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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 Rachelbeth
August 23rd 2005

Glacier Hiking!?! Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Fox Glacier

I Did It!!

South Island V-Cay: Day #8 Waking up that morning we were crossing our fingers hoping that when we peaked out the windows the sun would come pouring in...didn't work :( Again the sky is filled with clouds and there is a permanent mist filling the air. But we had decided since we drove all this way to climb the glacier that a little bit of rain wasn't gonna stop us...well at least it started out as a little bit...so we threw on our rain gear and headed to Alpine Adventures for our early morning hike up Fox Glacier. After suiting up [View Full Entry]

By PHYSIO DAVE
August 22nd 2005

Low sperm count! Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Kaikoura

I see no whales

Firstly congratulations to Chee who won the Dunedin quiz- i dont know how , i think perhaps he has too much time on his hands but anyway - Edinburgh / yellow eyed and penguins was the right answer as seals and sealions have a better sense of smell -ahhhhhhhhh (although sealions do honk the most!). Welldone to Andy for mentioning the penguin wrapper gagg which i never saw coming and for mum for becoming an interacive blogger! Unfortunately brother Ray is apparently still having problems working out how to make general comments although has mastered the private comments - maybe Ray [View Full Entry]

By Rachelbeth
August 22nd 2005

Road Trip'n Up the Coast Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast

Tough

South Island V-Cay: Day #7 Woke up this morning more than ready to get on the rode and leave the Purple Cow hostel and my snoring rommies behind. Lauren, Shelly and I were really excited to start our road trip up the coast and got an early start. We had decided that we needed to take advantage of driving ourselves and that we should stop whenever we felt the need to get out and explore...so our first stop was about an hour and a half into the drive where we walked around the Blue Pools in Mt. Aspiring National park. Oh [View Full Entry]

By Napoleon
August 22nd 2005

1985 Toyota Masterace Surf Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch

The Van

I bought the van!!! I got it checked out by a mechanic, its not in the best health, but its good, considering its 20 years old. I drove it all over Christchurch and around the suburbs, over mountains, to the beach, etc... it runs great. 4 cylinder, so not a lot of power, but pretty good on gas. It has velvet seats, an awesome full length sun roof, cassette player with a radio and 4 soso speakers, power steering, automatic.... but no a/c and no heater... should be alright. I'm gonna hang in Christchurch for a few days and then maybe [View Full Entry]

By ShellyAbroad
August 22nd 2005

Fox Glacier Hiking! What's Cooler than being cool? Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier Hike

...ICE COLD Seeing as I am from hot and humid South East Florida, I just had to see a 'real live' glacier while in NZ. From Wanaka we drove Sunny to the small township of Fox Glacier. Along the way we stopped in Mt. Aspiring National Park, and in the pouring rain, hiked a short rainforest walk to the Blue Springs Pools. unlucky for us, the 'blue pools' were nothing but green pools because of all the rain pouring down. Still, the walk was peaceful, we could hear all the different types of NZ native birds and the river running by. [View Full Entry]

By Dreamer
August 22nd 2005

Home - Yay ... Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Auckland War Memorial Museum

Home Well after about 4 and a half months I’m back home. Really great. First thing I noticed is that people seem more friendly. Don’t know if people really are friendlier here in NZ, perhaps it’s just that you always feel more comfortable at home. You know how things work etc, so you perceive that things are easier and more friendly. Having said this, just after the SMILING NZ immigration officer had checked my passport at Auckland Airport, he said “Welcome Home”. Awesome. What now? Arggggh! Back to the grind, looking for a new job. [View Full Entry]

By Unibrow
August 22nd 2005

A Zoo Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

Volcanic Peak, North Island

Greetings from Wellington, New Zealand, the capital city. We've had a busy few days travelling through the north island. We flew from Sydney to Auckland, NZ on Saturday and immediately rented a car to drive south to Rotorua. Don't tell anyone, but I was doing 100, 110 even.... of course, that's k/hr so, not all that quick. The drive that first evening was a bit hairy, hard getting used to driving on the left side (I'd done it once before), shifting with my left hand, and using the turn signal when I meant to use the windshield wipers (and vice versa). [View Full Entry]

By KerryandCraig
August 22nd 2005

Three days to go :o) Oceania » New Zealand

Well, can't quite believe it.... a journey that seems to have taken months to plan and seemed to be an age away is now only THREE DAYS AWAY!!! Work is all very manic as the pair of us rush around like eejits trying to finalise our plans, do the packing (eeeeekkk) and generally make sure the house is in any sort of state for when we come back! [View Full Entry]

By Lynfield
August 21st 2005

Nathan's road trip to Christchurch Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

Lake Taupo

So anyway, I went to leave Rotorua and the hung-over boys from the stag do. They went back to Auckland to truly punish Jonny for deciding to get married. I meanwhile headed south to drop of the KIWI car to the lovely folks at KIWI Christchurch. Here's some stuff that I saw. [View Full Entry]

By Napoleon
August 21st 2005

Car Shopping Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch

Nikki & Bryan

I have been shopping around for cars down here.... I have noticed that the cars are cheaper here than in Wellington. At first I was very interested in a 1984 Bedford CF Camper, but it didnt work out. It was only 4,400 but I couldn't fit into the drivers seat. Nikki and Brian, an Irish couple, are trying to sell their 85 Toyota Master Surf Van. I am very interested and I will have it checked out tomorrow by a mechanic and hopefully buy it. They are asking 2,200. The van runs well and is very spacious, and has a great [View Full Entry]

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