looking for somewhere to park outside the town but with nothing but vineyards to be seen for miles we returned to the town and pulled in outside a small park. Time conscious and money poor, in the morning we made our decision to cut out visiting the north coast and Nelson and instead headed straight through the wine valleys and accross to the west coast. Marlborough is New Zealands premier wine producing [View Full Entry]

By jujubee
October 16th 2009

Milford & Doubtful Sound Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Te Anau

Milford Sound from Kea Summit

Day 32, 5th October - Milford Sound Up bright & early and straight to the Vistors Centre after having breakfast to check road conditions down to Milford. After a quick stop to buy some gloves (it was freakin freezing!) we set off and made our first stop at “Mirror Lake” to get a nice reflection of the snow capped mountains. One problem though…There was no reflection! Actually there was no lake, it looked more like an oversized puddle!! We continued (slightly disappointed) towards Milford and stopped next at ‘The Divide” where we trekked up to “Kea Summit&r [View Full Entry]

By Eluned
October 16th 2009

Fox Glacier Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Fox Glacier

The sea!
Stopped here on the way to Fox Glacier. Apparently the most Western point in NZ.

On my way up the West Coast decided to stop in Fox Glacier for a day. It's a natural but it sounds great! Fox Glacier the village is a tiny place, it's basically just one short street with a lot of confused looking hikers wandering about. To get on the glacier itself you'd have to pay at least $100, so we decided to just do a gentle walk to the look-out point to admire from a distance. Ended up being through a jungle, and miles down a road, but it was still nice. Once we got to the look-out, and admired [View Full Entry]

By Ferdi and Talita
October 16th 2009

Day 262-264: Auckland, New Zealand Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » North Shore

This filthy Boesman needs a good cleaning

Wednesday, October 14th We had to wait till noon before we could withdraw the rest of the cash that we needed to buy our van. With the strange inconsistency of available funds in the last few days we were worried that we would not be able to get the amount we needed. Luckily our fears were unfounded and after getting the cash we set off to collect our van in Papakura. Finally! We bought our own van! We had been waiting for this day for three weeks. We are now the proud owners of a black 1995 Nissan Caravan we named [View Full Entry]

By cleanpairofeyes
October 16th 2009

The Campervan Chronicles.. Part Two Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Abel Tasman National Park

The Tasman Sea from Quad Bike Tour

Where did we leave off? I believe it was at the farm where we parked for the night. So the next morning we enjoyed some hot showers, packed up Lucy in the Sky and started driving out Kenburu Sounds. I recently had gotten a job out at a resort and had told my boss that I would drop in for a visit. When I said this I did know that this place was out of the way and was ready for it, or so I thought. It was Raphaels day to drive so here we were manouvering around endless sharp turns [View Full Entry]

By Feral Mike
October 16th 2009

CYCLE TOUR - BEAST OF BURDEN & RIDER PUT TO TEST Oceania » New Zealand » North Island

The old Tomarata Hall
On the road to Mangawhai, I came across the Tomarata Hall where my old schoolmate Howard and i used to attend country dances. Most of the action took place outside the hall, where we would try to enti... [more]

Testing Time The time for talking was over. Time to put feet to the pedals, bum to the seat etc and go for it. The goal was straightforward - from Parakai near Helensville to Warkworth via Highway 16, then north for a few k before turning right to Mangawhai. My guidebook ("Pedallers Paradise") describes the route using phrases such as: "There starts a 2 and a half kilometre climb, undulates and rolls, occasional steeper hills, quite a steep climb". You get the idea. My tent was a soggy mess after being camped in a lake at Parakai, the bike was [View Full Entry]

By CN Travels
October 15th 2009

Campervan Shopping Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Backpacker's Car Exchange Friday morning, we took the train into Auckland city to find the Backpackers Car Exchange. The train ride to Auckland was very smooth and the trains here are very spacious and clean. Once we found the car exchange, we were somewhat disappointed as we didn't find anything that was worthwhile to buy. Most campervans were very old and very pricey and the cars were just as expensive. So we hung out a bit in Auckland and took the scenic route back to the main train station which was luckily down hill . Along the way, we saw [View Full Entry]

By SineadandPhilippeRTW
October 15th 2009

Feel the fear and do it anyway! Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown

Lake Wanaka

A lovely DOC camp site at the northern edge of Lake Wanaka was our home for one night. After an afternoon in the sun Philippe turned cub scout on me and made a camp fire out of twigs and a cornflakes box. We cooked a simple meal on our little gas burner and baked potatoes in the heat of the camp fire. Occasionally Philippe would disappear to collect driftwood from the beach to keep it burning. As the stunning evening views of the lake disappeared into the night sky we were able to pick out the stars we had seen in [View Full Entry]

By degit
October 15th 2009

Raus aus Australien Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Hallo, habe Australien verlassen und mich nach Neuseeland begeben. Werde heute ein Auto mieten und anschliessend die Nordinsel erforschen. Anschliessend geht es auf die Suedinsel. Hoffe das ich euch bald ein paar Bilder presentieren kann. Werde fuenfzehn anstrengende und eventuell schoene Tage haben, pennen im Auto usw. :) Alles Gute Dim [View Full Entry]

By Feral Mike
October 15th 2009

Cycle Tour - Of Swallows and Contemplation Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Old Helensville Post Office
These days it's the offices of Heartland Services - a one-stop shop for Government and community agencies.

"It's a private pool", the elderly woman said as she and her husband passed me on my arrival. The pool wasn't private but she was right all the same. The pool at Parakai was empty, not a soul, and I lay back and let the warm, thermal waters wash over me. My only companions were two swallows which flitted in through the open roof and swooped over the pool before one did a poop in the water and they both flew off. I was left contemplating how many swallow poops would constitute a health hazard. Probably squadrons of them, all [View Full Entry]

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