Hot Water Beach

New Zealand

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December 9th 2008
Kia ora tatou ("Hello everyone" in Maori language)! After a couple of sunny days in Sydney, I flew over to Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city. An hour after having landed, I had booked myself into a 25-day trip through the country with Stray, a flexible bus network for backpackers with an hop-on hop-off facility. I left at 6.00am the next morning on my journey. I hadn't realized that New Zeal ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand

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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