I wonder what else there is to see?
Saturday, 27 October 2012
It Isn't Over Till . . .
This holiday was memorable for driving round corners and saying, 'Wow' at the unexpected. Just when we thought that we had ended on a high, we found ourselves looking down on the top of the world. 'Even wow - er', and the view wasn't any better in Business Class!
Thursday, 25 October 2012
The Big City
We have returned our camper vans and have some time to get to know Auckland. This is the view from Devonport where there is a naval base and the NZRN museum. It is a 10 minute commute across the bay from this leafy suburb with colonial timber houses to downtown Auckland with the impressive Sky Tower.
Everywhere there are marinas. Auckland is reported as having the highest number of boats per head of population in the world and from here that is quite believable. It is a busy city and quite a contrast to the experience of recent days. This is modern New Zealand, but the rural New Zealand which has really left its mark. It feels like a young country in comparison to home with less convention.
Everywhere there are marinas. Auckland is reported as having the highest number of boats per head of population in the world and from here that is quite believable. It is a busy city and quite a contrast to the experience of recent days. This is modern New Zealand, but the rural New Zealand which has really left its mark. It feels like a young country in comparison to home with less convention.
Maori
This is a Maori Meeting Hut. It is not the oldest, but it was built in 1940 both to commemorate the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and to reaffirm the importance of Maori heritage in the identity of New Zealand. Like all such buildings, it is a work of art - a master piece - as well as being a place of peace and tranquility where heritage and ancestry are the main focus.
One of the striking parts of our recent travels in NZ has been the encounter with Maori culture which is being retained through an assertive effort from Maori people not to be simply engulfed by the tsunami of European culture. It does bring to mind the effort in Scotland and Wales to retain the Celtic languages, but here there seems to be a greater critical mass of Maori working to sustain their identity.
One of the striking parts of our recent travels in NZ has been the encounter with Maori culture which is being retained through an assertive effort from Maori people not to be simply engulfed by the tsunami of European culture. It does bring to mind the effort in Scotland and Wales to retain the Celtic languages, but here there seems to be a greater critical mass of Maori working to sustain their identity.
Monday, 22 October 2012
Birth of a Nation
At the Bay of Islands, in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the Maori chiefs and the British which meant that NZ became part of the British Empire. By 1845, some of the Maori population had begun to realise that perhaps the Treaty was not all that they had been led to expect! The Union Jack at Kokorareka was cut down several times by Maori rebels and the township was virtually destroyed in fighting over the following years.
When the town was resettled, it was named after Lord John Russell, the radical leader of the House of Commons, but tension between cultures remained. Towns have Maori names, but the street names could be anywhere in Britain.
This is the historic spot where the Maoris agreed to be part of the British Empire a major step to creating New Zealand as we know it today.
When the town was resettled, it was named after Lord John Russell, the radical leader of the House of Commons, but tension between cultures remained. Towns have Maori names, but the street names could be anywhere in Britain.
This is the historic spot where the Maoris agreed to be part of the British Empire a major step to creating New Zealand as we know it today.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Bay of Islands
The lump of basalt in the foreground was faulty and fell away forward leaving an opportunity to view both the top view and the side view of these unusual rock formations which, we are told, are to be found in only two other places in the world. One is the the Galapagos Islands and the other is the Giant's Causeway.
Perhaps Fingal's Cave is basalt without the faulty?
Perhaps Fingal's Cave is basalt without the faulty?
Tall Story
This is a Kauri tree. They still grow on the North Island although the majority were logged out some years ago. The wood has a beautiful warm colour when used for furniture and domestic finishing of stairs and panelling. It is remarkably easy to work having virtually no knots. It is very durable; some Kauri wood still looks impressive although it is reckoned to have been buried in swampland for over 20,000 years!
Kauri are also MASSIVE - so much so that it is almost impossible to convey this in a photo as they grow in rainforest. However, of you look at the top of this one carefully you will see that there is another tree growing out of the top of the Kauri. This example started growing about the time of the Viking invasions of Britain. Many of its main upper branches have broken, leaving it shorter than it used to be. It is neither the oldest nor the tallest by a long way; the oldest survivor predates the birth of Christ, but men used to chop these down without a second thought. It helps to explain why Kiwis are into conservation.
Kauri are also MASSIVE - so much so that it is almost impossible to convey this in a photo as they grow in rainforest. However, of you look at the top of this one carefully you will see that there is another tree growing out of the top of the Kauri. This example started growing about the time of the Viking invasions of Britain. Many of its main upper branches have broken, leaving it shorter than it used to be. It is neither the oldest nor the tallest by a long way; the oldest survivor predates the birth of Christ, but men used to chop these down without a second thought. It helps to explain why Kiwis are into conservation.
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