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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 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 Ferdi and Talita
November 4th 2009

Day 277-279: Karamea, New Zealand Oceania » New Zealand » South Island

Ferdi just caught his first sheep

Friday, October 30th Happy birthday Lize! Hope you have a fantastic day and an awesome party! May you have a blessed and amazing year. We slept late then spent a few hours catching up with the blog. As we were preparing lunch Paul came by and asked if we could help to catch the sheep because they needed to be sheered. It took two tries to get the sheep in the pen because on the first attempt they ran at one of the girls who got a fright and ran away. While Ferdi was helping with the catching and sheering Talita [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 Laurene
November 4th 2009

Boat trip and dolphins Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queen Charlotte Sound

Slept in this morning. This morning i’ve just been relaxing and catching up on my journal. After lunch Carolin drove me down to the wharf to catch my boat tour. There was some really crazy wind all day and clouds had rolled in but they said the tour was still on but that we might not be able go to Motuara Island which is a bird sanctuary island at the end of the Queen Charlotte sounds. We saw a colony of some Spotted Shags which are a bird that live on the rocks. They are cool birds and have bright blue [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]

By Feral Mike
November 4th 2009

CYCLE TOUR - ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Russell

Pies but No Coffee
Well before arriving in the Bay of Islands, the signs are up to capture the tourist dollar.

One more cup of coffee for the road One more cup of coffee 'fore I go To the valley below Bob Dylan It was a perfect morning and I was in the perfect mood to enjoy it. The sun was shining but the day was still cool, and with no overnight dew my tent was dry when I packed it up. I was fed and watered and the road lay before me - full of promise. What more could a person want? Coffee! Even before I'd reached the 100 kph sign on the outskirts of Russell the thought had flashed through [View Full Entry]

By BenandCharmaine
November 3rd 2009

Last Minute Madness Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia

The TICKET

Today after having a mammoth 12 hour sleep we wanted to do something today…something…like an activity or just something so we aren’t wasting the day. We got up around 11ish and went to make some breakfast. We spoke on skype and then decided to walk to Paihia’s little town to book a trip. We decided that instead of just going to dolphins and doing the half day trip for $89 we were going to the full day trip for $99 which included all of the bay of islands and took the whole day. Bargain. This would also involve supply drops to [View Full Entry]

By Yertle
November 3rd 2009

NZ hiking and settling down Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Northland

Ahyyye, from the top of the hill

So we headed to Northland in search of warm weather. We found warm welcomes but not much for weather. Stopping in Whangarei to visit family friends Chip and Barbara (who moved from Wilmington a number of years ago) and explore the area on our way north. In light wind we sailed around infront of their beautiful farm estate, hiked Mt Manaia in heavy winds and caught some fun surf on a sunny day. The sun here is stronger than about anywhere else, because of the weak ozone above, so a clear sky goes a long way in warming you up. We [View Full Entry]

You can only hike over a low tide...right from the Beck-Jaffurs amazing front porch

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