The Shire

Welly and the ferry to South Island

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October 11th 2008
Ross: The drive south to Welly (as it is affectionately known by the locals) along the Desert Road is fairly barren with Mt Ruapehu on you right hand side as you drive through the Tongariro National Park. We stopped off for a break at Taihepe to visit the Mokai Gravity Canyon, a site for bungy jumping, canyon swinging and zip-lining over a rather steep and deep gorge. Luckily for me the bungy w ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

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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... ... read more