coming into Picton on the south island

Long travels and welcome arrival

---

December 26th 2009
As I am sure many of you will realize, it takes a loooong time to get to the other side of the planet. The 14 hour flight from LA to Sydney went well enough (the benefit of first class flying is you can lay out flat and sleep half the way!). In Sydney we had 6 hours to sit in the airport as there was no place to store the luggage. This made for several hours of humorous people watching and a be ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Wellington

---

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