Category Archives: Grand Tour

The Waitangi Treaty Grounds

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Monday 13th May, 2013

We checked out of our motel in Paihia and drove a little way down the road to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. It was on this site that the Treaty of Waitangi (Tiriti o Waitangi) was signed between the Maori iwi (tribes) of the North Island and Queen Victoria’s representatives. Although the treaty is seen to be the founding document for New Zealand and 6th February 1840 to be the nation’s birthday it is not a straightforward chapter of history.

The Treaty

This was the first time we encountered some of the specifics of how New Zealand came to be part of the British Empire. Whilst I had studied some aspects of the Empire’s rise and decline what happened in these two islands on the other side of the world had never featured. It’s impossible to do justice to the complexity and the tensions without making this blog post far too long but it came out of a desire in both Britain, and New Zealand from both Maori and pakeha to establish some more formalised structure in relation to land ownership and security.   Continue reading The Waitangi Treaty Grounds →

Paihia – don’t Rock the boat

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Saturday 11th May and Sunday 12th May, 2013

After our toilet stop in Kawakawa we drove to Paihia and left the car at the motel we’d be staying at on Sunday. We took our backpacks and packed lunch, then booked our Cape Reinga tour for Tuesday at the i-Site.

All morning the sun had been shining and it had been a glorious day. As we walked into the town the rain began to fall, and fell heavily for a number of hours. We took shelter in a covered mall to eat our lunch and then walked to the end of the pier to wait for the crew of the Rock to collect us.

The view from Paihia over to Russell
Quite a marked difference by the afternoon from the view we’d had first thing that day: www.flickr.com/photos/bmwelby/8733242260/in/set-721576340…

As we waited we wondered if the trip might be called off – the rain was only getting heavier. But 1545 rolled around and we found ourselves waiting with a group of similarly excited yet apprehensive guests. Captain Ben and Norm arrived promptly to collect us and to our relief had brought proper fisherman-style raincoats for us to wear for the trip over to the Rock.

Continue reading Paihia – don’t Rock the boat →

Russell – the Hell hole of the Pacific

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Friday 10th May and Saturday 11th May, 2013

We packed up our things but before we could say goodbye to Auckland we needed to pick up the car we were trusting to get us around for the next two months. We’d got a fantastic deal from Ace Rental Cars that worked out at less than £500 (and a great deal on car hire excess insurance) so we were a little dubious about the quality of car we’d have.

We needn’t have worried – the car was pretty new and certainly had enough room for our baggage even if it was a petrol based automatic. I’d never heard of a Nissan Tiida though.

A Nissan Tiida
Our trusty(?) wheels

Continue reading Russell – the Hell hole of the Pacific →

Auckland day 4 – more relaxed than we’d planned

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Thursday 9th May, 2013

Our original plan for today had been to visit Waiheke Island and enjoy its beaches and wineries. There were two problems with this. First, the weather had taken a turn for the British and was absolutely chucking it down. Second, I came down with a horrid cold. So instead of braving the wind and the rain we had a nice lie in, went to the cinema, got introduced to Burgerfuel and took advantage of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

Continue reading Auckland day 4 – more relaxed than we’d planned →

Auckland day 3 – One Tree Hill and the Auckland Museum

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Wednesday 8th May, 2013

Today the rain was back with a vengeance! Although the weather forecast was fairly bleak we set off early in the hope of getting to Maungakiekie (more commonly known as One Tree Hill) before the rain. We were fairly dry when we got to the top but by the time we reached the Auckland Museum we were absolutely sodden!

Maungakiekie is an important place for both Maori and Pakeha (the Maori word for New Zealanders of European descent) and its chequered history demonstrates something of the tension between the two. Continue reading Auckland day 3 – One Tree Hill and the Auckland Museum →

Auckland day 2 – Devonport

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Tuesday 7th May, 2013

Our first day in Auckland had been very damp but with the sun shining brightly we decided we were going to spend today out and about and started with the Lonely Planet’s walking tour of the city centre.

Continue reading Auckland day 2 – Devonport →

Arriving in Auckland

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Monday 6th May, 2013

It has been quite a season to be a Bradford City fan. Just before we left the UK we secured our place in the playoffs with victory over Burton, the same team we would play in the semi-final. I’d woken up early to watch us lose the first leg and was gutted that the season defining second leg was taking place while we were in a complete information blackhole en route from Tokyo (it can’t be long before we demand web access when we’re airborne). Happily there was 30 minutes of free wifi at Auckland airport leaving Christine, with eyes rolling, distancing herself from the weird, claret and amber clad person randomly celebrating in an airport (we won). Continue reading Arriving in Auckland →

Bringing to an end 5 nights in Tokyo…

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Saturday 4th May, 2013

Today was a bit problematic for us – we’d been fairly happy in terms of what to do with three days in Tokyo but the fourth stumped us. Particularly as Golden Week was well under way and so everybody was in holiday mode.

Should we go on a day trip to Mount Fuji? Logistically it’s a long trek and there’s no guarantee of seeing the mountain, particularly in May when visibility is apparently at its poorest. Continue reading Bringing to an end 5 nights in Tokyo… →

Go fish, localgov, cosplay and curry

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Friday 3rd May, 2013

Having been to the auction yesterday today we chose to visit the retail side of Tsukiji. It was absolutely fantastic and although we got there a little late and things were being packed away you still got a sense of the thing. It was also good to be able to poke around away from the hordes of people who would be there normally. I think the vendors probably enjoy seeing off squeamish tourists, none more so than the guy who took great delight in skewering a fish with a metal rod down its spine while we watched (killing it but preserving the body of the fish). Continue reading Go fish, localgov, cosplay and curry →

Bleary-eyed tuna and an artificial island

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Thursday 2nd May, 2013

Today started at 0326.

It should have started at 0220.

The reason for this crazy early start was a desire to see the famous Tsukiji tuna auction.

Continue reading Bleary-eyed tuna and an artificial island →