New Zealand: Bay of Islands

[Post by Ana]

Kia Ora everyone,
we're currently in Hoi An Vietnam and playing catch-up on our adventures. We have about two months worth of adventures to share with you.

So picking up from the last post, we left the Mount and headed back to Auckland to meet up with Joe and Ali. We'd taken up their offer and booked their place in Opua, Bay of Islands for one week, our last week in New Zealand. It seemed appropriate to end our time here in the birthplace of New Zealand.

The drive from Auckland to Opua took approximately 4 hours. Maybe even a bit more, it was rainy and drizzly and we drove with caution. We found Joe's place tucked in at the end of cul-de-sac leading down to a jetty. This is where he spent his childhood, it's beautiful. Joe did share with us that when he was a kid he used to think that all children had access to a place like this. 

When you see it you can understand why Joe thought that the whole world was just like this, stunningly beautiful.  

Joe's childhood home

View from the living room window

Our education continued at the WaitingTreaty Grounds, a short drive from Paihia. It was here on February 6th, 1840, that the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, was first signed between 540 Maori rangatira (Chiefs) and the British Crown. 

To put things into perspective, you have to go back, and consider that this was a time that explorers didn't ask for land they just took it and, generally speaking, destroyed anything else on their way. This was a first step in trying to negotiate with those who were there before them, and thus, recognising them as equal. This was ground breaking. Things didn't go so linear, but the spirit and vision of the time is still celebrated. And when you walk the grounds of Waiting and you learn the history you can almost feel how nerve wrecking the whole thing must have been. The treaty was written in both Maori and English languages and circulated to include all Chiefs signatures. 

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

Photo: the original canoe that led the Maori Chiefs to Waitingi to sign the treaty

The Treaty Grounds are part of the 506 hectare Waitangi National Trust estate, overlooking the Bay, which was gifted to the nation by Lord and Lady Bledisloe in 1932. In the Deed of Gift, Lord Bledisloe stipulated that the estate was never to be a burden on the tax payer, and as such it is not government funded. The estate is administered by the Waitangi National Trust Board, whose members represent various sections of New Zealand people.

The Treaty House

Feel free to click the links above to find out more.

The bay is a natural harbour with interesting historic towns including Paihia, Russell, Waitangi and Kerikeri. We had the pleasure of visiting them all, Russell particularly stands out because you need to take a ferry to get there.  We took a short day trip to Russell, formerly known as Kororareka, which was the first permanent European settlement in New Zealand. The package we picked included some dolphin watching, which was fun but we really struggled to get some good shots. 

Paihia harbour

Our ferry

Spot the dolphin

Russell is really small, disappointingly you can visit the town in less than an hour. They did try their best to make it exciting but, well the art scene is picking up and there are some good restaurants other than that you will struggle for reasons to visit. I suppose it all depends on what you fancy.

But la crème de la crème of this bit of our trip was our drive to Cape Reinga, the northwestern most tip of the Aupouri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. A lovely, 3-hour long scenic drive that took us to various points including a stop by the 90 mile beach, you can't see the end of it. The only spoiler for me, Col is not of the same opinion, is that cars can drive here with speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

No end in sight

Car tire marks

The name of the cape comes from the Māori word 'Reinga', meaning the 'Underworld'.[3] Another Māori name is 'Te Rerenga Wairua', meaning the leaping-off place of spirits.[4] Both refer to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld.

According to mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland and climb the roots of the 800 year old tree and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiki, using the Te Ara Wairua, the 'Spirits' pathway'. At Cape Reinga they depart the mainland. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey.[4]

We walked up to the lighthouse and then took one of the trails leading to the Dunes. Absolutely nobody in site. And the sea water just as blue as the sky. This is my idea of heaven. We stopped and unpacked our lunch under the watchful eye of the sea. 

Cape Reinga is generally considered the separation marker between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. From the lighthouse it is possible to watch the tidal race, as the two seas clash to create unsettled waters just off the coast. The Māori refer to this as the meeting of Te Moana-a-Rehua, 'the sea of Rehua' with Te Tai-o-Whitirea, 'the sea of Whitirea', Rehua and Whitirea being a male and a female respectively.^[4]

The meeting of the seas

I don't believe in destiny but when I think of the isolated events that brought us to this moment here I feel inclined to recognise compelling evidence. In the end it does not matter the what or when just the now, and now (then) we're here. 

We didn't get much encouragement from the weather but we persisted in defying the elements and added to our stay a visit to the Whangarei falls in the H. A Reed Memorial Park. We took a short drive to Whangarei city, about one hour at most and from here our trek began. It was an experience trying to find the beginning of the trek, not many sign posts and instructions we got from passers by were not very clear. Not one of our favourite treks but the end result is worth it. 

We didn't meet any Maoris during our stay, I mean outside of the 'museum' and 'touristy events'. It would have been interesting to hear their take on history or even just to have a chat. It made me think of Angola, my home country, and how we could learn to preserve and bring to life some of our history and traditions by following their example.

On leaving Opua we made a quick stop at the Kawiti Glow Warm Caves. This was a 'Colin' venture and I was tagging along for the ride. I was expecting a freak show with big warms glowing a little bit and have to say, was happily impressed. It's exactly as the name goes, they do glow but you can hardly see them, they're tiny and only in the darker areas of the cave you can experience the full effect of their glow. It's something. The tickets are a bit of a rip-off for 15 minutes entertainment but is one of those things in life that you have to see it to believe it. 

 Photo: The entrance and stalactite formation

We returned to Auckland for one more night before leaving to Australia. We are very thankful to Joe, Alison and William for their hospitality and the possibility to stay in Bay of Islands. It was great to see our friends again and more so to realise that our friendship is timeless.

We did not see Jason again but with the way that life goes we're sure our paths will cross again. Bay of Islands is truly beautiful and we strongly recommend people to visit and spend some time here.

Our journey continues to Sydney, Australia where we'll meet some of Col's University friends, make new friends and spend our New Year. 

Click here for the full New Zealand album.