Ka Mate, Ka Mate!('Tis Death, 'Tis Death!)
Traditional canoePlanning my trip to Australia had been straightforward. In 12 days I was never going to see much of such a huge country so it was a simple case of deciding on what would be the most adventurous and interesting trip from Sydney. By contrast, making the most of our three weeks in Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, proved to be a very difficult task for Pete and me and it took us several attempts to come up with a workable plan.
The population of New Zealand is about 4.3 million, slightly less than the population of the Republic of Ireland. The total land mass, however, is greater than the whole of the United Kingdom. Geographically it is a land of contrasts and diversity that range from the semi-tropical tip of the North Island to the glacial Fiordland on the western coast of the South Island. For a trip of only 21 days it soon became obvious that some of the ‘unmissable’ sights would have to be excluded.
For both of us there was a sense that this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we had to squeeze as much out of it as possible. Our original plan was to either hire a camper van to tour both islands or to hire a car and stop at motels along the way. But as we poured over the map and checked the distances it was apparent that trying to see even a limited number of attractions would mean lots of driving and very little time for actually doing any of the numerous exciting activities on offer to the adventurer.
Most people who we spoke to who had been to New Zealand had the same advice to offer – ‘Spend as much time as you can on South Island.’ We contemplated ignoring North Island all together, but the Bay of Islands, in the north east, and Rotorua, in the middle of North Island, both featured high in our list of places we simply could not miss.
In the end it was Air New Zealand that came to our rescue, as we discovered that it was fairly inexpensive to hop from place to place by plane and save hours on the corresponding road journey. What we settled on was an exciting mishmash of short flights, the ferry, scenic railway journeys and hire cars. I was put in charge of accommodation and working to a budget of $120 a day (about £60) I was able to book us into a range of motels, bed and breakfasts and one room, backpacker type accommodations.
Thus it was that on my second full day in New Zealand we made our way back to the airport to take a 40 minute flight to Kerikeri, the airport that serves the Bay of Islands, a journey that would have taken three and half hours by road.
The small car we had hired for our 2 night stay was waiting for us at the airport. Having booked into our motel we immediately set off to explore and headed for Paihia, as this seemed to be the centre of activities. As I’ve said before, serendipity, making fortunate discoveries by accident, is often one of the brilliant by-products of travel. In New Zealand it was a word that was to define our trip and never more so than what was waiting for us as we journeyed to the coastal heart of the Bay of Islands.
New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. Unlike the Australian Aborigines, the Maori are not truly indigenous as they are the descendents of Polynesian islanders who arrived by canoe about 800 years ago. Also unlike the Aborigines, the Maoris were never a conquered people who had their lands taken from them by force of arms. The signing of a treaty with Great Britain in 1840 has made a big difference to the way in which Maori culture has survived and is evident throughout Aoteaora.
There were about 100,000 Maoris in New Zealand in 1830 and only about 200 Europeans. Drawn mainly by whaling, the number of Europeans, who were mostly British, grew to about 2,000 by 1839. The Maoris were divided into tribes and there were many conflicts. The Europeans brought muskets with them, which the Maoris readily traded for food and flax. An arms race developed as the tribes armed with muskets had an enormous advantage over those with traditional weapons. The so called Musket Wars claimed the lives of about 20,000 Maoris. As with the nuclear arms race of the late 20th Century, it was only when all the tribes had access to the same firepower that peace prevailed.
The Maoris were open to change and welcomed the new ideas brought by the Europeans. The missionaries brought books with them and taught people to read, opening up a new world of learning. Some Maoris travelled the world on the boats that came to their shores. In 1820 two tribal chiefs even travelled to England and met with King George IV.
From the British point of view, trade with the Maoris provided timber for boat building and flax to make rope. It was largely to protect this advantageous trade link that Britain sought to create a treaty with the people of New Zealand.
Towards the end of the 1830’s there were speculative ‘purchases’ of Maori land by Europeans and capitalists from New South Wales. The New Zealand Company, which originated in London in 1839 with the express aim of promoting the colonisation of New Zealand, claimed to have bought 20 million acres of land. The debate over whether the land transactions meant the same to the purchasers as it did to the Maori sellers continues to this day. The Maori culture did not necessarily see the trade in land as a permanent loss.
The Treaty of Waitangi was instituted by the British Government, prompted by concerns over lawlessness, tribal wars and the prospect of formal colonisation by The New Zealand Company. The treaty was in effect the founding document of the nation of New Zealand. It established a British Governor, recognised Maori ownership of their lands and gave Maoris the rights of British subjects. The treaty was written in English and a Maori version was written by a missionary. The two documents did not agree.
On the morning of 6th February, 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by 45 tribal chiefs in front of the Treaty House at Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands. Little did any of those present know that exactly 170 years later to the day two more hapless Brits would pitch up at the same location totally oblivious to the importance of its significance or the anniversary.
The population of New Zealand is about 4.3 million, slightly less than the population of the Republic of Ireland. The total land mass, however, is greater than the whole of the United Kingdom. Geographically it is a land of contrasts and diversity that range from the semi-tropical tip of the North Island to the glacial Fiordland on the western coast of the South Island. For a trip of only 21 days it soon became obvious that some of the ‘unmissable’ sights would have to be excluded.
For both of us there was a sense that this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we had to squeeze as much out of it as possible. Our original plan was to either hire a camper van to tour both islands or to hire a car and stop at motels along the way. But as we poured over the map and checked the distances it was apparent that trying to see even a limited number of attractions would mean lots of driving and very little time for actually doing any of the numerous exciting activities on offer to the adventurer.
Most people who we spoke to who had been to New Zealand had the same advice to offer – ‘Spend as much time as you can on South Island.’ We contemplated ignoring North Island all together, but the Bay of Islands, in the north east, and Rotorua, in the middle of North Island, both featured high in our list of places we simply could not miss.
In the end it was Air New Zealand that came to our rescue, as we discovered that it was fairly inexpensive to hop from place to place by plane and save hours on the corresponding road journey. What we settled on was an exciting mishmash of short flights, the ferry, scenic railway journeys and hire cars. I was put in charge of accommodation and working to a budget of $120 a day (about £60) I was able to book us into a range of motels, bed and breakfasts and one room, backpacker type accommodations.
Thus it was that on my second full day in New Zealand we made our way back to the airport to take a 40 minute flight to Kerikeri, the airport that serves the Bay of Islands, a journey that would have taken three and half hours by road.
The small car we had hired for our 2 night stay was waiting for us at the airport. Having booked into our motel we immediately set off to explore and headed for Paihia, as this seemed to be the centre of activities. As I’ve said before, serendipity, making fortunate discoveries by accident, is often one of the brilliant by-products of travel. In New Zealand it was a word that was to define our trip and never more so than what was waiting for us as we journeyed to the coastal heart of the Bay of Islands.
New Zealand is one of the most recently settled major land masses. Unlike the Australian Aborigines, the Maori are not truly indigenous as they are the descendents of Polynesian islanders who arrived by canoe about 800 years ago. Also unlike the Aborigines, the Maoris were never a conquered people who had their lands taken from them by force of arms. The signing of a treaty with Great Britain in 1840 has made a big difference to the way in which Maori culture has survived and is evident throughout Aoteaora.
There were about 100,000 Maoris in New Zealand in 1830 and only about 200 Europeans. Drawn mainly by whaling, the number of Europeans, who were mostly British, grew to about 2,000 by 1839. The Maoris were divided into tribes and there were many conflicts. The Europeans brought muskets with them, which the Maoris readily traded for food and flax. An arms race developed as the tribes armed with muskets had an enormous advantage over those with traditional weapons. The so called Musket Wars claimed the lives of about 20,000 Maoris. As with the nuclear arms race of the late 20th Century, it was only when all the tribes had access to the same firepower that peace prevailed.
The Maoris were open to change and welcomed the new ideas brought by the Europeans. The missionaries brought books with them and taught people to read, opening up a new world of learning. Some Maoris travelled the world on the boats that came to their shores. In 1820 two tribal chiefs even travelled to England and met with King George IV.
From the British point of view, trade with the Maoris provided timber for boat building and flax to make rope. It was largely to protect this advantageous trade link that Britain sought to create a treaty with the people of New Zealand.
Towards the end of the 1830’s there were speculative ‘purchases’ of Maori land by Europeans and capitalists from New South Wales. The New Zealand Company, which originated in London in 1839 with the express aim of promoting the colonisation of New Zealand, claimed to have bought 20 million acres of land. The debate over whether the land transactions meant the same to the purchasers as it did to the Maori sellers continues to this day. The Maori culture did not necessarily see the trade in land as a permanent loss.
The Treaty of Waitangi was instituted by the British Government, prompted by concerns over lawlessness, tribal wars and the prospect of formal colonisation by The New Zealand Company. The treaty was in effect the founding document of the nation of New Zealand. It established a British Governor, recognised Maori ownership of their lands and gave Maoris the rights of British subjects. The treaty was written in English and a Maori version was written by a missionary. The two documents did not agree.
On the morning of 6th February, 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by 45 tribal chiefs in front of the Treaty House at Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands. Little did any of those present know that exactly 170 years later to the day two more hapless Brits would pitch up at the same location totally oblivious to the importance of its significance or the anniversary.
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