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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 speedtrip
January 13th 2004

Lake Matheson and Fox Glacier Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Fox Glacier

Mount Cook

Near Fox Glacier is the haunting and much photographed Lake Matheson. On a good day with still water you can see the reflection of Mount Cook in the waters. Its a nice walk too around the lake and if you are lucky you will get some good photos. Fox Glacier is good place to chill on a sunny day .... there are plenty of bars and resturants on Main Street to kick back and watch the world go by .... enjoy [View Full Entry]

By speedtrip
January 13th 2004

Jackson Bay, Haast Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » West Coast » Haast

Haast Coastline

Arrived Jackson after a fantastic ride down from Franz Josef glazier where I had camped the night before. Had good weather on the way down and super roads too. Stopped at Haast Settlement for supplies where I chatted to a couple from England also on a BMW. Riding through the Haast region, I get a strong sense of entering a primeval land, and a feeling of total isolation, or maybe its the freedom and the adventure of it all. Leaving Haast Township with new supplies I head south following the coastal plain towards the he remote fishing village of Jackson Bay, [View Full Entry]

By Silver_Sheep
January 10th 2004

Sunshine, I love it... Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Northland » Pukenui

Pukenui

Hey peepz, how's the lovely English winter treating you all? Had any snow? ... if you have then just think of us in our shorts 'n' tshirts basking in 28+ sun walking across sun bleached white sand, kayaking(for free!) across cyan blue sea's, aaaaah, what a life!:o) Well, Christmas went by without much notice from most of us at the backpackers, me and dina had a few drinks and chatted most of the night, well I had a few too many and spent most of New Years day spewing into the twalette, i didn't get out of bed until 7pm that [View Full Entry]

By Adventure Kate
January 8th 2004

A Breath of Fresh Air Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Waitomo

The first day in New Zealand, and by the end of it, I already feel like I belong here. Everyone in the group seems to mesh well, and this place is beautiful. The only sad moment was having to relinquish my Cirque juggling balls at customs because they may have had seeds in them, and the test for know for sure cost more than I paid for the balls themselves. Stepping out of the airport was like stepping into a dream. The air smelled sweet like Maine, only the temperature was perfect and the airport more remote. Our first trip took [View Full Entry]

By Adventure Kate
January 7th 2004

The Journey Begins Oceania » New Zealand

I'm finally at the conclusion of the longest day of my life. I'll be quite surprised if I can keep up my handwriting through this entry, considering I'm nearing on 24 hours without sleep, discounting the 15 minutes on the plane to and in Atlanta. My journey began at 2:30 am on January 6th, Eastern Standard Time, since I made the mistake of not setting my clock forward. I said my goodbyes to dad in the airport at 5 am and was on my way to Atlanta by 6:20 am. I had a long layover in Atlanta in which a man [View Full Entry]

By travel Robbie
January 5th 2004

Een nieuw jaar(tal) Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Coromandel

oud & nieuw ´03-´04

Een gelukkig nieuwjaar voor allen! Bij ons thuis in Goor (voor insiders: “He, grappig dat je het zegt, daar heb ik 18 jaar gewoond.”) hadden we altijd een ritueel tijdens de overgang van het ene naar het andere jaar. Ik kan me er veel van herinneren en het brengt een glimlach op m’n gezicht. Soms vind ik het jammer, dat die tijden voorbij zijn. Dat is iets wat tijd doet, het brengt verandering met zich mee, nietwaar? En daar hoef je zelf niets voor te doen. Op zo’n 2.5 uur rijden van Auckland is de Coromandel Peninsula. Zo dicht bij de [View Full Entry]

By Silver_Sheep
December 23rd 2003

Jingle bells..... Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Tauranga

Peeka boooo....

Well, it's that time of year again, but this time we're somewhere hot! Man it feels soooo strange here in NZ, the sun is out, everyone is in short's 'n' t-shirt's and talking about having barbies on the beach for x-mas dinner ... it's sooo kool!:o) The kiwi's seem to have the same feeling about Christmas that most people do, except without the hampering for snow ... most of them complain if it isn't going to be over the 20's for the big day! However there are some of them that we have met that have the the same feelings about [View Full Entry]

By Rachel of Oz
December 12th 2003

More Alvei Pics Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Napier

Jared

I can't help posting a few more pics. This is the crew and their tattoos! [View Full Entry]

By Rachel of Oz
December 11th 2003

Back on Land Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » East Coast » Napier

Mount Maunganui

The past three weeks of sailing were incredible! Veronica and I left the Alvei today and watching it sail off without us was like watching our house and family drift away. But the money has run out and it's time to work. I'll miss everything about sailing, including getting up at 4:00am for watch, eating Fritjof's "kerosene pie" (this was a veggie pie gone very wrong), the dolphins that swim along side the boat (at night they are just glowing outlines because of the bioluminescence in the water), listening to Jared (the first mate) tell stories about his tattoos and his [View Full Entry]

By Daryl G
November 28th 2003

Hokitika Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Hokitika

Lake Matheson

Wake up pretty late actually. We were to be leaving at 7:30am, so I had an hour to shower, get all packed up and to have some breakfast. Thankfully I’d done it in time, though I was the last to put my stuff on the coach. I had some cornflakes and a cuppa for breakfast. Our first destination was Lake Matheson. This was only a 6-km drive from the village. It was a perfect sunny day today. It was a total opposite to the second half of yesterday. I discovered that Susan and Stephanie had left earlier that morning to skydive [View Full Entry]

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