Tree touring, some history and meeting Maggie

Last Tuesday was the last day in the Bay of Islands. We spent the morning at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds indulging in a bit of history. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between representatives of the Crown and various Māori tribe leaders on 6th February 1840. It established British rule in the country in return for Maori land ownership. It's still a hotly debated subject but this treaty is now seen as the bedrock of the New Zealand nation. This also means that 6th Febraury is a national holiday to celebrate this. The grounds themselves are fairly nice to walk around with a couple of cafes (yes Carol and Boyd got a coffee) and some nice views. The main reasons to come are to see the giant ceremonial canoe (waka)  and to see the Treaty House where James Busby, British resident in New Zealand and key to the drafting of the treaty, lived. We spent a couple of hours looking round the site before hitting the road.

Lloyd reading before we left Haruru

This giant waka seats 80 crew

Carving inside the whare runanga (Māori meeting house)

View of the Bay of Islands from Waitangi

After a lunch stop at a lookout over the  in the little town of Opononi we reached the Waipoua forest. Here there are many of the world famous kauri trees, including most of the largest trees of their kind. The largest kauri of all is called Tāne Mahuta, or Lord of the Forest, and stands an impressive 168ft tall with a trunk circumference of 45.2ft. This was the first stop in the forest and only a short walk from the car park. At the next stop we took more time to do a couple of longer walks, taking in the 2nd largest tree called Te Matua Ngahere or Father of the Forest. This was in some ways more impressive as it had a larger trunk at 52ft but is not as tall.

On the road to Waipoua Forest 

A common sight around NZ

Tāne Mahuta - Carol cut the top off a photo again ;-)

Tree hugger

Our final destination for the day was Dargaville, a small farming town on the east coast of the northland. It's not the type of place you would normally visit, a bit of a one horse town but was fine to rest up after a days driving. We enjoyed a nice meal in a beach bar and then drove down to the beach for an amazing sunset.

You think he can fit this in?

Sunset Bayleys Beach Dargaville

Sunset Bayleys Beach Dargaville

Sunset Bayleys Beach Dargaville

The next morning we packed up the car again and headed back to Auckland. The mandatory coffee stop was at a cool organic cafe at Kaiwaka. The building was shaped like a boat with loads of little middle eastern style rooms and a slightly hippy vibe. After this we dropped in on Carol's old work colleague Maggie who lives in Orewa. She is a very spritely for 90 years old and wanted to show us her new bike. She started working with Carol 47 years ago and have kept in touch via letter all this time. Maggie was thrilled to have Carol to visit her this time around, usually Maggie comes to England. She's a true character and I hope that we are so full of life when we are older.

Waiting for another coffee

Suitably refreshed

Maggie and her new bike