New Zealand, Land that We Love

Trip Start Jun 24, 2008
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Trip End Aug 10, 2008


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Flag of New Zealand  , North Island,
Saturday, August 2, 2008

The weather held out for us on our second day of New Zealand, and we headed north towards Cape Reinga--the most northern part of New Zealand.  On the way, we stopped by the Waitangi National Trust.  In 1840, the Maori (the people living in New Zealand when it was "discovered" by European explorers) and Great Britain signed a treaty placing New Zealand under the protection of the Queen and Great Britain.  It is the most important document in New Zealand, and is still the source of Maori rights.  The Trust site is where hundreds of Maori landed to meet with the British governor and one another to debate the future of the Maori and New Zealand.  Apparently, signing the treaty was sort of the least-worst scenario for the Maori--thousands of foreigners were landing and they knew that things were changing for them, and it seemed the only decision that would preserve their rights to the land.  Unfortunately, that's not the way it turned out; then again, it never is.  At any rate, our visit to the site was a fascinating lesson on the history of the country Flag Marks Where Treaty Was Signed
Flag Marks Where Treaty Was Signed
 . 

After our stop, we headed to Cape Reinga.  On the way, I decided that New Zealand is the most beautiful country I have ever laid eyes on.  At the risk of sounding silly, I have to say that the land reminds me of the Nintendo game Super Mario Bros.  Seriously--the blue, blue of the sky, the fluffy white clouds, and the green, green of the hills look unnatural.  Every step of the drive made us feel like we are in a postcard (at least, those moments when we weren't cringing at one another's left-side-of-the-street driving abilities).  On the way to Cape Reinga, we noticed we were running a bit low on gas, but we passed a sign indicating that there was a gas station in Waitiki Landing, which was right next to Cape Reinga, so we didn't worry about it.  An hour later when we arrived at Waitiki Landing--which claimed to have the last gas station in the Northland--we learned that the gas station was, in fact, out of gas.  The liars.  Worse, we learned that, although we were only 20 kilometers (13 miles) from Cape Reinga, the next gas station was 60 kilometers the opposite direction.  Very irritated (talk about false advertising!!!), we turned around and headed back the other direction.  We were glad we did so, because our fuel light went on, and we realized that we would never have made it if we had continued on to Cape Reinga.

After stopping for gas (where we learned to our chagrin that the Waitiki Landing gas station regularly ran out of fuel), we debated the merits of driving back to Cape Reinga that day.  Because the weather was holding out despite all of the forecasts telling us to expect rain--apparently, New Zealand has had the most rain in its history since 1914--we decided to go ahead and head to Cape Reinga again Treaty House
Treaty House
 .  Once we arrived, we were glad that we had persevered.  Cape Reinga is where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea, and was spectacular.  Not only was it fascinating to watch the relatively placid but strong Pacific Ocean meet the volatile Tasman Sea, but the views were stunning.  Standing on the cliff overlooking the cape, we understood why the Cape is one of the most sacred places for the Maori, who believe that it is a place where the spirits of the deceased pass through on their way to the underworld.

We were even happier that we made the journey to Cape Reinga when we did because we woke up on Saturday to gray, overcast skies on Saturday.   Now, we head south towards the Waitomo Caves, where we are told that we will see glowworms.  Who knew glowworms existed other than as a cartoon?  Incidentally, Paul does not remember the Glo Worms cartoon because, as I like to remind him, he is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy older than me.    
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