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| From Paihia we took a ferry over to Russell Island which was formerly known as Kororareka and was the first capital of New Zealand. |
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| Overlooking Oneroa Bay on Russell Island. |
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| Overlooking Matauwhi Bay. |
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| Overlooking the main town on Russell Island. |
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| Historic Anglican Church. |
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| Main street in Russell. |
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| LDS Church in Paihia. |
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| December 28, 2012 |
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| The Treaty of Waitangi was a document between the Maori people and the British Crown. It was signed on February 6, 1840. The original document is now housed at the Archives of New Zealand in Wellington where we work. This is located just outside of the town on Paihia which is the largest town in the bay. The Maori people couldn't read or write very well so the document that they signed gave away a lot of their rights to the British. |
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| This is one of the original Maori boats. |
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| This is the house where the treaty was signed and where the Crown official James Busby lived. |
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| This is the Te Whare Runanga (Meeting House) for the Maori people. This is also called a Marae. |
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| The Treaty House was too small so Busby had an addition and it then became a house within a house. |
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| This is a show that is performed by the Maori people depicting their traditions. |
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| December 28, 2012 |
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| Kerikeri is another quaint little town which has the Stone Store which was built between 1833 and 1835 and was initially used as a trading post. |
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| This is the entrance to the Rewa Maori Village. |
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| Wharepuka Falls |
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| Rainbow Falls |
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| Haruru Falls December 27, 2012 |
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| We left Whangarei and traveled to a small town called Kaitaia and then traveled north to Cape Reinga. This is the most northern tip of New Zealand. Last Christmas we traveled to Bluff which is the most southern tip of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is the meeting point of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day you can see the two oceans collide together. However, it was too foggy for us to even see the ocean. |
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| Cape Reinga is a place of great spiritual significance to the Maori. According to tradition after travelling up Ninety Mile Beach the spirits of the departed leap from a tree clinging to the cape and return to their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. |
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| Notice how Los Angeles and the South Pole are in opposite directions. |
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| We hiked down a little to try to see the ocean but this is the best shot we could photograph. |
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| December 26, 2012 |
