Day 7 - Joining Kirra

---

A decision I made fairly early on with this blog was not to mention specific company names of places I stayed at, or services I used, unless needed for the story. No-one is paying me to write this, and I don’t feel the need to market anyone else’s services. However, on day 7, I am entering a new world - the world of coach tours - and as it is a bit of a gamble for 7 days, and a key step in my travel life, I don’t mind telling you about my experience with Kirra Tours.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to tell you about Peter. His job is Coach Captain, meaning he drives, offers a running commentary, and generally stays with the group to sort out practical arrangements. In reality, Peter is what made our tour so enjoyable, and although there may be others out there like him, I think the group I found myself in saw Peter as one in a million.

Peter would make a great Granddad. He is wise, gentle, experienced, very knowledgeable, and stays calm in all situations. He also has a sense of humour that he seems to be able to adjust to suit his audience. My group was mainly made up of Aussies, and contained some children (aged 9 to 13), some young people (just like me), and some more mature couples, and Peter’s stories were spot on in content, delivery and level for this bunch.

For a couple of hours, we drove north from Auckland via Whangarei (pronounced with an ‘F’) and Kawakawa to the coastal town of Paihia, and on the way, Peter would entertain and inform us with anecdotes about villages we passed through, business data linked to factories along the way, and stories behind the many Maori sites of historical significance we could see from our coach window. For example, Peter told us that when the Maori first came to New Zealand, they called it ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’, and after a pause, he added the comment that for some Maori, it was called ‘The land of the Wrong White Crowd’.

It made sense to stop every hour and a half or so, and our first stop was chosen especially by Peter. The town of Kawakawa boasts one of the most unusual public loos in the southern hemisphere, and Peter insisted that whether we needed to go or not, we all took a look at the Hundertwasser toilets there. I confess, it did feel a bit risky taking a camera into a public loo, but as you can see, I waited my turn.

I learnt that NZ is 1600km long, 250km wide at widest part, and has a surprising 18,000km of coastline with more curves than a curvy curve. A large proportion of the land is mountainous with both volcanic activity and tectonic plate movements creating long ranges all the way down the middle of both islands.
The economy is based on dairy exports (NZ is the largest exporter in the world, though not the largest producer), timber, and tourism. I had expected to see sheep everywhere (there are 40 million ewe in the country, compared with 4 million people), but up north, cattle are far more significant, and the 6 million head are used mainly for milk and milk products.

According to Peter, some elements of Maori history are open to different interpretation amongst the 300 tribes and sub-tribes, but everyone agrees that Kupe is credited with the first landing in NZ around 850 AD, coming from some islands in the Pacific called Hawaiki, which are probably near Tahiti. He went back home, and around 1350, the great migration took place, where between 7 and 20 tribes (depends on who you talk to) arrived in large canoes (waka) and stayed. For them , land was important, and formal protocols were followed. Tribes would live in hill top fortified villages called Pa, and just like the Pacific islanders, the Maori were occasional cannibals.

If strangers approached a Pa, a warrior would be sent out to greet them, which he’d do with a dance, rolling his eyes, and sticking his tongue out. He’d leave a gift on the ground for the visitor. If the visitor picked up the gift, they would be seen as coming in peace, so the warrior would slap his thigh as an audible signal to the others that the coast was clear.

At Paihia, we were joined by a Maori guide who took us to the site of the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi (1840). To briefly put events into context, Abel Tasman (NL) had seen New Zealand in 1642, but had never landed, even though he gave the islands their name. In 1769, Captain James Cook made the first of three visits, and managed to make initial contact with the Maori. He needed timber to repair his ships, so started some bartering. By the early 1800’s, missionaries, whalers and fur traders had arrived from Europe, and with no established rule of law, things were getting out of hand. Some of the Maori chiefs had already formed a confederation and had asked for help, so the Treaty of Waitangi was drawn up in English and Maori in an attempt to introduce English sovereignty while protecting the land and property rights of the Maori. All of a sudden, the importance of good translators became clear, as we can see now that the two versions of the Treaty of Waitangi differ in a few areas. These differences were nearly inevitable, as the Maori wording had to be acceptable to the chiefs, while the English wording had to offer a reasonable deal to the British signatory, Captain Hobson. The differences, and issues arising from this, are still a hot topic of discussion in NZ today.

The Treaty site also has some fantastic Maori wood carvings. There is a Marae (a sort of village hall) which is seen by the Maori as having a strong link to the local ancestors, so carvings around the facia, door and window all tell stories from the past. There is also a war canoe (a waka) which has incredible carvings especially affront and back, and was itself carved out of a single Kauri trunk.

The final activity of day 7 was a cruise around the Bay of Islands. Now, anyone visiting NZ has to accept that it’s a little country with big weather, and this afternoon, a force 7 wind ensured we had a memorable trip on our bobbing boat. The good news is that no-one fell overboard (mainly because the more mature group members stayed inside). However, with dynamic seas, grey skies and a generous watering, this was not going to be a day of prize winning photographs. Photos aside, this was a good trip, with some surprising stories (grizzly and romantic) and some spectacular views of the 144 islands in the Bay. I get the feeling too that by the end of day one of the Kirra tour, bonds had started to form, especially between those of us who’d been mad enough to stay on top of the boat as we lurched up and down for an afternoon. Were we there just to make sure the children didn’t fall off, or was this part of us experiencing anything that New Zealand could throw at us?

---

Photos

Drive on the left
New Zealand is a quaint country where there is not much traffic,and they still drive on the left. You can see Coach Captain Peter in the mirror.

The Hondertwasser Toilets
As you stand there, you get the feeling you're in an art gallery.

Marae at Waitangi
See the wood carvings round the edges. Note the shoes at the front door, taken off as a mark of respect for the spirits of the ancestors

More Maori beaty
The bow of the 'waka nui nui (big big canoe) has some very ornate carvings. The red figure to the right of this contains a lot of history. The tourist who insisted on getting into my photo was not quick enough with her camera to shoot me back. If anyone can give me her phone number, I'll call to tell her how upset I am that she's ruined the picture.